Florida State kept its serious late-season momentum rolling with another nail-biting finish Saturday at Boston College, setting the stage for an enormous regular-season finale next week at Florida.
Relatively speaking.
After Saturday's results -- an FSU win at BC and a UF loss at Missouri -- both teams now stand at 5-6 overall, and the two will play Saturday in Gainesville with both teams trying to become bowl eligible.
This is the first time the arch rivals have both been in this situation heading into the final weekend of the year.
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Before the Seminoles could worry about the Gators, they first had to close out a hard-fought, 26-23 win on the road against the Eagles.
It was FSU's fifth victory in its last seven games after an 0-4 start to the season. And after it was over, second-year head coach Mike Norvell praised his team for showing, “tremendous heart and tremendous character.”
“To be able to stand in front of those guys in the locker room and to know they’ve battled back to this point,” Norvell said. “When we were down, 0-4 at the beginning of the season, not many people gave us a chance. But we’re going into this last week with an opportunity to earn one more. And that’s special.”
Once Florida State knocked off rival Miami last week, Norvell said the Seminoles' players and coaches immediately realized they could push their way back into the bowl picture with wins at Boston College and UF.
It's also worth nothing that while FSU has won five of its last seven games, the Gators have lost five of their last seven.
“We talked about: What legacy do you want to leave? This is not necessarily how everyone pictured the season going, especially after the beginning.” Norvell said. “But we are definitely in control of how we are going to end it, and how we’re going to finish.”
Starting quarterback Jordan Travis, who completed 20 of 34 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, said the chance to make a bowl “means everything."
“We just have to come to work every single day like every other week. Work hard, come in tomorrow and fix our corrections," Travis said. "It’s a big week for us, it’s a big rivalry game. We've just gotta get back to work. ... We’ve got one, hopefully two games, this year left. We just have to keep improving, focusing on the little things."
On the defensive side, linebacker Kalen DeLoach forced a safety in the second quarter when he jumped all over a screen pass, and he finished his afternoon with six tackles.
Now that the program is just one win away from an improbable bowl berth, DeLoach said the team’s resolve, particularly following an 0-4 start to 2021, “says a lot.”
“We’ve been through so much. I trust them everyday, I go to battle with them everyday,” DeLoach said of his teammates and coaches. “I just like how we fought from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. We never gave up. We always held each other up. ...
“We want to take advantage of it. We play Florida, so this is the last one, last game of the season. We want to go in there and do what we need to do just like we did here, and leave victorious.”
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Although he has only been a Seminole for one season, defensive end grad transfer Keir Thomas said he has been impressed all season by the team's togetherness during difficult times.
“That just shows what we’re capable of. I feel like we fought back. Like I tell you guys all the time, I don’t question these guys’ effort and how they are going to respond,” Thomas said. “We did a good job with that.”
Thomas has a unique perspective on these matters.
In his five seasons at South Carolina, he saw the rise and fall under former head coach Will Muschamp’s regime. He also squared off against SEC East rival Florida five times and is plenty familiar with Gators.
“I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get, especially against Florida,” Thomas said. “You know how we feel about those guys, and we are looking forward to that.”
Norvell clearly couldn't have been prouder Saturday after watching his team pull out another close victory.
“We’ve seen the spectrum at both ends. At 0-4, there’s plenty of people telling you what you can’t do, but you get the choice every day,” Norvell said. “The way that our guys get up, we never let up. We push. … They want more of a push because they know they can.
“For what you want in life, to put yourself in a position to be successful, you have to pay the price. These guys sacrifice a lot. They allow us to coach them. They allow us to hold them to a standard that is very uncomfortable at times. They believe in where it’s going to take them.”
Finally, Norvell explained just how “huge” a win over rival Florida to clinch a bowl berth would be for his team.
“Huge for our program,” Norvell said. “When we get back, it’s a big week ahead. Our focus is to continue to improve, control the things we can control, get better, learn from all the experiences that we had today. And go prepare to play one heck of a game.
“I’m excited about what that can mean for our program. To get more practices. Give these guys one more chance to leave their mark.”
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