Date of UF, UM season opener could change

GAINESVILLE – The Gators-vs.-Hurricanes 2019 season opener could be moved up a week to Aug. 24, a source told the Orlando Sentinel.

The game is slated for Aug. 31 at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium, but the date change would better showcase the first matchup between the long-standing rivals since 2013. It also would mark the earliest start to the football season for either school.

Before the move can happen, however, the NCAA would have to approve it. A decision is expected soon.

The game will pit UF second-year coach Dan Mullen against former assistant coach Manny Diaz.

Diaz, who will be in his first season replacing Mark Richt, was Mullen’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Mississippi State in 2010 and again in 2015.

This will be the first meeting between UF and UM in six years since the Hurricanes edged the Gators 21-16 in South Florida.

UF had won the longtime rivals’ previous meeting, in 2008, to snap a sixgame losing streak in a series that began in 1938. The Hurricanes lead the series with a 29-26 record.

The date change would move the game from Labor Day weekend, when most college football teams open their seasons.

UF has opened the season on Aug. 30 three times, most recently in 2014 at home against Idaho — a game eventually canceled by severe weather.

Miami’s earliest start was on Aug. 27, 1984, as defending national champions against Auburn. The Hurricanes defeated the Tigers 20-18 in East Rutherford, N.J.