Yesterday on Twitter, University of Florida Athletic Director Scott Stricklin let it be known that the Gators are looking to add additional home and home series with P5 opponents to their future schedules. Sorry UCF, this tweet doesn’t apply to you, just the big boys.
Less than three hours after Stricklin sent out the tweet, he recieved an interesting reply from none other than Clemson AD Dan Radakovich.
The Gators have been at or near the top of many Clemson fans wish lists when it comes to home and homes they would most like to see. The two teams have only squared off thirteen times in history, but the last time came in 1961.
Getting a home and home on the books with Florida would be exciting. It’s a fresh matchup for both fanbases, not to mention the ACC vs SEC storyline. The only issue is having to wait almost two decades to see it. A sentiment Stricklin expressed when responding to Radakovich.
To bad this was most likely all in jest, with the two AD’s having a little fun. The Tigers out of conference schedule is already pretty full with series vs Notre Dame, Georgia, and LSU all on the horizon.
However, it’s always fun to see UCF getting trolled, and that’s exactly what Stricklin did here. He did it quite well at that. That could have very well been the entire point of the tweet to begin with.
I know that I sure would love to see this become a reality, and sooner than 17 years down the road from now too! I understand why Clemson schedules games against the smaller schools (i.e. Furman, and Wofford and UNCC, etc.) to help the smaller schools get some exposure, and the chance to play in a much larger stadium than their usual game setting and some added financial support for their athletics. But, one possible way to overcome this narrative of Clemson never plays anyone because of the “weak ACC” would be to say every other year replace one game against a smaller school with another P5 school. Just a very early morning thought! But, as always, GO TIGERS!