War Canoe Trophy - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Florida–Miami football rivalry


Teams	Florida Gators Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference... Miami Hurricanes Miami Hurricanes football The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...
Game first played	October 15, 1938
Series win-loss record	Miami leads 28–26
National championships	Miami 5, Florida 3
Most recent game	Florida, 26–3 September 6, 2008
Former trophy	Seminole War Canoe

The Florida–Miami football rivalry is an American college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

rivalry between the Florida Gators football

Florida Gators football

The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...

team of the University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

and the Miami Hurricanes football

Miami Hurricanes football

The Miami Hurricanes football program competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the University of Miami. The program began in 1926 and has won five AP national championships...

team of the University of Miami

University of Miami

The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

. The game was previously played annually from 1938 until 1987, and is now played intermittently. The winning team was formerly awarded the Seminole War Canoe Trophy.

Series history

The Gators and Hurricanes played on an annual "home-and-away" basis until the end of the 1987 season, when the requirements of the Southeastern Conference

Southeastern Conference

The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

(SEC) for member schools to play eight conference games induced the University of Florida to fill out the non-conference portion of its schedule with teams that do not require a home-and-home arrangement. Since that time the Gators and Hurricanes have met on the gridiron just five times, with one future game in 2013 scheduled.

Before the annual series was canceled, the rivalry used to be regarded by many as the biggest in the state of Florida. The Miami–Florida rivalry series began ten years before future powerhouse Florida State fielded its first team. Despite the explanation given at the time of cancellation, many Canes fans remain skeptical, accusing the Gators of being afraid of losing. At the time, Miami had won 7 of the last 10 match-ups and had just earned its second national championship, although the Hurricanes' only loss in their 1983 national championship season was to Florida. Current University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley

Jeremy Foley

Jeremy N. Foley is an American university sports administrator and former college athlete. Foley is currently the athletic director for the Florida Gators Division I sports program of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida...

has reiterated financial concerns as well as SEC expansion as reason for not renewing the series.

Miami leads the all-time series with 28 wins to Florida's 26. Miami also leads the series since the introduction of the War Canoe Trophy with 23 wins to Florida's 20 wins. The Gators won the last game between the two schools, 26–3 on September 6, 2008. Of the 54 total meetings, 25 have been decided by a touchdown or less. Both teams also have a losing record on their home field with Miami holding a 12–9 advantage at Florida Field and Florida owning a 14–13 record at the Orange Bowl.

The Seminole War Canoe Trophy was hand carved by Seminole Indians from a 200-year-old cypress

Cypress

Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...

tree that was struck by lightning

Lightning

Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...

. Donated on the behalf of Hollywood, Florida

Hollywood, Florida

-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...

in 1950, it has been an award given to the winner of football games between the schools. The canoe is a representation of the fighting spirit of the Seminole

Seminole

The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...

s that was displayed during play between the Florida Gators

Florida Gators football

and Miami Hurricanes

Miami Hurricanes football

. The trophy stopped being passed from school to school in the early 1970s; both schools had trouble displaying the large wooden trophy. After the final game in the "home and home" series in 1987, The Seminole War Canoe Trophy was put on permanent display at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame. In 2011, the UF Student Government approved a resolution, which was sent to UM student body president Christina Farmer, ESPN and the head football coaches at each school, requesting the War Canoe's return to UF since they had won the 2008 contest. In response, Brandon Mitchell, president of UM’s Category 5 spirit club, replied: “The War Canoe was intended for the yearly rivalry and … Miami won the final game of that yearly rivalry.” The Trophy remains at the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame.

Game results

Florida victories are colored ██ blue. Miami victories are colored ██ dark green. Ties are white.

Date	Location	Winner	Score
October 15, 1938	Miami, FL	Miami	19–7
November 18, 1939	Miami, FL	Florida	13–0
November 16, 1940	Miami, FL	Florida	46–6
November 15, 1941	Miami, FL	Florida	14–0
November 14, 1942	Miami, FL	Miami	12–0
November 3, 1944	Miami, FL	Florida	13–0
October 19, 1945	Miami, FL	Miami	7–6
October 19, 1946	Gainesville, FL	Miami	20–13
November 22, 1947	Miami, FL	Florida	7–6
November 20, 1948	Gainesville, FL	Florida	27–13
November 18, 1949	Miami, FL	Miami	28–13
November 18, 1950	Gainesville, FL	Miami	20–14
November 17, 1951	Miami, FL	Miami	21–6
November 22, 1952	Gainesville, FL	Florida	43–6
November 28, 1953	Miami, FL	Miami	14–10
November 27, 1954	Gainesville, FL	Miami	14–0
November 26, 1955	Miami, FL	Miami	7–6
December 1, 1956	Gainesville, FL	Miami	20–7
November 30, 1957	Miami, FL	Florida	14–0
November 29, 1958	Jacksonville, FL	Florida	12–9
November 28, 1959	Jacksonville, FL	Florida	23–14
November 26, 1960	Miami, FL	Florida	18–0
December 2, 1961	Gainesville, FL	Miami	15–6
December 1, 1962	Miami, FL	Miami	17–15
November 23, 1963	Miami, FL	Florida	27–21
November 28, 1964	Gainesville, FL	Florida	12–10
November 20, 1965	Miami, FL	Miami	16–13

