It’s Florida State Week
No extra motivation needed to beat FSU

Two new money programs which lacked the tradition of the Alabamas and Ohio States of the world gave rise to one of the greatest stretches of a rivalry in sports throughout the 1990s.

In the glory days of Spurrier and Bowden, the Gators and the Seminoles fought 12 consecutive battles with both schools ranked in the Top-10 nationally. Six of the 12 games played in the Spurrier-Bowden era were decided by seven points or less. Since Spurrier left for the NFL after the 2001 edition, the series has featured only one such meeting. Florida and Florida State have combined for three national titles (two for UF; one lonely little title for FSU) since 2001, but one team’s rise has often coincided with the other’s struggles resulting in several uninspiring or lopsided affairs over the last two decades.

Has this rivalry lost its luster?

Florida-LSU has morphed into a brilliantly entertaining rivalry on almost an annual basis. The hatred for the Bulldogs is usually a secondary headline going into Jacksonville since the Florida-Georgia matchup has decided the SEC East for going on a decade-and-a-half now. Though the Tennessee rivalry may lie dormant at the moment, we all know that if the Vols find themselves, the proper levels of hatred for that ugly shade of orange and Rocky Top  will return to Gator Nation…it’s an easy song to hate. The favorite song of every Volunteer dedicates four lines worth of lyrics to being completely incapable of growing corn.

Corn won’t grow at all on Rocky Top
Dirt’s too rocky by far
That’s why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar
Some may be asking: What weight can this year’s Florida-Florida State game possibly carry when two 5-6 teams step on the field to slug it out for mere bowl eligibility?

I know it’s been a difficult two month stretch for the Gators, but a Florida Gator does not require any incentive to beat Florida State.

Unlike LSU, Georgia, and Tennessee, many of us interact with FSU fans on a day-to-day basis (there aren’t many folks who bark at folks in my life). Some of you share a Thanksgiving table with Seminoles – who may be close family or friends. People in your life – people you otherwise respect –  lose a few points in your eyes for pledging allegiance to the Garnet & Gold.

Florida-Florida State may have peaked in the 1990s, but it is essentially a sibling rivalry.

When you lose to your sibling, you will hear about it until you play again. Your sibling tends to be delusional, focusing only on their own positive accomplishments while callously disregarding the 36 beatdowns you’ve put on your sibling in 64 meetings (36-26-2). Your sibling may have forced your parents to intervene to allow them to play in the first place (1955 Florida Senate defeated a bill that would have forced Florida-Florida State to play in football; Governor LeRoy Collins got involved requesting Presidents Reitz (UF) and Campbell (FSU) to figure it out; game was agreed upon starting in 1958). You never need extra motivation to defeat your sibling.

Mike Norvell and the Noles will march into Florida Field on Saturday winners of five out of their last seven games. A disastrous 0-4 start highlighted by a loss to FCS Jacksonville State…yes, a loss to FCS Jacksonville State…not an atrocious showing in which they gave up a ton of points in one half to FCS Jacksonville State, but a loss to FCS Jacksonville State…seems like a distant memory and FSU is starting to feel pretty good about itself. A bowl bid will only serve to continue the positive momentum that wins over North Carolina and Miami have started. Sending the Gators home without a bowl would be icing on the cake and their season would be seen as a salvaged success.

We can either roll over and let Florida State continue to build on its momentum, allowing them to celebrate in our stadium with nearly the same 2021 record as Florida, something which resulted in a firing in Gainesville, or we can reset, put the malaise of Mizzou, the obliviousness of Samford, the abandonment of Carolina, the disappointment of Georgia, the exasperation of LSU, and the mortification of Kentucky behind us, and send the Noles packing back to Tallahassee for a long, bowl-less offseason.

In 1981, 6-4 Florida and 6-4 Florida State met with a Peach Bowl berth on the line, but UF senior nose guard Robin Fisher did not require an extra incentive at a time where FSU had won four straight in the series.

“They hate us, and we hate them, and that about says it all,” Fisher said before the game. “We just gotta get them this time. It’s my last shot. Man, we just gotta beat them. I think I’ll die if we lose again.”

Robin Fisher and the Gators beat the Noles, 35-3, in 1981.

A Florida Gator does not require any incentive to beat Florida State.

I’d like to thank my delusional brother, Brad, who I’ve crushed many times, for making this article so easy to write.

Go Gators! Beat FSU!