Florida State at Florida: Last Chance at a Bowl Berth against Undefeated Arch Rival for Gators

Gators Preparing for Final Home Game of the Season against the Seminoles

After their 33-31 loss to the Missouri Tigers  on a go ahead field goal with eight seconds remaining, the Florida Gators return to The Swamp for their regular season finale as they welcome their arch rival, the undefeated and fifth-ranked Florida State Seminoles. 

The rivalry between the Gators and the Seminoles is one of the best in college football and Saturday night will no doubt have its moments of bad blood. 

“One of the more historic rivalries in all of college football,” said Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier when describing the matchup against the Seminoles in his press conference on Monday.

“This is a game that matters 24/7, 365. We’re certainly excited about being in The Swamp Saturday night.”

Unfortunately for both teams, though, they will be without their respective starting quarterbacks due to season-ending injury.

Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier said in his press conference on Monday that Florida QB Graham Mertz will use the next two weeks to heal his collarbone injury before any further decisions are made on how it needs to be treated, meaning he will be out against the Seminoles.

Florida State QB Jordan Travis suffered a a gruesome dislocated ankle injury against Northern Alabama that ended his season and, subsequently, his career at Florida State.

What’s at stake for the Seminoles couldn’t be higher. They’re on the cusp of appearing in the College Football Playoff for a second time. A loss to the 5-6 Gators would put a dent in those hopes, even if they were to win the ACC Championship game against the Louisville Cardinals. 

This game is reminiscent of the 1997 matchup between these two schools, which is considered to be one of the best games in this historic rivalry, especially for the Gators. In 1997, the Gators upset the then undefeated Seminoles 32-29 in The Swamp. That loss prevented the Seminoles from making back-to-back appearances in the national championship. 

On Saturday night, Florida has a chance to do the same thing to the Seminoles and if they were to pull off the upset, they would be bowl eligible for a second-straight year. Given how many young players Florida has played this season, those extra practices and the extra game would be incredibly beneficial. 

Here is what the Gators need to do if they want to upset the undefeated Seminoles. 

Block Florida State’s Defensive Front Effectively

The Gators were without starting left tackle Austin Barber and his replacement, Damieon George, who normally plays at right tackle, went down with an injury against Missouri. Barber’s status against FSU is undetermined as of right now as well as George’s. If they cannot play, it will be Kamryn Waites starting at left tackle and Lyndell Hudson II at right tackle. 

Center Jake Slaughter started once again for Kingsley Eguakun, whose ailing foot injury has kept him sidelined more often than not this season. Given that it will be Eguakun’s last game in The Swamp due to him being a senior, it wouldn’t be surprising to se him starting again if he’s healthy enough. 

The Gators offensive line has been a revolving unit this season, but they are going to have to bring their best against the Seminoles, who have one of the best defensive lineman in the country. 

Seminoles DL Jared Verse, a projected first round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has 4.5 sacks on the season. Verse plays just about everywhere along the defensive line, but does most of his damage off the edge, rushing the passer. 

Kalen DeLoach is another Seminoles defensive lineman the Gators will have to account for. DeLoach is 4th in the ACC in sacks with seven and has 10.5 tackles for loss on the season. 

The Seminoles are going to want to pressure Gators QB Max Brown, who’s making his first career start for the Gators, often. It’s up to the Gators offensive line to keep him upright. That said, Brown proved against Missouri that his legs can be a factor on scrambles when plays break down, which he will need to do again against the Noles.

Get the Running Game Going with QB Max Brown

Even with a banged up offensive line and with Max Brown in at QB, the Gators were able to get the running game going late in the second half against Missouri, largely in part to Brown’s designed QB runs on zone read plays.  

Florida State ranks 43rd in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 139.6 yards per game and four yards an attempt. 

It won’t be easy, but the Gators need to get the running game going to take some of the pressure off of redshirt freshman QB Max Brown, who will be making his first career start in college ball. 

Napier discussed what the Gators need to do with Brown based around his experience in his Monday press conference.

“I think, ultimately, we just have to play a brand of football relative to Max and his experience. What he knows and what he’s got confident in. And I think we’ve still got to feature the players that we know are important each week.”

Brown’s running ability will be a factor, but Florida will need to lean on RBs Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson in the running game as well. Etienne and Johnson combined for 214 yards and two touchdowns last season against the Seminoles and will be looking to have similar success on Saturday night.

Contain WRs Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson 

Arguably one of the best receivers in college football is Seminoles WR Keon Coleman, who transferred to Florida State from Michigan State before the 2023 season. 

Coleman’s combination of speed and size makes him a very difficult receiver to cover, but Florida’s secondary needs to be able to cover him in one-on-one situations, which are plentiful with Florida defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong’s defense. 

Along with Coleman, Florida State has another tall receiver in 6’7” Johnny Wilson, who boxes out almost every defensive back he goes against on back shoulder throws along the sideline. 

Between Coleman and Wilson, Florida’s secondary is going to have their hands full. If Florida’s defensive front can pressure the quarterback, those one-on-one opportunities become much easier to defend. 

Pressure Seminoles QB Tate Rodemaker 

With Florida State being without Jordan Travis, the Seminoles will be going to redshirt junior Tate Rodemaker. This will be Rodemaker’s second start for the Seminoles, with his last coming against Jacksonville State in 2020. Rodemaker has appeared in several games during his FSU career, though, including last Saturday which saw him throw for 217 yards and two touchdowns. 

Napier discussed preparing for Rodemaker in his press conference on Monday and said he’s known Rodemaker for a long time because his father knew Rodemaker’s father. Napier also said he recruited Rodemaker when he was at Louisiana.

“He’s acquired reps throughout his time there. He will have a good grasp of what they do. A little bit different type of player, but certainly he’s got his strengths.”

With Rodemaker coming into a very hostile environment, the Seminoles will likely look towards their running game to take some of the pressure off their young QB. 

Prevent RB Trey Benson from Making Explosive Runs 

The Seminoles have a very talented RB in Trey Benson, who has 743 yards on 119 carries (6.2 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns this season. Benson has five touchdown runs of 42+ yards this season, including a 62-yard TD run and an 85-yard TD run in the same game against Virginia Tech earlier this season. 

Benson rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns against the Gators last season.

Florida’s defense had their work cut out for them a week ago against the best RB in the SEC in Cody Schrader, who finished the game with 148 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries, including his 42-yard TD run where he went untouched into the end zone. 

Florida’s defense is going to need to prevent those types of runs from happening with Benson.

Final Thoughts

It’s a bit much to say that the Gators have “nothing to lose” against the Seminoles because they are playing for a bowl berth, but they should play with the mentality of leaving everything they have on the field against Florida State.

This is a home game against an arch rival who have everything to lose. The Seminoles are playing a quarterback, who does have some experience, but is making his second career start.

The Gators will have the home crowd behind them and for the last two seasons under Napier, that home crowd has changed how his team performs.

It should be a fun night in The Swamp to end the 2023 regular season to say the least.