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Florida-Miami a top 10 non-conference game in 2025 

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr04/03/25On3Keith
Florida QB DJ Lagway
Doug Engle | Gainesville Sun | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the Florida Gators played host to Miami on Aug. 31 of last season, it wasn’t much of a game. In fact, UF pretty much stunk up the joint in a 41-17 loss. But this season’s matchup between the two rivals has the potential to be something memorable for the Gators. After closing the 2024 season on a four-game winning streak, UF hopes to carry that momentum into 2025. The Gators open the season with home games against Long Island University and USF, then have a road game at LSU before facing the Hurricanes in Miami’s home stadium on Sep 20.

Ari Wasserman, a national college football reporter for On3, thinks that game in south Florida will be a good one. Thursday, Wasserman listed what he considers the 10 most intriguing non-conference games of the 2025 season. The Florida-Miami game is No. 3 on his list.

He wrote the following about it: “Last season, Miami went to Gainesville for the season-opener and beat up on Florida. After the game, Miami coach Mario Cristobal pounded the podium as he urged recruits to acknowledge the trajectory of both programs. In the state of Florida, rivalry games mean everything. But that’s not where the entertainment stops in this game. There is no question the entire world is going to have their eyes on quarterback D.J. Lagway and head coach Billy Napier. By this point in the season, Napier could be a hero or a dead man walking. Miami, meanwhile, lost a ton of offensive firepower after last year and Cristobal has to turn in another successful season for last year’s trajectory statement to remain true.”

What’s the No. 1 non-conference game for 2025? According to Wasserman, it’s LSU at Clemson on Aug. 30. Texas at Ohio State on Aug. 30 is No. 2. You can find his entire list HERE.

Florida currently is in the middle of spring camp, which wraps up next weekend with the annual Orange & Blue Game. The Gators held their first scrimmage of the spring earlier this week. You can find out “What we learned from” that scrimmage right HERE for more insight into the Gators.

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