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NCAA Football Florida State Seminoles

Florida State Football Can’t Afford to Overlook Florida in Pursuit of History

By @MWCompton

Jameis Winston

David Manning-USA Today Sports

The Florida Gators were the last team to beat Florida State way back in 2012, and when the heated in-state rivalry resumes Saturday afternoon in Tallahassee, the Gators will try to halt the Seminoles’ unbeaten streak at 27 games and send Will Muschamp, their fired head coach, out a winner in his final game. While the Gators are certain to play with emotion, execution will be the deciding factor in this one, and the Seminoles possess too much firepower on offense to conclude the regular season on a losing note in front of the home crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium.

As if Florida needed any extra motivation, Florida State is on the cusp of school history. With a win over the Gators, the Seminoles will wrap up back-to-back undefeated regular seasons, something even the Bobby Bowden-led units from the 1990s never accomplished. Florida would like nothing more than to prevent their hated rival from achieving that milestone mark.

The Gators have shown some life to close out the season, but face a tough chore against a potent Seminole offense and aren’t likely to prevail in a shootout. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, despite his off-the-field distractions, has been there for the Seminoles in the clutch. Last year’s runaway Heisman Trophy winner, Winston has completed 243-of-368 (66 percent) for 3,125 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Winston’s favorite target has been wide receiver Rashad Greene, who leads the Seminoles with 83 receptions for 1,148 yards and five touchdowns. Florida quarterbacks Jeff Driskel and Treon Harris haven’t been nearly as productive as Winston. The signal-callers are 143-of-264 for a total of 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns.

To spring an upset, Florida will need to slow the game down and establish its running attack early against a Florida State defensive front that has struggled against the run. Matt Jones, who has rushed for 788 yards this year, and Kelvin Taylor, who has gained 528 yards, will need to have a big day for the Gators to prevail. If the Gators can control the line of scrimmage on offense, keeping Winston off the field, and the defense can disrupt and create turnovers, Florida can keep the contest close.

If the one-dimensional Gators are able defeat the defending national champions on Saturday, while not quite a storybook ending to Muschamp’s much-maligned tenure, being carried off the field (and out the door) on the shoulders of his players would certainly take some of the sting away from his time in Gainesville.

With the longest active win streak (27-0) in college football, the Seminoles haven’t been as dominant this season as they were in 2013, having lost several key players from that championship team. While still a talented squad, they have made a habit this year of falling behind early and storming back late to win games that wound up being closer than they should have been. Despite the numerous nail-bitters this season, the Seminoles should take care of business against the Gators as they continue their quest for another national championship.

Michael Compton is a Jacksonville Jaguars writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter at @MWCompton and connect with him on Google.

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