The Auburn–Florida football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Auburn Tigers football team of Auburn University and Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida which was first played in 1912. The schools have been members of the same athletic conference for over a century and were founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) when it was established in 1933. The contest was an annual tradition from 1945 until 2002, when the SEC expanded and the rivalry became part of a rotation of other conference games. The two teams wouldn’t play again until a pair of games in 2006 and 2007; since then, the teams have met only twice.
The rivalry has been closely contested, both as a series and in individual games, with thirty-three of the contests decided by a touchdown or less, including two ties. And though both the Gators and Tigers have each enjoyed occasional win streaks over the years, the overall tally is close, with Auburn holding a 43–40–2 edge as of the most recent meeting in 2026. It has also seen many upsets, particularly by Auburn. Lower ranked Tiger squads have beaten top-10 Gator teams on seven occasions over the course of the rivalry, including twice when Florida was ranked #1.
Series history
While the early part of the series saw Auburn and Florida trade 6-game and 5-game winning streaks respectively, the rivalry has evolved into one of the mostly evenly matched and hardest fought in the Southeastern Conference. The games have often had SEC title and national championship implications. As described by Gainesville Sun sports columnist Pat Dooley following the 2007 game, "Florida-Auburn delivered another game that made one side ecstatic and one side heartbroken. That's what it does."Pat Dooley, " What did you expect? It's Auburn−Florida. It's college football ," The Gainesville Sun (September 29, 2007). Retrieved August 16, 2011.
The first game in the series was played between coach Mike Donahue's Tigers and coach George E. Pyle's Gators in 1912, on the Auburn, Alabama campus of what was then called Alabama Polytechnic Institute. 2011 Auburn Tigers Football Media Guide , Auburn Athletics Department, Auburn, Alabama, pp. 178–189, 191 (2011). Retrieved August 16, 2011.Auburn was officially known as "Alabama Polytechnic Institute" or "API" from 1899 to 1960, although it was commonly known as "Auburn"—a reference to the town in which it is located. The Alabama legislature officially changed the institute's name to "Auburn University" in 1960. See Auburn University, History . Retrieved August 18, 2011. The Auburn Tigers won the first six games played by the two teams from 1912 to 1917, dominating the Florida Gators by two or more touchdowns in five of the six games. When the series resumed in 1927, the Florida Gators were experiencing revived success under coaches Harold Sebring and Charlie Bachman, and it was the Gators' turn for a streak, winning seven of the next eight. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 116–125 (2011). Retrieved August 16, 2011. Beginning in 1935, the fortunes of the Gators and Tigers reversed again, with the Tigers compiling a 7–2–1 record in the next ten games played through 1947.
The Auburn–Florida game has not always been played on the universities' respective campuses in Auburn, Alabama and Gainesville, Florida. In the early years of the series, six games were played in Fairfield Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, five matches at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, and one each in Miami, Florida; Columbus, Georgia; Tampa, Florida; and Mobile, Alabama. Starting in 1950, every regular game has been played at either Jordan–Hare Stadium (previously known as Auburn Stadium and Cliff Hare Stadium) in Auburn, or Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (also known as Florida Field) in Gainesville. For the only time in the series history, the Gators and Tigers met for a second time during the same season in the 2000 SEC Championship Game held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia with Florida following up their regular season victory with a second one to claim the conference championship.Paul Newberry, " Dominant Florida rips Auburn on way to Sugar," The Post and Courier, pp. 1-C & 6-C (December 3, 2000). Retrieved August 18, 2011.
With the construction of Auburn Stadium in 1939, the Tigers started a remarkable 32-year streak on the Tigers' home field during which they would tie the Gators once and defeat them twelve consecutive times. The Gators broke the Tigers' home-field winning streak in a hard-fought upset in 1973.
From 1945 to 2002, the Florida Gators and Auburn Tigers played 58 consecutive annual games;College Football Data Warehouse, Auburn vs. Florida . Retrieved August 16, 2011. The Gators and Tigers have played 82 games in the past 99 years, and the current all-time series record is forty-two victories for the Tigers, thirty-eight for the Gators, and two ties. The Tigers hold a 21–7–1 edge in games played in their current stadium; the Gators have a 22–9 advantage in games played on their present field.
Game results
Notable games
Most great rivalries are marked by frequent close games, unexpected upsets, and memorable moments; the evenly matched Auburn–Florida rivalry has provided many. Thirty-three of the eighty-two games in the series have been decided by seven points or fewer. Among SEC rivalries, the Auburn–Florida series (43–40–2) is the third-most evenly matched after the Georgia-Auburn series (64–56–8) and the Florida–Tennessee series (32–21). Auburn has won two national football championships, and seven SEC championships; Florida has won three national championships, and eight SEC championships.College Football Data Warehouse, Auburn Composite Championship Listing . Retrieved August 18, 2011.College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Composite Championship Listing . Retrieved August 18, 2011. In terms of all-time winning percentage, less than half a percentage point separates the Tigers (.634) and the Gators (.631).College Football Data Warehouse, Division I-A All-Time Winning Percentage . Retrieved August 18, 2011. Several of the most notable games in the 99-year history of the rivalry are described below.
