The Florida Gators have had a disappointing season, but can they pull of the biggest upset of the year against their rival the Florida State Seminoles?
In a road victory against the No. 11 Georgia Bulldogs on November 1, 2014 the Florida Gators rushed the football for 418 yards which was the most they’ve accomplished in an SEC game since 1975. Running backs Kelvin Taylor and Matt Jones both ran the ball 25 times for more than 190 yards and two touchdowns a piece.
The Gators will have to repeat some of the magic they created against Georgia when they travel to Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee to play the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles to pull off the biggest upset in college football of the year.
Initially I was sipping the Miami Hurricanes kool-aid thinking the Hurricanes could defeat the Florida State Seminoles two weeks ago when they met up in Miami Gardens.
After seeing the Hurricanes get defeated, and Florida State coming back to win the game, once again facing a halftime deficit, I realized the real reason Miami lost. The Hurricanes could’t pull off the upset against the Seminoles because they needed to lose in order for the Gators to pull of an even bigger upset.
In all seriousness, the Seminoles have squeaked by their competition in most of their games this year and soon enough it will bite them in their backside. On Saturday, the Seminoles luck might just run out.
The Florida Gators have had one of the most disappointing seasons and it says a lot because they could potentially end the year with a 7-4 record and a quality win against Georgia. The Gators have already lost to Alabama, LSU and South Carolina, all of which are great SEC conference opponents. If the Gators want to win they need to learn from their past mistakes, finish games strong, and run the football.
Playing against the SEC competition every week already gives Gators a strong advantage against the Seminoles. The ACC is the weakest conference among the power five conferences and the SEC is the strongest. Playing in the SEC for the Gators historically is never a troubling task, but this season it’s been a lot different.
Since the Gators have had such a disappointing season, there is still a chance at redemption. In a rivalry where the Gators lead 34-22-2, in the last few years the Seminoles have looked like the more dominant team. Last year the Seminoles thrashed the Gators 37-7 inside of The Swamp.
If the Gators can collect this win they not only pickup steam before playing a bowl game, they also will set themselves up for next season when they look to rebound from a regrettable year.
One of the biggest reasons this upset should, and quite possibly could happen is because of head coach Will Muschamp. Earlier in the year it was reported that Muschamp was going to get replaced at the end of the year.
Now that the year is almost over, Muschamp can coach his Gators to the biggest upset in college football this year. If Muschamp can leave on a high note, and have the Gators ready to play in their bowl game, it would set the Gators up for success in their next season. It also may change the perception of Muschamp on his way out from a bit of a failed mission at Florida.
Coming from a die-hard Miami Hurricanes fan, and a new Florida Gators lover (it’s a bit conflicted, I understand), there’s nothing more than I want to see than Florida State lose. As much as I love watching Jameis Winston play, they are still the Seminoles.
If the Gators can pull off this upset, they won’t only make me and the residents of Miami happy, they will make the other universities within the country such as TCU, Baylor and Ohio State very thankful. Isn’t that what it’s all about on Thanksgiving, giving thanks?
Then let us give thanks that Florida may play David to Florida State’s Goliath. Until that point, Florida needs to have all the smooth stones that need ready, but make sure you run the ball about at least 50 times again.
So to the Florida Gators I say, “Please shock the world. There are so many counting on you to finally do it.”
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