Two years ago, Florida State players celebrated a 24-15 win over rival Florida football at The Swamp by dancing around over UF’s logo at midfield and holding up a gator head.
Former FSU defensive lineman Jared Verse even dug up a piece of the field and took it with him.
Last year, the Florida Gators returned the favor when defensive lineman George Gumbs Jr. planted the flag at midfield following a 31-11 win over the Seminoles at Doak Campbell Stadium.
The Florida-Florida State rivalry can get heated. Florida (3-8) will try to cap off a disappointing season on a positive note with a win over the Seminoles (5-6) on Nov. 29 at The Swamp (4:30 p.m., ESPN2).
“They don’t like me,” said Florida left tackle Austin Barber, a Jacksonville native. “I don’t like them. There’s a lot of stuff that goes into that game.”
Florida has won four of its last six games against FSU and can play the role of spoiler with a win by knocking the Seminoles out of bowl eligibility. The Seminoles have lost 10 straight on the road with their last road win coming on Nov. 25, 2023, against the Gators at The Swamp.
“We’re gonna do our best to prevent them from having a bowl game,” Florida defensive lineman Caleb Banks said.
Florida interim coach Billy Gonzales, who is 0-4 since taking over for Billy Napier, will get one more shot to pick up his first career head coaching win in UF’s season finale. The game has been announced as a sellout, UF’s 18th straight at home. Florida will honor its seniors before a game, a list that includes Barber, Banks, center Jake Slaughter, defensive end Tyreak Sapp and cornerback Devin Moore
UF is looking to avoid its worst season since going 0-10-1 in 1979.
“We’re going to continue to keep grinding,” Gonzales said “I think that’s the only thing you do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and you stay grounded on where you’re at and try to better yourself and try to better the players”
Here are five storylines to watch for UF’s matchup with the Seminoles:
Can Florida football get off to a better start?
It couldn’t get much worse last week. Florida surrendered four straight touchdown drives to Tennessee to start the game while going three-and-out on its first three offensive possessions. The Gators trailed 31-0 at halftime to the Vols.
Florida was outgained 190-1 in yardage in the first quarter.
“Number one thing we always talk about, start fast, stay focused, and finish strong,” Gonzales said. “We didn’t start fast on either side of the ball.”
How well can Florida football contain FSU dual-threat QB Thomas Castellanos?
The 5-foot-11, 201-pound Castellanos, a Boston College transfer, can be dangerous with both his arm and his legs. He passed for 152 yards and rushed for 78 yards and a TD in FSU’s Week 1 upset over Alabama. For the season, Castellanos has passed for 2,520 yards and 13 TDs and has rushed for 480 yards and 8 TDs.
“He’s a quarterback that’s led a program in two different schools and he’s had a high success rate with what he’s done,” Gonzales said. “Again, extremely, extremely successful. Ranks first in the nation in passing yards per completion, 15th in yards per pass attempt and 28th in total offense. So, another dual-threat-type kid that can make plays.”
Castellanos projects similar to Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who the Gators faced on Nov. 15. Florida limited Chambliss to 10 yards rushing and sacked him five times, but Chambliss had a big day throwing the football, passing for 301 yards and 1 TD.
Can Florida football’s offensive line bounce back and protect quarterback DJ Lagway?
Florida is coming off a game against Tennessee in which it surrendered two sacks and four quarterback hurries as quarterback DJ Lagway had little time to throw. Barber also was whistled for a questionable holding penalty that wiped out an early 42-yard completion from Lagway to running back Jadan Baugh.
Florida State ranks fourth in the ACC in sacks with 29 and boasts a capable pass rush led by freshman defensive end Mandrell Desir, who has six sacks on the season.
“Every week it’s a different challenge, different opportunity,” Florida senior center Jake Slaughter said. “So, we will have a good plan for protection, and we’ll go out there and work and play clean football.”
Which team will establish the run, FSU or Florida football?
Florida’s run defense has struggled of late, allowing an average of 239.3 yards in the last three games. Opponents have had at least one running back rush for 100 yards or more in each of the contests (Dante Dowdell, 104 yards, 1 TD for Kentucky vs. UF; Kewan Lacy 224, 3 TDs for Ole Miss vs. UF and DeSean Bishop, 116 yards, 2 TDs for Tennessee vs. UF).
“The bottom line is we got to tackle better,” Gonzales said. “I think, talking to (defensive coordinator) Ron (Roberts), I think we had 17 missed tackles in the first half alone that we had an opportunity to make. That’s what we’ve got to be better.”
UF will try to continue to feed sophomore running back Jadan Baugh, who, at 904 yards, is 96 shy of becoming UF’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Kelvin Taylor in 2015. Lagway, who scampered for a season-high 38-yard run against Tennessee, also has shown more dual threat ability of late.
Can young players step up in Florida football’s banged up secondary?
With cornerbacks Dijon Johnson and Cormani McClain both out for UF’s season finale, the Gators are down to senior cornerback Devin Moore as the lone starting corner from the beginning of the season left in UF’s secondary.
Florida also could be without starting safety Bryce Thornton, who sat out last week with a knee injury.
True freshman cornerbacks Ben Hanks III and J’Vari Flowers will be counted on in man coverage throughout the game.
“Hopefully these young players that get the opportunity, this is their time to go play,” Gonzales said. “And at this part of the season, you know, you’re 14 weeks in the season. They’ve got to have matured by this point, so you put them in a position to go make those plays.”
Moore will likely match up against standout FSU 6-foot-6 junior receiver Duce Robinson, who leads the ACC in receiving with 53 catches for 1,021 yards and 6 TDs.
Prediction
Florida 20, Florida State 17: Senior kicker Trey Smack will boot a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds to help Florida avoid its worst season since going 0-10-1 in 1979. Sophomore running back Jadan Baugh will rush for more than 100 yards and score 2 TDs to become UF’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Kelvin Taylor in 2015.
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Florida football renews heated rivalry vs FSU, storylines to watch
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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