Florida football is back, and the Gators open the 2026 season in Gainesville against an in-state opponent they know well: the Florida Atlantic Owls. If you've searched "UF vs FAU history" or wondered whether there's any real Gators-FAU rivalry, here's everything you need to know before kickoff.
Florida vs. Florida Atlantic: The All-Time Series
The Gators and Owls have met four times, and Florida has won every single meeting. The all-time series record sits at 4-0 in Florida's favor, with every game played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville. FAU, a program that didn't play its first football game until 2001, has never been favored to beat an SEC power like Florida — and the head-to-head numbers back that up. Across the four meetings, Florida has outscored FAU 155-51, an average margin of nearly 26 points per game.
That said, "history" doesn't always mean "rivalry." Florida vs. Florida Atlantic isn't a rivalry in the way Gators-Seminoles or Gators-Bulldogs is. It's better described as a lopsided but occasionally dramatic series between an SEC blue blood and an ambitious in-state Group of Five program — one that has produced a couple of surprisingly memorable games along the way.
Notable Matchups Between the Gators and Owls
2007: The Series Opener (Florida 59, FAU 20) The first-ever meeting wasn't close. Florida, fresh off a national championship run, put up 59 points on the Owls in Gainesville, setting the tone for what would become a dominant early series for the Gators.
2011: Florida Rolls Again (Florida 41, FAU 3) FAU's second trip to the Swamp went about the same way as the first. The Gators controlled the game from start to finish in a lopsided season-opening win.
2015: "The Red Wedding" — Florida's Closest Call (Florida 20, FAU 14, OT) This is the game FAU fans still talk about. Playing as heavy underdogs against an 8th-ranked Florida team in Jim McElwain's Gators debut, FAU actually out-gained Florida in total offense and pushed the game into overtime. The Owls drove deep into Florida territory on their final possession, but a non-call on a contested pass in the end zone sealed a 20-14 overtime win for the Gators. It's remembered around the FAU program as "The Red Wedding" — a game they were right there to win and let slip away.
2021: The Willie Taggart Storyline (Florida 35, FAU 14) The most recent meeting carried extra intrigue. FAU's head coach that season was Willie Taggart — Florida's own head coach in 2018-19 before his firing, and a Florida State head coach before that. The 2021 opener marked Taggart's first time coaching a game inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, adding a personal storyline to an otherwise routine Gators win to open the season.
Is There a Real Gators-FAU Rivalry?
Not in the traditional sense — Florida holds a commanding series lead, and the two programs aren't natural rivals the way in-state or conference opponents are. But the series has quietly delivered some entertaining subplots: an overtime nail-biter in 2015, a former Gators head coach returning to Gainesville with a new team in 2021, and an in-state program in FAU that has shown flashes of being a legitimate Group of Five contender under coaches like Lane Kiffin. For a season-opening tune-up game, the Florida vs. Florida Atlantic series has punched above its weight for drama more than once.
Catch the Gators Season Opener Live in Gainesville
Whether you're a Gators season-ticket holder or making the trip to the Swamp for the first time this year, gameday parking in Gainesville fills up fast. Skip the pregame scramble and lock in a spot ahead of time — book your gameday parking on Perch at parkwithperch.com/browse and get to your tailgate stress-free.
