Role Playing: Florida Gators could be football heroes this weekend

Saturday’s matchup between Florida and Florida State won’t be the first time these two teams have met with one team hoping to play spoiler to the other’s postseason aspirations.

This weekend will be different, however, for the Gators.

They’ll assume the role of spoiler when they take the field against the Seminoles, but thanks to the animosity toward FSU throughout this season, Florida has the unique opportunity to become national heroes on Saturday.

Making enemies

FSU hasn’t done the best job of making friends around college football this season.

As with any successful team, no one likes the team who always wins — unless of course it’s the team you root for. So it’s natural that the Seminoles have developed some natural enemies outside of their usual rivals, especially those who are fighting the ‘Noles for one of those four playoff berths.

But even more so this season, there’s been a more concentrated and passionate hatred toward FSU from outside Tallahassee due to the off-the-field issues surrounding the team.

Whether it’s a incident with quarterback Jameis Winston making poor decisions like shouting obscenities in a public place on school grounds or stealing crab legs from a Publix, FSU’s leader hasn’t made it easy for others to root for him.

Head coach Jimbo Fisher’s lauding of his players’ character and the growing perception that the local police is purposefully looking the other way when it comes to disciplining the Seminoles hasn’t helped FSU’s case either.

All of these things have led to feelings like the ones left in the comments section of one of our articles:

I really hate Florida State now. They are gonna make me root…. for Florida. Please excuse me as I go cry in a corner.

C’mon Gators, we need you more now than ever.

Hopefully the Gators can give that punk team a taste of SEC football. I’m pulling for them! Knock em out!

When FSU played Notre Dame I actually rooted for Notre Dame. I HATE Notre Dame, look what FSU has done me.

FSU has officially become the villain of the 2014 college football season.

What kind of impact would a Florida win have?

The Gators aren’t playing for much themselves in regard to postseason implications. But with their head coach on his way out and coaching his final game this week, the impact of a victory would be a huge emotional lift for a program that’s suffered through a disappointing two seasons.

As a head coach of the Gators, there’s isn’t likely a better sendoff than a victory against Florida’s biggest rival. And for someone like Will Muschamp, an outcome similar to that of Ron Zook in 2004 would bring a lot of momentum and optimism to the team as it heads into the bowl season.

It would certainly be a feel-good story to cap off an incredible SEC season.

Outside of Gainesville, a Florida win would also have a huge impact on the SEC and the conference’s chances of claiming two spots in the inaugural College Football Playoff.

As it stands now, the SEC has two teams — Alabama and Mississippi State — in the playoff at No. 1 and No. 4, respectively. If the top six teams all win out, MSU is likely the one left out of the CFP in the end, considering TCU and Ohio State (No. 5 and No. 6) would both possess conference championships and would pass MSU.

Because of FSU’s poor strength of schedule, a loss by FSU would knock them out of CFP consideration and would open the door up for other teams behind the Seminoles in the CFP rankings to jump up into the top four spots, and also increases the possibility of Alabama and MSU obtaining two of those playoff berths.

Simply put, Florida will have a lot of fans on Saturday.

Does UF actually stand a chance of winning?

If you listen to Las Vegas, it doesn’t look good for the Gators as FSU opened up as a 7.5-point favorite on the betting lines.

There’s no question that FSU is the more talented and complete team of the two. This season’s production proves that.

Winston, aside from his off-the-field issues, is one of the best quarterbacks and smartest players on the field. With playmakers abound, plus the added advantage of playing at home, FSU should be the clear favorite in this matchup.

For the Gators, their hope lies in the intangibles. Muschamp’s imminent departure will be a huge motivator for the players. It’s no secret how much the players have supported him during his four years and they’ve repeatedly stated the want to send him out a winner.

Rivalry games like this one are always close and with the emotional motivation that Florida has coming into this game, it could be enough to compensate for the discrepancy in talent.

FSU has dodged some bullets this season, but the Seminoles have been far from convincing in many of their games. Several times, in fact, FSU’s games have come down to the final minutes (i.e. Clemson, Notre Dame and Miami).

Florida hasn’t been consistent this season, but it has the pieces defensively to contain the Seminoles’ offensive attack.

As long as the Gators’ defense plays up to its potential and Florida’s offense stays turnover-free, the Gators are capable of squeaking out a win and ending Florida State’s run of 27 straight wins.