Gators must refocus: Before Bama, there’s another shot at FSU
By Andrew Olson
Published:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Since Florida has just clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game, it’s hard not to start talking about the Dec. 3 rematch with No. 1 Alabama. But before then, Jim McElwain’s squad has another big game to worry about: FSU.
Since 1990, it’s hard to imagine ever referring the annual clash with Florida State as a possible letdown game, but the 2016 season is unlike many in recent memory. UF doesn’t normally play a conference road game before traveling to FSU, and rarely has the team’s shot at the division title come down to one final snap, a fourth-down run at the goal-line with 0:03 on the clock.
The Gators gave LSU everything they had, overcoming significant injuries on both sides of the ball. Motivated by Tigers fans, players and administrators, as well as various media members, accusing Florida of being afraid to play LSU, the Gators stepped up and overachieved, playing nearly mistake-free football (only one penalty, no turnovers). Though the defense bent at times, allowing the Tigers five trips into the red zone, it refused to break.
After weeks of defending themselves but avoiding trash talk, the Gators were determined to rub it in and seemingly get under the whole state of Louisiana’s skin. They planted a flag. They mockingly sang a LSU song. They played with a cat skeleton. It’s behavior one would more likely expect in the UF-FSU rivalry than UF-LSU.
That competitive edge, however, and the way it helped lift the team into overachieving, is something the Gators need to be able to tap into Saturday night against the Seminoles. Since Tim Tebow graduated in 2009, Florida has gone 1-5 against Florida State, the lone victory coming 2012. For the UF players who are 0-3 or 0-2 against FSU, Saturday could be the last chance to change that.
For WR Ahmad Fulwood, DT Joey Ivie, LB Daniel McMillian and WR Chris Thompson, all 2013 signees from the Sunshine State, Saturday is guaranteed to be the seniors’ last opportunity to get a win over UF’s biggest rival.
One of their classmates, Alex Anzalone, won’t get the chance due to a broken arm. Jarrad Davis, also a 2013 signee, has missed the past two games after aggravating his badly sprained ankle against Arkansas on Nov. 5. For junior cornerbacks Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson, this will likely be their third and final shot at the Seminoles before declaring early for the NFL Draft.
The Seminoles, of course, will be plenty motivated to make it a clean 4-0 over the past four years. Because of that stray ’12 victory, there haven’t been any recent FSU senior classes who can brag about going a perfect 4-0 against Florida, despite the Seminoles having dominated the rivalry over the past six years.
While playing FSU is plenty of motivation in and of itself, the ending to last season is arguably the biggest source of motivation for the non-freshmen on this year’s squad. Despite three weeks of warning signs leading up to it, last year’s 27-2 loss to the Seminoles is when the Gators truly started moving in the wrong direction. After that loss to Florida State, the newly 10-2 Gators dropped the SEC Championship Game 29-15 to Alabama. And a checked-out Gators squad walked into the Citrus Bowl, where Michigan blew them out 41-7.
That final three-game losing skid convinced many prognosticators that Florida’s 2015 division crown was a fluke and that Tennessee would win the SEC East in 2016. The competitive edge of embracing the underdog role and playing with a chip on their shoulders had worked out well for the Gators, with last Saturday’s game against LSU to clinch the division title the perfect example.
All season, Gators players have said that they learned from last season, and that it won’t happen again. They can prove it by going into FSU, where they’re a 7-point underdog, and pulling the upset, again.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
