Jon Sumrall is buying into the Florida-Miami hate and he's going to regret it

New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall was asked to rank Florida State, Miami, Georgia and LSU on a "who do you hate most" scale, and his answer made sense from an in-state perspective.

He put Florida State at 1A and Georgia at 1B, then Miami at No. 3 and LSU at No. 4. His reasoning was that Florida State and Georgia are the two games most tied into Florida's current identity. And while Miami and LSU are still heated matchups, they are not annual games.

Florida State is the in-state rival that ends the regular season every year for Florida. Georgia is the neutral-site SEC rivalry that still defines a large part of Florida's season. LSU used to be a yearly SEC opponent, but the conference's new scheduling model changed that. Florida's annual SEC opponents from 2026 through 2029 are Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina, making LSU part of the rotating group instead of a guaranteed annual game.

That is a reasonable answer. But, it is also the kind of answer Miami fans should love. Florida can talk about Miami as a third-tier rival if it wants, but the recent scoreboard makes that a dangerous place to stand.

Miami has won the last two meetings in the series. The Hurricanes beat Florida 41-17 in Gainesville to open the 2024 season, then followed it with a 26-7 win over the Gators at Hard Rock Stadium in 2025.

If Sumrall can fix what he is inheriting, Miami will be there waiting for Florida in the CFP. And this clip is sure to come back up during the week leading up to the game.

So yes, Florida State and Georgia probably deserve the top two spots on Florida's hate scale. No argument there. But Miami will remember those words if the Gators can make a real run at returning to former glory.

Tennessee deserves a mention

Tennessee probably deserves at least some mention in any Florida rivalry conversation. The Gators and Volunteers spent years battling, and the game still carries history even if the new SEC schedule no longer makes it an every-year matchup. Florida is scheduled to play at Tennessee in 2027, but Tennessee is not one of the Gators' three annual opponents.

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