Gators' Most Interesting Scheduling Partnership as SEC-Big 10 Rumors Continue

Similar to the yearly conference "challenge" in college basketball, the SEC and Big 10 could potentially follow suit with their own annual intra-conference challenge with LSU head coach Brian Kelly saying there is truth that SEC head coaches want to see the idea come to fruition.

If that is the case, there are a few options for the Florida Gators that make sense from a historical side.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers haven’t returned to the heights of the 1990s, where they defeated the Gators en route to one of their three national championships in the decade with a win in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl. 

Since, Nebraska has failed to have any sustained success with only five appearances in what is now a College Football Playoff bowl and only one bowl appearance since the 2016 season, a win over Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl.

The Cornhuskers would be a great candidate for the Gators due to the history in the 1990s and the fact that the Gators could get back for the loss against the Tommie Frazier-led Nebraska team. In that game, the Gators lost 62-24, ending its hopes for its first national championship and undefeated season. It would be an opportunity for the Gators to get equal with the all-time series if it is home-and-home.  

There are few potential other options. However, they would be better for other SEC teams.

Teams like the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes also have some recent history with the Gators. The Wolverines and Gators have played three times since 2015 with Michigan winning twice. However, the Gators won the most recent meeting with a 41-15 win in the 2018 Peach Bowl.

The Buckeyes and the Cornhuskers share something in the fact that they both have only played the Gators twice. However, the Buckeyes have never beaten the Gators unlike Nebraska. Ohio State lost most recently to them in the 2012 Gator Bowl after Florida won in the 2007 BCS National Championship.

If something does come out of these conversations that seem to be happening between the Big 10 and the SEC, this could replace the SEC’s ninth conference game. However, all of that remains up in the air as the SEC debates its future.

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