The Florida State football team rides a two-game win streak and has won five of its last seven games heading into college football’s rivalry weekend for a date in Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators.
FSU has staged quite the comeback since starting the season 0-4, and the Seminoles now improbably stand one win away from a bowl berth after victories the past two weeks against Miami and at Boston College.
Last time FSU faced the Gators, second-year Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell was still at Memphis. In 2019, interim FSU coach Odell Haggins led the team down to Gainesville against then-No. 11 Florida, and the Gators prevailed 40-17. UF scored 23 in a decisive second quarter, and Norvell was introduced as head coach a few days later.
Now in 2021, it is Florida is in the midst of a coaching change and turmoil within the program. The Gators plummeted from a top-10 team to open October, dropping five of their past seven on the way to firing head coach Dan Mullen on Sunday. In the month of November, the Gators were blown out at South Carolina, gave up 52 points at home to FCS foe Samford and lost in overtime at Missouri on a walk-off two-point conversion. Still, the Gators boast a deep and talented roster and remain a slight Vegas favorite. Both teams are 5-6 on the season.
Here's our in-depth look at the positional matchups for both sides of the football and special teams, plus staff predictions for the Seminoles' 12th game of the season.
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FSU's offense found new life when Jordan Travis took over as the full-time starting quarterback against Syracuse. The team is 5-1 in Travis’ last six games started, and for the season, the redshirt sophomore has thrown for 14 touchdowns against just five picks. He actually hasn’t thrown an interception in his past five games. Travis also has rushed for 428 yards and six scores, not to mention 16 career touchdowns and a 5.2-yard average on the ground across three seasons in his FSU career. As a team, the Seminoles' passing game ranks 10th in the ACC, but it has been trending upward as Travis continues to gain confidence.
UCF transfer McKenzie Milton has started four games this season and will be Travis' top backup. Now that reserve redshirt freshman Chubba Purdy has entered the transfer portal, that leaves FSU with just three scholarship quarterbacks on its roster: Travis, Milton and 2020 signee Tate Rodemaker.
At wide receiver, FSU has stuck with four main options so far this season. Junior Ontaria “Pokey” Wilson has contributed a team-leading 332 yards and four scores. While his playing time has been sporadic, Kansas transfer Andrew Parchment has become a more consistent weapon in recent weeks. He caught a huge fourth-down pass against Miami to set up the winning score. Then there’s true freshman Malik McClain, who has 15 grabs this year and flashes major potential for the future. The fourth, junior Keyshawn Helton, was out due to injury versus Miami and BC but he’s played in 35 career games for FSU and could be back on Saturday. Running back/receiver Ja'Khi Douglas has become a bigger factor the past two games and has eight catches over that span. For added depth, second-year wideouts Kentron Poitier, Darion Williamson and redshirt sophomore Jordan Young round out the two-deep.
Florida State’s starter at tight end, Camm McDonald, continues to improve and leads the team with 22 catches this season. He had 54 yards last week against BC. Co-starter Jordan Wilson has chipped in 10 grabs of his own and has had a strong second half of the season. Third-teamer Preston Daniel is utilized mainly as a blocker.
For Florida, the secondary has lacked play-making ability (7 interceptions as a team) and has been exposed at times. UF lost junior corner Jaydon Hill back in August before the season started. Now lining up at corner is a familiar name in junior Kaiir Elam, the nephew of former star Florida safety Matt Elam. The other cornerback is first-year starter Avery Helm. They are an impressive duo physically, standing at 6-2 and 6-1 respectively. Two of the top three tacklers for the Gators reside at safety in Rashad Torrence II and Trey Dean III; each have over 70 stops this year.
UF holds the nation’s No. 33 pass defense in yards per game, allowing 209 yards per outing, but that might be misleading as opponents have often chose to pound the Gators on the ground. Just two weeks ago, Samford quarterback Liam Welch passed for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in The Swamp. Several other opponents, including Alabama, Missouri and South Carolina, have put up modest but efficient passing outings without an interception. FSU gets the edge here if Travis can continue to take care of the ball.
WINNER: FLORIDA STATE
