For those born before the year 2000, the chippiness online this week between Florida and Auburn fans might be a bit of a surprise. The two teams have only faced off once since 2012, and if one were to ask a modern Florida fan who the biggest rivals are for the Gators, Auburn probably wouldn’t crack the top five.
But there was once a time when Auburn was a measuring stick for Florida, and unfortunately this once great rivalry became a victim to the SEC’s modern expansion.
Missouri and Texas A&M joining the SEC screwed up the Florida vs Auburn rivarly
Florida and Auburn played in 58 consecutive seasons from 1945 to 2002. The SEC then started toying with their scheduling format, and the two teams played just three times between 2003 and 2011.
But what really screwed up this rivalry was when Missouri and Texas A&M entered the picture in 2012. The conference, now with 14 teams, moved to a format with two divisions of seven. Teams played the other six teams in their division, one protected crossover opponent, and one other crossover opponent on a rotating basis.
Florida and Auburn were in different divisions, and Florida was given LSU as its permanent crossover opponent, while Auburn got Georgia.
But even with that rotation, Florida and Auburn wouldn’t meet again until 2019, and then, when Texas and Oklahoma joined the conference and the SEC had to shift things around again, Florida and Auburn weren’t paired up in 2024 or 2025.
Only now that the SEC has gone to a nine-game format that guarentees playing everyone at least every other year, the two fan bases are reunited.
Florida fans want Auburn, not Missouri
Let’s be blunt: no Florida fan asked for Missouri and Texas A&M to join the SEC. For whatever reason, the SEC decided Florida and Texas A&M should be linked together, and the two sides have played each other six times since 2012.
At least the Aggies feel like a big-time program and can make a case for enhancing the SEC's overall profile.
Missouri, on the other hand, has added nothing to the SEC. Florida fans were forced to switch from the Auburn Tigers to the Missouri Tigers. Every year the Missouri game comes around, fans are apathetic, win or lose. Auburn feels embedded in the SEC and is part of the conference's heartbeat. Missouri feels like the little brother you were forced to allow to tag along because your parents said so.
Put it this way, since joining the SEC in 2012, Missouri has won a grand total of two conference titles across all sports.
Two, and they were both in volleyball in 2013 and 2016.
Florida has won 23 national titles across all sports in the time span that Missouri has managed two conference titles.
And yet that’s the team that the powers that be felt we should be linked with instead of Auburn. Sometimes progress has a price, and in the SEC that price has been a once proud rivarly.
At least for one week, though, it’s all coming back to us now.
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