Date	Location	Winner	Score
November 26, 1966	Gainesville, FL	Miami	21–16
December 9, 1967	Miami, FL	Miami	20–13
November 30, 1968	Gainesville, FL	Florida	14–10
November 29, 1969	Miami, FL	Florida	35–16
November 28, 1970	Gainesville, FL	Miami	14–13
November 27, 1971	Miami, FL	Florida	45–16
December 2, 1972	Gainesville, FL	Florida	17–6
November 24, 1973	Miami, FL	Florida	14–7
November 30, 1974	Gainesville, FL	Florida	31–7
November 29, 1975	Miami, FL	Florida	15–11
November 27, 1976	Orlando, FL	Florida	19–10
November 26, 1977	Miami, FL	Florida	31–14
December 2, 1978	Gainesville, FL	Miami	22–21
December 1, 1979	Miami, FL	Miami	30–24
November 29, 1980	Gainesville, FL	Miami	31–7
September 5, 1981	Miami, FL	Miami	21–20
September 4, 1982	Gainesville, FL	Florida	17–14
September 3, 1983	Gainesville, FL	Florida	28–3
September 1, 1984	Tampa, FL	Miami	32–20
September 7, 1985	Miami, FL	Florida	35–23
September 6, 1986	Gainesville, FL	Miami	23–15
September 5, 1987	Miami, FL	Miami	31–4
January 2, 2001	New Orleans, LA	Miami	37–20^A
September 7, 2002	Gainesville, FL	Miami	41–16
September 6, 2003	Miami, FL	Miami	38–33
December 31, 2004	Atlanta, GA	Miami	27–10^B
September 6, 2008	Gainsville, FL	Florida	26–3

^A 2001 Sugar Bowl

2001 Sugar Bowl

The 2001 Sugar Bowl a 2000–2001 BCS game was played on January 2, 2001. This 67th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the Florida Gators, and the , in an in-state rivalry game...

^B 2004 Peach Bowl

2004 Peach Bowl (December)

The 2004 December edition of the Peach Bowl featured the Miami Hurricanes and the Florida Gators.Miami took a 7-0 lead when it blocked a Florida field goal attempt, and Devin Hester returned the ball 78 yards for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Matt Leach kicked a 34-yard field goal to male it...

Sources: 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, HurricaneSports.com, and College Football Data Warehouse.

1971: The Florida Flop

The end of the 1971 game rankled Hurricanes fans for years to come in the series. Florida quarterback John Reaves

John Reaves

Thomas Johnson "John" Reaves is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback for eleven seasons in the National Football League and three seasons in the United States Football League...

entered the game looking to break Jim Plunkett

Jim Plunkett

James William "Jim" Plunkett is a former American football quarterback who played college football for Stanford University, where he won the Heisman Trophy, and professionally for three National Football League teams: the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. ...

's NCAA record for all-time passing yardage in his last regular season game. The Gators led the game throughout, and were up by the score of 45-8 when Reaves threw an interception to Miami's defense with little time left in the game and 14 yards separating Reaves from the record. After calling timeouts to prevent the Hurricanes from running out the clock, nearly the entire defense dropped down in unison and allowed Hurricanes back John Hornibrook to score. Dubbed the "Florida Flop" or "Gator Flop", the play allowed the Gators to get the ball back so Reaves could break the record. On the next drive Reaves would find Carlos Alvarez

Carlos Alvarez (American football)

Carlos Alvarez Vasquez Rodriguez Ubieta is a former American college football player who was an All-American wide receiver for the University of Florida from 1969 to 1971.- Early life :...

for a 15-yard gain to break the record, and after the game the entire Gators team jumped into the fountain at Miami Orange Bowl

Miami Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...

that was formerly used for the Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

' live mascot. Hurricanes coach Fran Curci

Fran Curci

Fran Curci is a former American football player and coach. He was an All-American quarterback at the University of Miami in 1959...

refused to shake the hand of Gators coach Doug Dickey

Doug Dickey

Douglas Adair "Doug" Dickey is a former American college football player and coach and college athletics administrator. Dickey is a South Dakota native who was raised in Florida and graduated from the University of Florida, where he played college football...

after the game for pulling "a bush league stunt", though Dickey denied knowledge the flop was coming.

