OGT 2024: Week 14 Florida Gators at FSU Seminoles

[Escambia94]

Overview

Welcome to the 68th edition of the Sunshine Showdown! This matchup will take place in the giant erector set that is Ron Zook Field, Talla-crappy, Lower Alabama/ Northwest Florida. The Gators are 37-28-2 all-time in a rivalry that dates back to 1958. The Gators have lost the last 4. The Gators are favored by 10.5 points here and the over/under is at 45.5. The Noles scored 21 points in a game for the first time last week against the mighty Charleston Southern Buccaneers. With that amazing upset, the Noles now have twice as many victories in week 14 as they had in week 13. All 43,711 reported fans in attendance were excited about Mike Norvell's seminal victory, which should lead to continued success so the FSU administration does not have to fork over $54.4M of buyout money.

Scouting the Enemy

The Noles are pumped for their program-changing upset over the FCS's worst team, the Charleston Southern Buccanneers. Here are the results of their stellar season to this point where they started ranked in the top 10 and are currently ranked near the bottom 10.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Result	Site	Attendance
August 24	vs. Georgia Tech	No. 10	L 21–24	Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland	47,998
September 2	Boston College	No. 10	L 13–28	Ron Zook Field	51,719
September 14	Memphis*		L 12–20	Ron Zook Field	55,107
September 21	California		W 14–9	Ron Zook Field	55,107
September 28	at SMU		L 16–42	Gerald R. Ford Statium	34,879
October 5	No. 15 Clemson		L 13–29	Ron Zook Field	55,107
October 18	at Duke		L 16–23	Wallace Wade Stadium	30,735
October 26	at No. 6 Miami (FL)		L 14–36	Hard Rock Stadium	66,200
November 2	North Carolina		L 11–35	Ron Zook Field	55,107
November 9	at No. 10 Notre Dame*		L 3–52	Notre Dame Stadium	77,622
November 23	Charleston Southern*		W 41–7	Ron Zook Field	43,711

Reviewing the Gators

The Gators have suffered a disappointing season but have somehow turned things around in late November with back-to-back upsets over ranked opponents #22 LSU and #9 Ole Miss.

Date	Opponent	Result	Site	Attendance
August 31	No. 19 Miami (FL)*	L 17–41	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	90,544
September 7	Samford*	W 45–7	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	89,295
September 14	Texas A&M	L 20–33	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	89,993
September 21	at Mississippi State	W 45–28	Davis Wade Stadium	49,655
October 5	UCF*	W 24–13	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	90,369
October 12	at No. 8 Tennessee	L 17–23 OT	Neyland Stadium	101,915
October 19	Kentucky	W 48–20	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	89,906
November 2	vs. No. 2 Georgia	L 20–34	EverBank Stadium	76,307
November 9	at No. 5 Texas	L 17–49	Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium	103,375
November 16	No. 22 LSU	W 27–16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	90,067
November 23	No. 9 Ole Miss	W 24–17	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium	89,942

 

[DRU2012]

Oops. Hadn't realized E-- had this thread up already. See my "pre-comments" over at the end of "Florida vs Ol' Miss" thread...
If E-- wants to move it over here, that'd be fine with me. Either way works: My comments there, if anything, are more a preface to this one.
Just a strong vote for the follosing:
"Little changes at this point. We come in with a chip on our shoulders and EXECUTE.
LET'S KICK THEIR ASSES, START TO FINISH!"
We deserve a game like that to wrap this season.
"We" being players, coaches AND fans.
Who better to get it against, and what better time?