No. 3 Florida State is 11-0… the unranked Florida Gators are 6-4.
Florida State is the defending national champion… Florida is defending nothing.
Florida State has a Heisman-winning quarterback under center… Florida had a tough time this season deciding which quarterback should start which game.
Florida State has a head coach who will be returning next season… Florida has a coach who will be on the sideline for his final game.
While FSU coach Jimbo Fisher will surely be back in Tallahassee next season, Will Muschamp will not return to Gainesville.
Muschamp was fired by Gators athletic director Jeremy Foley after the team’s fourth quarter collapse at home against South Carolina two weeks ago after the Gamecocks blocked a punt with 39 seconds remaining in regulation to set up a game-tying touchdown. South Carolina would go on to win the game in overtime 23-20.
Even after being fired, Muschamp agreed to coach the final two games of the regular season which shows how much of a class act this man truly is.
Given everything mentioned above, how in the world could the Gators even compete in a game of this magnitude? It’s simple actually…
Emotion.
Photo: Gators head coach Will Muschamp watching his team warm up before their game last week against Eastern Kentucky (Source: Twitter)
“We’re going into battle,” said Fisher. “These games are going to be dogfights. People are going to try and be the one that knocks us out, knocks us off, got nothing to lose.
“Every time you’re in those situations you learn.”
The Seminoles aren’t quite the same team that won the national title a year ago. Florida State has made it a habit of falling behind big early and making a huge charge to come back late. But if they continue that trend on Saturday, they may find it more difficult than usual considering that Florida has a stout defensive unit.
“We know we have to go out there and execute, you know, try to ruin their little Cinderella thing, Shrek or whatever it is,” said Florida linebacker Michael Taylor.
Florida State boasts a current 27-game winning streak that the Gators would love to end on Saturday.
“Yeah, we’re going to end that,” said Florida defensive end Alex McCalister. “Don’t worry about that.”
Despite FSU’s slow starts this season, Fisher reiterated that it’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.
“We’re undefeated. We finish every game,” Fisher said. “Everybody else in the country has not finished at least one game. We’ve finished every one of them.
“Isn’t that the object?”
The Gators have won three of the last four games including an improbable victory over Georgia 38-20.
“Obviously it’s going to be a different atmosphere for the Gators,” FSU quarterback Jameis Winston said. “They beat Georgia, so they feel like they can beat anybody, and we’re going to be ready. We’re going to be prepared.”
Will Muschamp knows that his team will be fired up for this game. His players are very loyal to him so they will want to send him out on a high note.
“They don’t need fireworks to get ready for this one,” Muschamp said about his team.
“They’ll be ready to go. Our guys are excited about this game. … We’ve had a week to feel sorry about this, that or the other, when all we can control is the controllables, and that’s getting ready for Florida State.”