Florida Gators, Miami Hurricanes to open 2019 at Citrus Bowl

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes are close to agreeing to open the 2019 season at the Citrus Bowl.

The Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes are closing in on a deal to open the 2019 college football season at the Citrus Bowl as part of Florida Citrus Sports’ new Orlando Kickoff Game, Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

#Gators and #Canes close to signing a deal to play in Orlando Citrus Bowl. … My story: http://t.co/rIq6HCp5hj

— Mike Bianchi (@BianchiWrites) October 7, 2015

The two in-state rivals will undoubtedly be a large draw to the Citrus Bowl for the opening game. The two have played off-and-on for much of the last 30 years with their last meeting coming in South Florida in 2013, with the Hurricanes scoring the upset and sending the Gators to a disappointing season in which they missed bowl eligibility for the first time since 1990.

There will be no love lost when the two meet again.

But after that meeting there were no scheduled meetings between the two schools. It has been difficult for Miami and Florida to get each other on the schedule for one reason or another.

With the advent of these neutral site college football kickoff games, though, that opportunity appears to be coming around again — at least for an occasional meetup on a neutral site for a one-off game.

Orlando is beginning its own kickoff game series next year as Florida State will play Ole Miss. The second game in the series will take place in 2018 when Alabama takes on Louisville. The 2017 game has not yet been announced.

Seemingly the moment Florida Citrus Sports announced the Orlando Kickoff, the rumors began that Florida and Miami would potentially face off in a future game. Possibly even multiple games.

The report the Gators and Hurricanes are close to an agreement to meet at the Citrus Bowl is no surprise. The fact it is actually, finally happening is good news for Gators, Hurricanes and football fans in Orlando.