Florida State and Florida will renew their rivalry with a top-15 match-up at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville on Saturday. The contest always carries big recruiting implications and in-state bragging rights, but there will be more than that on the line for both schools come this weekend.
It wasn’t a scenario that many anticipated coming into the season, but Florida actually has more to lose on Saturday. The Gators were ranked eighth in last week’s College Football Playoff rankings and with only one loss, have a chance to get into the 4-team tournament. At the moment, Florida seems like a long shot but with wins over FSU and No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Championship, that could change.
A Florida State victory would give the Seminoles 10 wins for a fifth time in six years and could be enough to propel FSU into a New Year’s Six bowl — most likely the Peach. An ACC and national championship may be out of the question for Florida State this year, but a victory over the Gators followed by a bowl win would probably cement a fourth straight top-10 finish.
A victory for the Gators would be a big step in affirming the hiring of head coach Jim McElwain, who replaced an embattled Will Muschamp prior to the season. Muschamp led Florida to a Sugar Bowl appearance in 2012, but that was followed by a 4-8 campaign in 2013 — the Gators’ worst finish in over three decades. With the misfortune of having to replace Urban Meyer, who led Florida to national championships in 2006 and 2008 as well as a Sugar Bowl victory in 2009, Muschamp was let go late last season after four years at Florida.
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher won his only head-to-head match-up with Urban Meyer as the Seminoles defeated Florida 31-7 in Tallahassee in 2010 before going 3-1 against Muschamp. A 37-26 victory in 2012 was the lone Gator victory over a Fisher-coached FSU team. McElwain being able to beat Fisher in his first match-up with FSU — something both Meyer and Muschamp failed to do — could potentially swing the balance of power in the state.
Conversely, Florida may feel added to pressure to beat Florida State this year. Many feel that with so many underclassmen, the Seminoles are more poised to make a run at a national championship in 2016 and perhaps 2017. Being unable to beat FSU at home during what most consider a rebuilding year would be a significant damper on an otherwise outstanding season for Florida.
The FSU-Florida rivalry may not yet be what it was throughout the 1990’s when a national championship appearance was on the line for both teams seemingly every season, but Saturday’s contest will mark just the second time since 2004 that both teams entered the game ranked in the top 15. With major bowl appearances and top-10 finishes on the line Saturday, it may not be long before the Florida State-Florida rivalry has national relevance on a regular basis once again.
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