The nation’s longest bowl streak will rest in the balance on Saturday as Florida State enters hostile territory to take on rival Florida. The Seminoles have won four straight in the series and will need to make it five if they plan on going bowling for a 36th straight season.
Both teams come in with a record of 4-6, but ending FSU’s bowl streak would be the ultimate end to the year for the Gators. Before the teams duke it out in Gainesville, take a look at five things to watch for:
1. Quarterback Play
Saturday’s contest will feature two inconsistent freshman quarterbacks in FSU’s James Blackman and Florida’s Feleipe Franks. Blackman, the first true freshman to start under center for the Seminoles in 32 years, has had an up-and-down campaign that has been marred by untimely turnovers. Although the competition was Delaware State, Blackman is coming off a contest in which he set new career-highs for passer rating and touchdown passes.
Franks, a redshirt freshman, has all the tools to be a very good college quarterback, but things have just not come together this season. Franks is completing 56 percent of his passes, but on just 6.6 yards per attempt. Franks, the Week 1 starter, has shared time this season with Luke Del Rio and Malik Zaire, but regained his job after both of those two players went down with an injury.
2. The FSU Ground Attack
Playing a true freshman quarterback in a hostile environment will put a bigger onus on Florida State to run the football. Freshman Cam Akers is a big play threat at running back while Jacques Patrick has been a model of consistency this season. The Gators will likely gear up to stop the run, but that isn’t an area where they’ve been great this season. FSU put up 249 yards on the ground against Florida last season, but that was with a Unanimous All-American in Dalvin Cook at running back.
3. The Trenches
For Florida State to run the ball effectively against Florida, the Seminoles will need a nice day from their maligned offensive line. They’ve had more than their fair share of injuries up front and will be facing a Florida defensive line that is talented with CeCe Jefferson and Taven Bryan headlining that unit.
On the other side of the spectrum, Florida State should be able to have a nice day up front against the Florida offensive line. The Seminoles finished with six sacks in last season’s match-up. Derrick Nnadi is a load for FSU in the middle, but ends Josh Sweat, Joshua Kaindoh and Brian Burns should all be able to get after the passer against a Florida offensive line that has allowed 32 sacks in 10 games this season.
4. Big Plays
Given the struggles of two offenses that rank 109th and 110th nationally, the best chance for the offenses to put up points on Saturday may gone via the big play. Akers and wide receiver Nyqwan Murray can certainly provide that for FSU. For Florida, running back Malik Davis and wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland are the guys to watch. Davis is averaging 6.7 yards per carry while Cleveland is averaging nearly 19 yards per reception, which includes the 63-yard game-winner on the final play against Tennessee earlier this season.
5. Special Teams
If there is one area where Florida has had the edge in recent years over Florida State, it’s on special teams. The lone Gator touchdown last season came on a fumbled punt by Murray, which was returned for a score. The duo of specialists for FSU in Ricky Aguayo and Logan Tyler is a good one, but the Florida combination of kicker Eddy Pineiro and Johnny Townsend may be the best in the country. It’s worth noting that Florida hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown against the Seminoles since 2014 and even then, it came one play after a blocked punt.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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