It’s an afterthought this season in the grand scheme of things in college football, but the annual Florida State-Florida game is still a big one for both teams. The two rivals meet on Saturday in Gainesville — both with records of 4-6.
Florida State took down Florida last season in Tallahassee, 31-13, and won 27-2 in its last trip to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Before things kick off between the teams, check out our coverage of the match-up:
FSU Football: A First Look at Florida
Rivalry Contest Could be a Defining Moment for FSU’s Blackman
FSU at Florida: Good Times, Bad Times
Preview: FSU Hopes to Extend Rivalry Streak Over Florida
Column: There’s No Excuse for FSU to Lose to Florida
FSU-Florida: Five Things to Watch
Staff Predictions for FSU-Florida
Staff Keys to the Game: FSU at Florida
Florida State and Florida have a long history against one another. Here are some quick and relevant facts to know for Saturday’s contest:
- Florida State will be looking to defeat Florida for a school-record fifth time in a row. The Seminoles also won four straight from 1977-80.
- Florida State has taken a shutout into the fourth quarter in each of its last three trips to Gainesville.
- Saturday’s contest is the first time since 1959 that both teams enter the rivalry showdown with a losing record.
- Saturday’s contest is the first time that neither team has come into the rivalry game ranked since 2011.
- James Blackman looks to become the fourth straight FSU quarterback to win his first start against the rival Gators. The last one not to do so was E.J. Manuel in 2009.
- Florida State will look to avoid losing seven games in a season for the first time since 1975.
- FSU looks to avoid losing three straight road games for the first time since 1983.
- Florida State will look to avoid losing to Florida and Miami in the same season for the first time since 2009.
- Under head coach Jimbo Fisher, FSU is 9-2 against SEC teams. The only losses were to Florida in 2012 and Alabama earlier this season.
- With a Florida State victory, Randy Shannon would become the fourth Florida head coach to lose to FSU during the 8-year Fisher era, joining Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain.
- The last Florida home victory in the series came in 2009 when the Gators defeated FSU, 37-10.
- Florida hasn’t scored an offensive touchdown against FSU in 10 quarters. The last came in the second quarter of the 2014 contest, which the Seminoles won in Tallahassee, 24-19.
- FSU will need to win on Saturday to stay alive for bowl eligibility. The Seminoles haven’t missed a bowl game since 1981.
- The last time Florida State’s regular season ended with an opponent other than Florida was 2001 when the Seminoles closed with Georgia Tech. That contest was postponed because of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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