ORLANDO, Fla. — The 2019-20 College Football season gets underway on Saturday (24) with two televised games, including the class between in-state rivals Miami and Florida.
At 7:30 pm ET, No. 8 Florida and Miami will battle in what is expected to be a packed Camping World Stadium in Orlando, which will attract several celebrities and media outlets.
Live coverage of this game will be on ESPN, while WatchESPN will stream the action. ESPN will also air its trademark “College GameDay” show from Disney World’s Magic Kingdom this weekend.
| Arizona at Hawaii | 10:30pm | CBSSN |
| 8 Florida vs. Miami (FL) (in Orlando, FL) | 7:00pm | ESPN/WatchESPN |
Today’s game will also Miami coach Manny Diaz, in his first season with the Hurricanes, going up against Florida coach Dan Mullen, who spent two years working with during their time at Mississippi State.
“I’ve got a lot respect for Dan. We get along very well and I consider him a friend,” Diaz told reporters this week. “I feel like we’ve always viewed the game similarly.
“He’s a very creative guy, a little bit of an outside-the-box thinker, and we tried to always be the same way defensively.”
Miami head into the season full of confidence, but the Gators, who have their highest preseason ranking since Urban Meyer’s 2010 side, are equally as confident going into their first head-to-head clash since 2013 when Miami picked up a 21-16 victory.
“What are they going to see?” Florida coach Dan Mullen, who picked up 10 wins in his first season, said. “What’s our stamp?
“When every college person in the country turns on their TV, what’s their thought when they see the Florida Gators?
“We have to go out there and live up to that on the field.
“What do you want them to think about you?”
Miami has won 12 of its last 16 clashed against Florida, but the Gators don’t seem to care.
“I think this team is really special,” said Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks.
“We expect to go out there and win every Saturday and try to make it a playoff contender and win a championship here again. That’s the expectations here every year.”
Meanwhile, in an attempt to get his players pumped up for this game, Miami coach Diaz asked former Canes coach Jimmy Johnson, to speak to his players this week.
Johnson, who won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, went 3-1 against Florida during his time with Miami.
Redshirt freshman Jarren Williams, will make his first career start at quarterback for the Hurricanes.
In the meantime, the second televised game this weekend will come from Aloha Stadium, in Honolulu, Hawaii, where Arizona and Hawai’i will battle live at 10:30 pm on CBSSN.
