Florida State humbled in-state rival Florida with a 27-2 win this past Saturday.
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The Gators defense is going to be the difference maker here, as turnovers and field position is going to play a big factor.
First half: More of the same.
Florida State has a top-tier coach of their own in Jimbo Fisher. That was one of my favorites.
After all the ugly wins, FSU exposed Florida’s offense for what it is: An absolute mess.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Alligator Army(for Gators fans) and Tomahawk Nation (for Seminoles fans). And it’s obvious this team greatly misses starting quarterback Will Grier, who was suspended in mid-October for testing positive for a NCAA-banned substance. He led the Gators to the best record in the SEC in his first year. Our practices during that week were always very intense.
Florida State drew first blood in the 19th minute. If our defense can contain Cook and make them throw, we will be ok. We’ve got to be in the gym more. Ohio State, when you look at what they did against them, those were all common denominator, running quarterbacks, wildcat stuff. We will be ready to play.
Take on the game: We must find some offense. No production lately and not enough passion.
Florida’s offense only seriously threatened to score twice. I remember Darnell Dockett and some players jumping on our F logo. Dockett then shoved Marcus so I hit Dockett with a two piece (two punches) and that’s when all hell broke loose! “Those guys up the road, we don’t like them and they don’t like us”.
Florida: Egbunu’s last double-double was a 20-point, 14-rebound performance against Memphis on December 31, 2013…. It was also the Seminoles’ third straight win and fifth in the last six seasons over the Gators.
Meanwhile, the Seminoles’ defense thwarted Florida’s only real threat of the quarter when Gators coach Jim McElwain opted to go for a first down on fourth-and-2 from the FSU 20 late in the quarter and a bad snapped forced Harris to slip at the 26 for a loss of 6.
For the game: The defense gave Florida plenty of possessions before the collapse in the fourth quarter.
Hardin also missed a 51-yard attempt at the end of the first half.
“He’s mentioned it a lot, actually”, safety Keanu Neal said. There is no national championship race to concern themselves with.
The junior quarterback has split time with the widely inconsistent Everett Golson this year and neither have played particularly spectacular. That’s my favorite moment. We win 33-14.
“At this time of year, everybody’s beat up”, McElwain said. “We just weren’t able to put things together”.
“Yeah, that was a big play”. “We knew we had to change and came out full of energy”. I remember during our practices that week before the game it rained a lot.
Harris will need to be solid, but not spectacular if the Gators expect to win.
Take on the game: This year’s game should be close.
“Give them credit. They won the game”. Both teams will play hard.
Ultimately, Florida has too many holes on offense to match the firepower of the Seminoles. It was loud and lively at “The Swamp” as FSU and UF met for their annual clash, but throughout the evening the Seminoles’ defense squashed any possible enthusiasm the Gator offense tried to generate.
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Offensive lineman Jonathan Marvin (01-05)Memorable Moment: My favorite memory would have to be winning at Doak Campbell in 2004. “And we’ll get a good one“. “If there was something there, I would’ve told them”. “At halftime Coach (Michael White) challenged us to do better, in particular guarding the ball”. A few keys would be to establish the run game, and control the time of posession. “I’m really excited about the opportunity”. “And it isn’t just play better, but do their job so he’s allowed to do his”. Without putting up some kind of a fight, the prize of an unexpected SEC East title could feel more like a punishment. Stay the course with Antonio Callaway.
