The reality of this week's Florida State-Florida game is proving to be quite the reversal of what was expected back in the preseason.

The Seminoles, coming off a 13-0 season, were picked to repeat as ACC champs and expected to contend for a spot in the first 12-team College Football Playoff.

The Gators, on the other hand, had a preseason win total of 4.5 wins, an extremely challenging schedule and a head coach in Billy Napier who was given little chance to make it through this season with his job intact.

As you surely know, FSU's season started with disaster and only got worse from there. The Seminoles are 2-9 (1-7 in ACC) after snapping their six-game losing streak with a win over FCS opponent Charleston Southern on Saturday.

The Gators, on the other hand, have grown tremendously over the course of their 2024 season and clinched bowl-eligibility on Saturday with a 24-17 win over No. 9 Ole Miss, their second consecutive win over a ranked team.

Although FSU's season will end with Saturday's home game (7 p.m. on ESPN2) regardless of the result and even an upset win over the Gators wouldn't salvage the season, FSU coach Mike Norvell is pouring a lot into this week's game.

"Our guys gave us a little bit of a positive (vs. Charleston Southern) as we're heading into this week, which is an absolutely huge week for us," Norvell said Monday. "It's the last game of the '24 season. It's the last opportunity that we have. Obviously it's against an opponent which is playing their best football of the year. Ultimately, when it comes down to this game, every little bit matters. All that we've done, all the work that's been invested, we've got to go be our best this week."

In a stunning twist relative to preseason expectations, UF heads to Tallahassee as a significant 15-point favorite over the Seminoles.

Norvell is 2-1 against Florida in his FSU tenure, winning the last two games in the rivalry after losing his first game. Napier hasn't yet beaten the Seminoles as he closes out his third season in Gainesville.

But Norvell knows the challenges presented as Florida heads to FSU this year.

Florida seems to have found its quarterback of the future in true freshman DJ Lagway. The former five-star recruit has thrown for 665 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in his first three full-time starts while leading the Gators to wins over Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss.

After a slow start, the Gators' defense now ranks 12th nationally in red-zone scoring percentage allowed (74.3%) and 23rd in sacks (30). In their last two games vs. LSU and Ole Miss, UF had a combined 10 sacks and 20 tackles for loss, allowing 33 total points.

"It's going to take every bit of energy, focus, passion, fight that you have in your body for 60 minutes or however long that this game is called to go. it's going to be one of those games where obviously it's a lifetime to remember, the results of this game..." Norvell said when asked about his message to his team this week. "This is what college football is truly about is when you have these games that they don't like us, we don't like them, it's all part of it. You go out there and you put your best foot forward and you go fight for victory. That's what our focus is. We want everything that we have to go put our best effort out on that field. I've got a lot of confidence in our guys in what's going to show up."

An offseason of turmoil and sweeping changes will begin on Sunday once the Florida game concludes late Saturday night. Norvell has already been putting in behind-the-scenes work on that front working through his coordinator searches and examining the roster needs that will be addressed this offseason.

But before that begins in full force, Norvell hopes the Seminoles can end an underwhelming season on a high note.

"For us, it's about Saturday," Norvell said. "Everything you do is about progression, it's about growth. You want to see that in what you're doing, but our focus right now is to everything that we have for this team, this group."

Follow The Osceola on Facebook

Follow The Osceola on Twitter

Subscribe to the Osceola's YouTube channel

Subscribe to the Osceola's podcasts on Apple