Mario Cristobal wants Miami to play Florida Football more often in the future

The schedule for Florida Football in 2024 is jampacked from start to finish. The Gators open the season against the Miami Hurricanes and end the season with FSU. In between a complete gauntlet that has Florida playing the hardest-ranked schedule in the country, according to multiple metrics. 

Florida’s opener, which has a 3:30 timeslot on ABC, should be more fun than the cupcakes the Gators used to open with. But would it be in Florida’s best interest to schedule Miami more frequently than they have been?

Florida Football: Stand Back, It’s A Hurricane 

During ACC Spring Meetings a couple of weeks back, Miami head coach Mario Cristobal was asked about their opener against the Gators. The two squads have only played seven times since 2000. With modern-day scheduling realities that put sacred games like Tennessee at risk of not being annual, it’s hard to envision Florida in Miami playing more frequently down the road.

It didn’t stop Cristobal from expressing his desire to play Florida more frequently, even calling it paramount that they do so.

"Miami, Florida, and Florida State playing each other is paramount, in my opinion"

- Mario Cristobal

In truth, while playing Miami more frequently would be fun, this feels like a ploy from Cristobal to keep Miami relevant more so than keeping Florida relevant. 

Florida has a home in the SEC, and Texas and Oklahoma are joining the picture in 2024. The Gators will have no shortage of prime opponents to play year in and year out with those two joining. Meanwhile, Miami is stuck on the sinking ship known as the ACC, and I’ve been largely writing the coattails of Florida State to revamp the conference.

Unless the rest of the country is game to play a loaded schedule week in and week out, the insistence on playing Miami every single year puts the Gators at a scheduling disadvantage with no ability to rest and recuperate, like the rest of the country.

August 31 is set to be a bloodbath, but any future meetings with the Hurricanes might have to be done on EA Sports College Football 25.