Florida is set to take on its annual FCS opponent this weekend as the Gators will welcome Campbell to town. The NCAA moved away from the I-AA designation to the FCS designation in 2006, and Florida has lost to an FCS opponent only once since 2006.
So let’s take a look at all the FCS opponents Florida has faced since 2006 and how those games went.
Florida’s history against FCS opponents since 2006
2025 - Florida 55, LIU 0: Even though the Gators crushed Long Island and were statistically dominant in this one, there were warning signs that the offensive line would be a problem. Coincidentally enough, this was the most points The Man in the Black Polo ever scored.
2024 - Florida 45, Samford 7: With Graham Mertz hurt from the previous week, DJ Lagway got the start and threw for 456 yards and three touchdowns. What impressed Florida fans the most were the deep shots Lagway took. This led to an awkward QB rotation until Mertz ended up being hurt for the year.
2023 - Florida 49, McNeese 7: Graham Mertz had just 193 yards passing, but Montrell Johnson had 119 yards rushing. McNeese State had just six first downs and 75 total yards on offense.
2022 - Florida 52, Eastern Washington 17: This was played on a Sunday due to Hurricane Ian. Anthony Richardson had 240 yards passing off eight completions. Jalen Kitna also threw for 152 yards.
2021 - Florida 70, Samford 52: One of the wildest games in Gator history, Florida trailed 42-35 at halftime before pulling away. This was the first game after Todd Grantham was fired as defensive coordinator, and he apparently cast a hex on the way out the door.
2020 - None: Because of the SEC-only schedule in 2020, Florida did not have an FCS opponent. Florida was originally supposed to play Eastern Washington in 2020.
2019 - Florida 45, UT Martin 0: Nothing too exciting from this one other than Florida starting off slow. Felipe Franks had 270 passing yards. In a bit of foreshadowing, given the Kentucky game was the following week, Kyle Trask was 4 of 5 for 40 yards and a touchdown. CJ Henderson and Kadarius Toney did have injuries in this one.
2019 - Florida 38, Towson 0: Unlike what we will get to in 2018, Florida played two FCS opponents in 2019 on purpose. This was a ho-hum affair that was a classic Dan Mullen vs. and FCS team kind of game.
2018 - Florida 53, Charleston Southern 6: In Dan Mullen’s Florida debut, Feleipe Franks threw five touchdown passes as the Gators built a 38-0 halftime lead.
2018 - Florida 63, Idaho 10: Originally, this game against Idaho was supposed to be in 2014, when the Vandals were still considered an FBS team. But as Gator fans may remember, Valdez Showers returned the opening kickoff 64 yards, only for that game to be canceled. In the meantime, between 2014 to 2018, Idaho dropped down and became an FCS team. This 2018 contest was mostly forgettable.
2017 - None: Florida was originally supposed to play Northern Colorado, but because of Hurricane Irma, that game was canceled.
2016 - None: Florida was supposed to play Presbyterian this season, but due to the shuffling with the LSU game due to Hurricane Matthew, it ended up being canceled.
2015 - None: Unlike other seasons, Florida just straight up didn’t have an FCS opponent scheudled, though they did have 3-9 New Mexico State as their opener.
2014 - Florida 52, Eastern Kentucky 3: In Will Muschamp’s final home game, Treon Harris was 4 of 12 passing, but still managed 162 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Dirskel also had three touchdown passes.
2013 - Georgia Southern 26, Florida 20: You know how we don’t talk about Bruno? We don’t talk about this game and the fact that Georgia Southern didn’t complete a single pass.
2012 - Florida 23, Jacksonville State 0: At the time, Jacksonville State was still considered an FCS program. If you want an idea of how plodding this game was, Jacoby Brissett was the sole QB for the Gators in this game.
2011 - Florida 54, Furman 32: A disaster of a first quarter saw the Gators trailing 22-7 after 15 minutes. Eventually, John Brantly settled in and threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns.
2010 - Florida 48, App State 10: The Mountainers were still an FCS program at the time and went on to make the FCS Quarterfinals in 2010. Deonte Thompson had 100 receiving yards in this one.
2009 - Florida 62, Charleston Southern 3: This was Florida at its peak as they just bludgeoned Charleston Southern to open the 2009 season. Tim Tebow didn’t even work that hard in this one.
2008 - Florida 70, Citadel 19: This game was with the backdrop of Florida still needing to impress voters, as they were still trying to recover from the Ole Miss loss earlier in the year. Florida scored 49 points in the first half en route to 705 total yards on offense.
2007 - Florida 49, Western Kentucky 3: In Tim Tebow’s first start as a Gator, he threw for 300 yards and three TDs. Fun fact from this game is that this was also the college debut of Cam Newton, who then stole laptops and was invited to leave Gainesville.
2006 - Florida 62, Western Carolina 0: Kind of like in 2008, Florida needed style points in this one, as it was still trying to sneak into the top two of the BCS. Florida gave up just 59 yards of offense to Western Carolina.
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