There’s no tangible way to best describe his intrinsic value to his team other than to say that Florida State’s Dalvin Cook has “it,” said the man tasked with trying to slow him down Saturday.

Florida coach Jim McElwain said the Seminoles’ sophomore tailback is a player capable of making a difference every time he touches the ball, so containing him will be the key when the in-state rivals meet at The Swamp for Saturday’s regular season finale for both teams.

“The guy’s a real guy,” McElwain said. “He’s a fire-breather, he’s a glass-eater, he’s a difference-maker. Some guys in college football, they have ‘it.’ Anytime they touch it, they can make ‘it’ happen and hit a home run. This guy has ‘it.’ ”

His 75-yard touchdown scamper in the first quarter of the 23-13 loss at Clemson on Nov. 7 marked the fourth time this year that Cook has scored on a run of at least 70 yards.

Cook, a speedy, 5-foot-11, 202-pounder from Miami, enters the game between the 14th-ranked Seminoles and the No. 10 Gators ranked first in the ACC and third nationally with an average of 147.5 rushing yards per game.

He has chewed up 1,475 yards and 16 touchdowns on 185 carries. That whopping 7.97 yards per carry paces the nation. He’s also totaled 19 catches for 207 yards and another score to fuel the FSU offense.

“I hope we’ll be able to tackle the guy,” McElwain quipped of Cook, one of 11 national semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award that annually goes to the nation’s top running back. “There haven’t been many teams that have.”

Florida didn’t last year. Cook ran for 144 yards in the Seminoles’ 24-19 victory.

Cook, who became Florida State’s all-time single-season rushing leader earlier this season, has two of the 10 best single seasons in FSU history. He needs just 17 yards to become the seventh Seminole with 2,500 career rushing yards.

Cook has rushed for more than 200 yards in two games this year (South Florida and Miami) and eclipsed 100 yards 12 times over the course of his 23-game career, including the past seven games.

Most recently, Cook rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries during last weekend’s 52-13 thumping of Chattanooga.