As America takes this Thanksgiving weekend to reflect on all that they are grateful for, the college football world turns its attention to rivalry week.
With a bevy of historic matchups on the slate for the last weekend of November, the intrastate showdown between the 6-4 Florida Gators and the 11-0 Florida State Seminoles is one of Saturday's most intriguing. With a total of 157 players from the state of Florida participating in the game, including 11 players that went to the same high school as a player on the other team's roster, the intensity levels are elevated when the two schools get together.
"On to FSU, one of the great rivalries in all of college football," Florida head coach Will Muschamp said in a press conference Monday.
"Any time you're going to compete against somebody you know, the worst thing you can do is not play well. You want to go play well in front of your buddies and that sort of thing. It's a very intense rivalry. It's a very emotional game as far as that's concerned. Again, it's one of the great rivalries in all of college football."
Saturday's matchup also marks the last game for Muschamp as Florida's coach. After four years of leading the Gators, Muschamp (28-20 at Florida) won't be back for a fifth. He was carried off the field by his players after last week's 52-3 victory of Eastern Kentucky, and it will definitely be an emotional sideline inside of Doak Campbell as UF tries to send their coach off with a win.
"I think emotion always counts, but I think at the end of the day, execution wins," Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said. "I think emotion is going to be critical. Hopefully we'll be emotional. To play Florida, our kids will be high. Our kids will be excited. I think you'll see two teams that are emotionally and physically ready to play, and then who can go out and execute and win the battles in the physical and mental execution will be the team that wins."
FSU enters Saturday's game versus Florida on a school- and ACC-record 27-game win streak. The streak dates back to Dec. 1, 2012 when the Seminoles beat Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship game. The game before that, played on Nov. 24, 2012, was a loss to the Florida Gators -- making UF the last team to beat FSU.
"We still got a lot of guys on the team that went up there," Muschamp said of the 2012 victory. "It was a great game, they had an outstanding football team, and we played well, got out to a fast start in the game.
"It's going to be critical for us there to take care of the football. We did that, we were able to run the ball and I think that's something that we're going to need to be able to do come Saturday. But there's no question that we've been a pretty good road team as far as handling ourselves on the road and that certainly is a very SEC-like atmosphere in Tallahassee."
With a win this Saturday, the Gators have the opportunity to end the Seminoles' winning streak, knock them from the ranks of the unbeaten and crush their hopes of repeating as national champions. In order for Florida to achieve something that hasn't been done in two years, they'll have to lean heavily on their No. 11-ranked defense and a revitalized rushing attack.
The Gators enter with a defense led by versatile lineman Dante Fowler Jr. and sophomore cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III. Fowler has 48 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 15 QB hurries on the season, while Hargreaves ranks second in the SEC with 12 pass breakups. In their last three victories, Florida's defense has only allowed a combined 33 points.
The offense put up 418 yards rushing in their upset win over rival Georgia a month ago and have rushed for over 200 yards five times this season.
"Our ACC regular season is over with, now we have to play our biggest rival as far as Florida and playing these guys," Fisher said. "They've got tons of good players on defense, very good, very multiple in their fronts, good at all three levels, up front, mid-second level and third-level defenders.
"Offensively, very good running backs, the offensive line is big. Treon Harris brings a really nice dimension to them as run and pass, really emerging as a heck of a player."
The Florida-Florida State series began in 1958 and has produced fantastic games throughout the years, including 20 matchups where both teams have been ranked in the Associated Press' Top 25 poll. Although not the case this Saturday, each team has a lot on the line which will make for another great chapter of this storied rivalry.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Florida's rushing offense against Florida State's front seven on defense
For a second straight week, the Seminoles will face a dominant rushing attack in a Florida unit that averages 197.1 yards rushing per game.
Freshman quarterback Treon Harris along with running backs Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor lead the Gators' 40th-ranked rushing offense. Harris has been the catalyst for UF's recent good play (winning three out of their last four games) and allows a dual-threat addition to the offense because he can throw the ball effectively when needed.
"He brings a dimension in the running game, you know what I mean, and I think, again, they haven't turned it over," Fisher said. "I think turnovers at times for them in the past have been critical for them, and I don't think they've turned the ball over. And Treon can throw the football now. Remember, we recruited him. I thought he was pretty good. I thought he was real good."
Florida State's front seven was gashed last week by a Boston College offense that likes to do the same thing as this Florida Gators team -- run it and run it a lot. The Seminoles defense gave up 240 yards rushing to the Eagles last Saturday, something that can't happen against Florida.
The duo of Terrance Smith and Reggie Northrup must play better at the second level and tackle Harris and the two backs in the open field. Both have a chance to go over 100 tackles each for the season in the UF game. Defensive linemen Mario Edwards Jr., Eddie Goldman and Derrick Mitchell Jr. must stay disciplined in their gaps and control containment so Harris can't get outside the tackles.
The Gators offense is based around one element, the run, which makes the matchup simple. If the Seminoles can stop Harris, Jones and Taylor, they'll most likely win the football game. If not, Florida has a very good opportunity to upset the No. 3 Seminoles.
TRENDING UP
Florida State: The Seminoles have won 13 straight home games at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Florida: The Gators have converted on 36 out of their last 39 trips inside the red zone (92.31%).
TRENDING DOWN
Florida State: The Seminoles have lost seven out of the last 10 games they've played against the Gators.
Florida: The Gators have turned the ball over at least once in each of their 10 games this season.
INJURY REPORT
Florida State: Out for Game -- OL Chad Mavety (concussion); Out For Season -- DB Colin Blake (shoulder), DT Nile Lawrence-Stample (pectoral muscle), LB Delvin Purifoy (ankle)
Florida: Out for Season -- LB Neiron Ball (knee), LB Jarrad Davis (knee), RB Mark herndon (knee), DT Thomas Holley (hip), CB J.C. Jackson (shoulder), TE Jake McGee
QUOTE BOARD
"Will is a super human being. That's why he's a friend of mine. I've known him for a long time. You wouldn't expect anything else. Will is a great competitor, a great coach. He'll have a tremendous future in this business and continue to have a future in this business, and that does not surprise me one iota. I would expect nothing but that from Will." -- Fisher on Muschamp's handling of his dismissal
"I really appreciate it. You spend a lot of time with these young men and that's part of your job when you want to be a football coach. It's not just about Saturday afternoon. It's about Monday through Friday, it's about a grandmother passing away and handling it the right way. It's about doing a lot of things that people have no idea that your job entails. That's something that you enjoy being a mentor, slash father figure, slash friend, slash coach. You wear a lot of hats in our job and that's part of it." -- Muschamp on the support he received from his players after last week's victory
"I hate Florida. I've always hated Florida. They didn't offer me and I wasn't interested. I didn't like Florida from the get-go, so it didn't make a difference. I just don't like Florida, like their colors, just everything." -- FSU linebacker Reggie Northrup on the Florida Gators
DID YOU KNOW?
The Gators will mark the Seminoles' eighth opponent ranked in the nation's top 40 in total defense: Clemson (1), Louisville (7), Florida (11), Miami (15), Boston College (17), Virginia (26), Syracuse (34) and Wake Forest (39). FSU has beat each team and outperformed each team's defensive average.
LOOKING FORWARD
Florida State will travel to Charlotte, N.C. where they'll face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in their third straight ACC championship game next Saturday.