1980: Why the field goal?

Toward the end of the 1980 game, which had turned into a rout, Miami players began celebrating on the sideline. Florida fans responded by pelting them with oranges. Their behavior so incensed UM Coach Schnellenberger, then in his second year, that he called a time out to tack on a meaningless 25-yard field goal on the game's final play in a 31-7 victory. Said Schnellenberger, "I did that because I wanted the press to come and ask me why I kicked the field goal."

"How are you supposed to like somebody when they're sitting in the stands and you're on the field and they're chucking oranges at you," remarked Miami player Don Bailey. "The crowd was beyond anything that I had ever seen.

1983: Gators upset national champions

Miami entered the 1983 game as a nine-point favorite over unranked Florida. But Florida stunned Miami 28-3 in Gainesville, to give the 'Canes their only loss during their 1983 national championship season.

1984: First ESPN telecast

The 1984 game at Tampa Stadium was the first college football game televised live on ESPN

ESPN

Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

. Trailing 20-19 after a Florida score with 41 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Bernie Kosar

Bernie Kosar

Bernard Joseph "Bernie" Kosar, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League. Kosar played for the Cleveland Browns from 1985 to 1993 and then finished his career with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.-Early life and high school career:A Hungarian-American...

led the Hurricanes downfield to a touchdown with six seconds left in the game. With the score 26-20, Miami kicked off to the Gators; having only a second on the clock, Florida's last pass was intercepted by Tolbert Bain and returned for another touchdown as time expired, giving Miami a 32-20 victory.

1985: Gators upset Canes

Fifth-ranked Miami entered the game in the Orange Bowl as a twelve-point favorite. But the Gators played inspired football and pulled off a stunning twelve-point victory, covering Miami's spread for them. But after Florida's 35-23 win over Miami in the Orange Bowl on September 7, the 'Canes did not lose at home again until Sept. 24, 1994 (38-20 to Washington), an NCAA record winning streak of 58 games.

2003: Ex-Gator leads Canes to win

Much of the main story line revolved around Hurricanes quarterback Brock Berlin

Brock Berlin

Brock Berlin is a former American college and professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League . He played college football for the university of Florida and the University of Miami. Berlin was signed by the Miami Dolphins of the NFL as an undrafted free agent...

. Berlin, who committed to play for Steve Spurrier

Steve Spurrier

Stephen Orr Spurrier is an American college football coach and player. Spurrier is the current head coach of the University of South Carolina's Gamecocks football team. He is also a former professional player and coach...

as part of Florida's recruiting class in 2000, transferred to Miami in the spring of 2002 after Ron Zook

Ron Zook

Ron Zook is a former American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Florida from 2002 to 2004 and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2005 to 2011. Zook is a native of Ohio and an alumnus of Miami University, where he...

took over as head coach. Berlin stumbled early on and threw two costly interceptions, and Florida capitalized to take a 33-10 lead by midway through the third quarter. Berlin was even booed by the Miami faithful after his poor play. The Gators looked poised to win their first game against the Hurricanes since 1985. However, Berlin rebounded to complete 18 of his next 20 passes with two touchdown passes, setting up 4 Miami touchdowns in the final quarter and a half. Following the game, Berlin then performed a mocking version of the Gator Chomp to the fans, who vowed revenge. The Hurricanes ended up winners by the score 38-33.

2008: Again, why the field goal?

In the 2008 renewal of the rivalry, Florida entered the game as a 22-point favorite. But Florida wide receiver Louis Murphy created controversy by suggesting that the University of Florida was "the new U

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

", sparking a firestorm from both teams and their fans. This handed the 'Canes some bulletin board material heading into the game.

Florida led only 9-3 as the fourth quarter began. With 25 seconds left on the game clock, and leading 23-3, Florida called time out to kick a fourth-down field goal to take the lead 26-3. Many Miami fans still accuse Meyer of kicking the field goal (instead of running out the clock) to allow the Gators to beat the 22 point spread. In the post-game handshake, Miami's Randy Shannon

Randy Shannon

Randy Lennard Shannon is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Miami from 2007 to 2010. Shannon played football at Miami and then with the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL....

barely touched his hand to Florida coach Urban Meyer

Urban Meyer

Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...

without looking at him.

Future games

Miami is set to host the Gators in 2013 at Sun Life Stadium. However, this will be the last game planned for the near future. Jeremy Foley

Jeremy Foley

, Florida's athletic Director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

, said that the decision was due to the University's need to host seven games a year to properly fund the overall Florida Gators sports program.