1939: Auburn's new stadium
In the first varsity football game played at the Tigers' new Auburn Stadium, coach Josh Cody's 1939 Gators and coach Jack Meagher's Tigers played to a 7–7 tie.Associated Press, " Gators End Season By Holding Favored Auburn To A 7–7 Tie," The Palm Beach Post, p. 17 (December 1, 1939). Retrieved August 17, 2011. In the second quarter, Florida fullback Charlie Tate scored the only touchdown of the day for the Gators, then kicked the extra point; Tigers back Dick McGowen threw a touchdown pass to end Babe McGehee to tie the game in the fourth quarter. The meeting ended in controversy when an official miscommunicated the amount of time remaining in the game to Auburn quarterback Lloyd Cheatham, who was under the impression the Tigers had two minutes (rather than two seconds) left to score; at the time, Auburn had the ball on Florida's two-yard line. After the 1939 dedication of Auburn Stadium, the Gators would not win (or tie) a game on the Auburn campus for another thirty-four years.Jack Hairston, "A red-letter day, UF 12, Auburn 8," The Gainesville Sun (November 1, 1973).
1957: First meeting of ranked teams
When coach Bob Woodruff's nineteenth-ranked 1957 Florida Gators and coach Shug Jordan's Auburn Tigers met in Cliff Hare Stadium in Auburn, it was the first game between the rivals in which both teams were ranked in the top twenty of the AP Poll. Woodruff's Gators featured their usual strong defense, but the Tigers defense was even better and held the Gators scoreless in their 13–0 victory.Norris Anderson, "," The Miami News, pp. 1B & 6B (November 3, 1957). Retrieved August 18, 2011. At the end of the season, the Gators finished in the top twenty of the final AP Poll for only the second time in their history, as the Tigers earned the 1957 AP Poll national championship.
1958: Baseball score?
Coach Bob Woodruff's Gators and coach Shug Jordan's Tigers played nine games against each other between 1951 and 1959, only three of which were decided by more than ten points. However, none was closer than the game between the unranked 1958 Florida Gators and the defending national champions and fourth-ranked Auburn Tigers, a game in which neither team scored more than six points. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Tigers leading 6–3 on the strength of a single touchdown and a missed extra point, the stingy Gators defense pinned the Tigers offense behind their own three-yard-line.Tom McEwen, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). Rather than risk a turnover, Jordan ordered Tigers quarterback Johnny Kern to kneel in their own end zone, intentionally scoring a safety for the Gators, but earning a free punt for the Tigers. The Tigers kicked it away, and their defense held on to win 6–5.Norris Anderson, "," The Miami News, pp. 1C & 5C (November 2, 1958). Retrieved August 17, 2011.
1962: Florida upsets No. 10 Auburn Auburn came to Gainesville ranked #10 in the AP Poll and 5–0 on the season to face the struggling Gators, who entered the contest at 3–3. However, the Tigers ran into an ambush as the underdog Gators intercepted two passes, and recovered three fumbles en route to a 22–3 win.
1966: Heisman Trophy field goal
Coach Ray Graves' 1966 Florida Gators and coach Shug Jordan's Auburn Tigers repeatedly traded the lead as they battled back and forth all day.Joe Halberstein, "Gators beat Auburn, 30–27: Spurrier uses his toe to get No. 7," The Gainesville Sun (October 30, 1966). In the fourth quarter with the game tied at 27, Gators quarterback Steve Spurrier was engineering a late drive for the win, but was stopped at Auburn's 39-yard-line following an intentional grounding penalty. The distance was outside the usual range of the Gators regular placekicker, but Spurrier had kicked 40-yard field goals in practice.Peter Golenbock, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida, pp. 216–218 (2002). With 2:12 left in the game, he kicked the 40-yard field goal to give the Gators a 30–27 lead, and the Gators defense held on to win.Associated Press, " Gators Finally Nip Tigers," The Tuscaloosa News, p. 11 (October 30, 1966). Retrieved August 16, 2011.Joseph Durso, " Florida Sets Back Auburn On Spurrier's Kick, 30–27," The New York Times, p. S1 (October 30, 1966). Retrieved August 16, 2011. He completed twenty-seven passes on forty attempts for 259 yards, one touchdown pass and no interceptions, and also rushed for a touchdown. Another Gators standout, tailback Larry Smith, finished the day with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown on twenty-two carries, including a 53-yard run. At the conclusion of the 1966 season, Spurrier was awarded the Heisman Trophy.Noel Nash, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois, pp. 44–45 (1998).Heisman Trophy, Winners, Steve Spurrier . Retrieved August 18, 2011.
1973: Breaking the Auburn jinx