TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said that Saturday's game was about Florida State playing Florida. He said it was a top-10 showdown and not meant to serve as a statement in the polls, computer rankings or Bowl Championship Series.
Florida State lost on all accounts Saturday. The Seminoles lost at home, where they were 6-0 this season. They turned the ball over five times, including three interceptions and a fumble from senior quarterback EJ Manuel.
Elite teams win games like these, at home against their rivals, with everything at stake. Fisher said that this game didn't have added national significance, but Florida State's players admitted that there was frustration over the team's No. 10 spot in the BCS.
Florida State may be playing for the Atlantic Coast Conference title next week against Georgia Tech, but the Seminoles showed Saturday that they are flawed — and definitely aren't one of the best teams in college football.
No. 4 Florida had three fourth-quarter touchdowns, touchdown runs by Mike Gillislee and Matt Jones, and a Quinton Dunbar pass from Jeff Driskel, as the Gators defeated Florida State 37-26 on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium.
"We had opportunities in the football game, and we didn't take advantage of them," Fisher said. "They blew some, and we were able to make some plays back and forth, but they made more plays than us in the end."
Going into Saturday, Florida State had the nation's top defense in terms of total yards allowed, rushing defense and third-down conversion percentage. The Seminoles were fifth in scoring defense and fifth in passing defense.
Against the Gators, a team that has struggled offensively the past four games, Florida State allowed 244 rushing yards. Florida (11-1) pounded away at FSU, rushing 47 times and averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
And the Gators converted on 8 of 15 third-down opportunities, nearly double what Florida State had been allowing this season.
Florida State had allowed just three teams to surpass the 100-yard rushing mark, and its previous season-high allowed was 136 to Clemson.
"We weren't expecting that to happen," senior defensive tackle Everett Dawkins said. "I don't know what it is but we are going to get it fixed. We still have two more games to play. We have to get it fixed. There's no way that a Florida State defense can let that happen again."
And it wasn't just the ground game. Florida threw for just 150 yards — 147 from Driskel — but at key moments, Florida State couldn't come through with a stop.
On one situation in the third quarter, Florida State had Florida in a third-and-14 situation, but Driskel completed a 21-yard pass over the middle to Jordan Reed.
Florida State's defense had its moments, including 3.5 sacks by Bjoern Werner. But this was a defense that kept allowing the previously-anemic Gators to convert on third down.
The Seminoles can't win games like this, not with this many turnovers, and not with the defense falling short like this.
They can't send a message to voters like this. They have played just two Top 25 teams this season — Clemson and Florida — and allowed 37 points in both games.
Florida State was building toward something special, players felt. The Seminoles had won five games in a row, and they had hoped that a win over Florida would catapult them in the BCS.
But now, the Seminoles (10-2) must regroup and prepare for the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 1. A win there would give the program its first conference title since 2005.
"We've got to recover," Fisher said. "We have a lot to play for."
He's right — there is still a lot to play for. And there's a chance for win No. 12 in the Orange Bowl, a total Florida State hasn't had since 1999.
It wouldn't be a dreary season for Florida State. But it also wouldn't be the kind of year that Fisher & Co. had pictured.
