Facing Mississippi State on Saturday, the Florida football team looks to rebound in its annual Homecoming game after a 34-17 loss to No. 5 Texas A&M.
Since 2000, Florida is 20-5 in its alumni-money-grab games and it hopes to perpetuate that pattern of success this week.
For the first time since 2010, the Gators will take on the Bulldogs on Homecoming day. In the matchup, the Gators fell to MSU 10-7. But Florida came out on top in 2005 when the two met previously for Homecoming. Though they are 1-1 against Mississippi State on Homecoming in the last 25 years, the Gators lead 5-3 in all of the pair’s meetings since 2000 and 35-19-2 all-time, including a 52-0 win in 2001.
UF has won every Homecoming game since 2018, when it fell to Missouri 38-17. Since then, it has topped Auburn, South Carolina, along with Vanderbilt twice, including a 42-0 win in 2021. In 2022, the Gators squad also got revenge on the Tigers for their 2018 loss, winning 24-17.
Florida won 10 consecutive Homecoming games from 2000 to 2009 before the Bulldogs broke the streak. After Florida beat Kentucky, 48-20, last year to snap a three-game losing streak to the Wildcats, the Gators now boasts six straight victories on Homecoming.
For context, since 2000, Florida has played every Homecoming game except one against an SEC opponent. It faced University of Louisiana Monroe in 2012, but has mostly remained in-conference, facing Vanderbilt eight times; Missouri and South Carolina four times; Kentucky, LSU and Mississippi State twice; and Auburn and Arkansas once. Aside from its loss to MSU in 2010 and the 2018 loss against Missouri, Florida also fell to LSU in 2017 and to Missouri and Vanderbilt in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014.
Florida’s history of strong performances on Homecoming games provides some cause for optimism as the Gators aim to improve to 3-4 before they play their third game this season against a top-10 team: Georgia.
The Gators are 73-26-2 all-time in Homecoming games, including a 31-5 mark since 1989.
The Gators take on Mississippi State on Saturday at 4:15 p.m.
