Gators Turn Their Attention To Rivalry Game With Florida State
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – There is an array of facts that can be used to paint a picture of Florida's recent dominance over Florida State.
The Gators have won six consecutive games in the series, their longest streak since winning six in a row over the Seminoles from 1981-86. In three of the last four meetings, Florida was ranked in the top five and the Seminoles not ranked at all. Since FSU last defeated Florida in 2003, the Gators have won more national championships (two) than the once-dominant Seminoles have won ACC titles (one).
But here's perhaps the most difficult fact of all to comprehend: the Florida-FSU rivalry hasn't been close since Urban Meyer took over the Gators in 2005. Meyer is not only 5-0 vs. FSU, but the Gators have won by an average of 24.8 points.
In Bobby Bowden's final five games against Florida, the only time the Seminoles lost by less than 27 points was in 2006, a 21-14 Florida win on the way to Meyer's first national title.
The Gators will try to make it seven in a row over FSU on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium as the rivalry takes on a different look. For the first time since 1975, Bowden won't be on the Seminoles' sideline when the schools meet. And for the first time since Meyer joined the rivalry, the Gators aren't favored to win.
“They are a better FSU team than we've seen in the past,'' Florida safety Will Hill said Tuesday.
Meyer also sees a different FSU team under first-year head coach Jimbo Fisher, primarily on defense. Longtime Bowden defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews retired and was replaced by Mark Stoops, who has installed a new defensive scheme that features a lot less man-to-man coverage and all-out blitzes.
“A very, very talented team,'' Meyer said. “They have very good personnel on defense. Their [linebacker] crew is as good as they've had since '05 when we first played them. They are very fast on defense.''
For the first time since 2004, the Gators (7-4) are unranked for their annual clash with the No. 22-ranked Seminoles (8-3). That has boosted hope among FSU fans that this could be the year the rivalry shifts back into their favor.
The last time the Gators entered the FSU game unranked was the night FSU unveiled a statue of Bowden outside Doak Campbell Stadium and renamed the field in his honor. Florida won 20-13, spoiling Bowden's special night and opening the era of Florida's recent dominance.
While much of the buzz entering this year's game is on how this could be FSU's best chance at finally beating Meyer, the Gators have a different outlook.
Florida can in some ways salvage what has been an up-and-down season by knocking off the Seminoles and completing another sweep of its primary rivals: Tennessee, Georgia and FSU. The Gators enter Saturday's game with a 16-1 record against the three schools since Meyer arrived and have won nine in a row since a 2007 loss to Georgia.
“Florida State – the Team Out West they say,'' Gators running back Emmanuel Moody said. “We know the magnitude of this rivalry and how important it is to us. We just want to win this game and keep this tradition going on.''
“I don't want to be the team that loses,'' said Florida senior safety Ahmad Black. “It's a pretty big deal here.''
The attitude in Tallahassee is one of cautious optimism. While the Seminoles do appear better equipped – at least on paper – to make a strong bid at snapping Florida's winning streak, they know the Gators won't roll over on Senior Day at FSU.
“I'm sort of expecting them to play like a top-five team,'' FSU quarterback Christian Ponder said Monday. “[A win] would be pretty big for us. That's one of our goals.''
The Seminoles enter on a two-game win streak with wins over Clemson and Maryland. In his first season, Fisher's eight wins are tied with Larry Jones (8-4 in 1971) for the most victories for an FSU coach in his first season.
What's his view of this season's Gators?
“We're going to have our hands full,'' Fisher said at his Monday press conference. “They've lost a couple of heartbreakers. Sometimes you go through those years. They're a well-coached team and it's a great challenge for us, but it's a great opportunity, also.''
Florida senior center Mike Pouncey once committed to FSU with his brother Maurkice. The Pouncey twins made a stop in Gainesville on the way back to their Lakeland home and decided Gainesville was the place for them.
In his final regular-season game, Pouncey ranks Saturday's showdown with FSU an important one for many different reasons.
Sure, the Gators have had a sub-par season by their standards, and they didn't win the SEC East, and they are currently unranked, but a win over FSU would make all that a little less painful.
“We are going to look at this game as our bowl game,'' Pouncey said. “This is the biggest game of the year.''
