Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
Florida and Tennessee have played on the third Saturday of September almost every year since 1992, giving the rivalry its nickname. Notable exceptions were in 2001, when the game was postponed until December 1 due to the September 11 terrorist attacks, and in 2014, when the addition of two new members to the SEC temporarily scrambled the dates of many traditional conference rivalries and moved the Florida–Tennessee game to October. The rivalry has sometimes served as the conference opener and is often the first significant test of the season for one or both of the teams.
Florida–Florida State football rivalry
After the Florida State College for Women became the co-educational Florida State University in 1947, the newly formed Florida State Seminoles football team achieved immediate success on the gridiron. Under head coach Don Veller, the Seminoles became the first collegiate football program in the state of Florida to go unbeaten and untied, finishing 8–0 in 1950. Under Coach Tom Nugent, the Seminoles made the move to major college status in 1955. Just three years later, Nugent would lead the Seminoles onto Florida Field to face the Gators, with Florida winning 21–7. With the arrival of Bill Peterson in 1960, the Seminoles began their move to national prominence. Under Peterson's direction, the Seminoles beat the Gators for the first time in 1964 and earned their first major bowl bid. Peterson also led the Seminoles to their first-ever top-ten ranking. While Peterson was taking the Seminole program to new heights, Ray Graves had been hired as the Gators new head coach to improve the Florida football program. When the two teams fought to a 3–3 tie in 1961, Graves likened the result to "a death in the family." From that point on, the game took on new significance and the rivalry intensified.