Florida, Florida State rivalry game makes big change for 2022 season

The Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles are one of the few ACC-SEC cross-conference rivalries. Before the 2020 season, the two Sunshine State programs had met every year on the football field since 1958.

Now, for just the third time in the rivalry’s history, the game will not be played on a Saturday. According to a report from the Orlando Sentinel, the 2022 edition will be moved up one day to Black Friday, which is Nov. 25.

The Orlando Sentinel is also reporting this is just a one-off move, thanks to ACC television contracts. With Florida State hosting the game this season, the conference decided to move the matchup one day to be played in primetime on ABC or ESPN. Saturday will be reimplemented as gameday going forward.

Florida’s full 2022 schedule has been set in full since the fall. Four out of their last five games will come away from Gainesville, beginning with Georgia on Oct. 29. Roadtrips to Texas A&M and Vanderbilt are on the outside of hosting South Carolina on Nov. 12.

Florida State does not have its full schedule yet. The ACC will release the full schedule on Monday night at 7 p.m. EST. So far, the season finale against the Gators are the only thing set in stone.

The two bitter rivals have previously met on a Monday and Thursday night, both being in Sugar Bowl appearances. Florida State had the edge in 1995, winning the national championship, while Florida avenged their 1996 regular-season loss with a 1997 Sugar Bowl win.

With both teams having a victory on non-Saturday games, Nov. 25 could be the tiebreaker.

This season will have the first matchup between Florida head coach Billy Napier and Florida State head coach Mike Norvell. The latter got off to a poor start in the rivalry, dropping his first game against the Gators by a score of 24-21.

Napier will be trying to do the opposite and secure a first-season win over the Seminoles.

A few other notable college football games have been played on Black Friday recently as well.

The Apple Cup, a rivalry between the Washington Huskies and the Washington State Cougars, has been played on the date for seven out of the past nine matchups. COVID-19 saw the 2020 edition get canceled but it was on pace to be played on Black Friday as well.

Iowa and Nebraska have faced off against each other on the day after Thanksgiving ever since the Cornhuskers moved to the Big Ten in 2011. While the Hawkeyes have dominated the series from a record perspective, each of the last four has been decided by single digits.