Gators eager to win over rival Florida State
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Freshman Kenny Pickett ran for two TDs and threw for another and Pittsburgh stunned No. 2 Miami 24-14 in Pittsburgh to snap the Hurricanes’ nation-best winning streak at 15 games. Pickett bulled over from 6 yards in the first half, flipped a 5-yard shovel pass to Qadree Ollison in the third quarter to put the Panthers up 10 and gave Pitt (5-7, 3-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) all the cushion it would need with a 22-yard fourth-down sprint to the end zone with 2:54 remaining. The Hurricanes (10-1, 7-1) were held to a season-low 229 yards . ... Kenny Hill threw TD passes to three receivers and ran 3 yards for another score to help No. 12 TCU wrap up a spot in the Big 12 championship game with a 45-22 victory against Baylor in Fort Worth, Texas. The Horned Frogs (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) will play No. 4 Oklahoma for the Big 12 title on Dec. 2. Baylor slipped to 1-11, 1-8 . ... Mike Hughes returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD with 1:28 left and No. 15 Central Florida completed the first unbeaten regular season in program history to wrap up the American Athletic Conference’s East Division title with a 49-42 win over South Florida in Orlando. The Knights (11-0, 8-0) will host No. 20 Memphis in the conference title game Dec. 2 . ... Arkansas fired coach Bret Bielema after five disappointing seasons moments after a season-ending 48-45 loss to Missouri in Fayetteville, Ark. The loss left Arkansas with a 4-8 record, capping only the second losing season of Bielema’s 12-year career. It also left him with a 29-34 record in his five seasons with the Razorbacks, including 11-29 in the SEC. Bielema led Wisconsin to three Rose Bowl appearances before being hired at Arkansas after the 2012 regular season. FIGURE SKATING: Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford lead after the pairs short program at Skate America in Lake Placid, N.Y., putting them in strong position to win a second Grand Prix event.
GOLF: Jason Day had four consecutive birdies on the back nine, including a 30-footer, for a 3-under 68 that left him a stroke out of the second-round lead at the Australian Open in Sydney. Lucas Herbert, who shot 66, is in front with a 9-under total of 133. First-round leader Cameron Davis, who shot 72, is another stroke behind in third.
OLYMPICS: Four more Russians were disqualified for doping at the Sochi Olympics, and IOC President Thomas Bach signaled a possible shift toward barring the country’s athletes from the Pyeongchang Games. Two-time bobsled gold medalist Alexander Zubkov, who carried the Russian flag at the opening ceremony in Sochi, was removed from the 2014 records in the latest round of verdicts from an IOC panel prosecuting individuals caught in a program to cover up doping and tamper with tainted samples.
SOCCER: Lionel Messi received his fourth Golden Shoe award for leading all of Europe’s leagues in scoring last season. Messi scored 37 in the Spanish league.
TENNIS: Belgium and France split singles matches on the opening day of the Davis Cup final in Lille, France. David Goffin put the Belgians in front by beating Lucas Pouille before Jo-Wilfried Tsonga swept past Steve Darcis to even the best-of-five series.
GAINESVILLE — When Florida-Florida State square off, records don’t matter, conventional wisdom says.
A fierce in-state rivalry pitting programs with a combined six national titles since 1993, two proud fan bases and dozens of players with histories dating to Pop Warner give the game juice few can match.
“It’s great competition,” UF sophomore Josh Hammond said.
But this year, records actually do matter. Never in college football’s modern era — dating back to 1960 — have the two programs been so down at the same time.
For the first time since 1959, a year after the annual series began, both the Gators (4-6) and Seminoles (4-6) enter the game below .500 in the standings.
“I feel like these two programs probably will never have a year like this ever again,” UF sophomore linebacker David Reese said. “We’ll be fine and we’ll get back.”
Over the years, the Florida-Florida State game would define two of the top programs in college football.
The Choke at Doak, UF’s win two years later during the 1996 national title game or the 1997 thriller in the Swamp are part of Gators’ lore.
The Seminoles’ list of memorable wins includes 1993’s, courtesy of Charlie Ward’s pass to Warrick Dunn in Gainesville, FSU’s decisive 1998 win after a pregame fight instigated by UF in Doak Campbell Stadium, and a 30-23 decision a year later en route to coach Bobby Bowden’s second national title.
But since the Seminoles’ 2003 win during the socalled “Swindle in the Swamp,” the rivalry has been decidedly one sided. Following six straight wins by the Gators, FSU has lost just once — in 2012 — during the past seven seasons.
This year’s rendition looks to be a toss-up between two teams playing out the season, seeking motivation where they can find it.
The Gators want to make “Senior Day” one to remember for 20 seniors, along with interim coach Randy Shannon and a staff that soon will be looking for new jobs.
“Those are our first priorities ... our seniors, trying to finish them off strong,” sophomore linebacker David Reese said. “That’s what I take pride in.”
FSU enters Saturday still looking for a chance to extend its nation-leading streak of 35 straight bowl appearances. The Seminoles rescheduled a visit from Louisiana Monroe for next week hoping to become bowl eligible, but first must beat the Gators for a shot to reach six wins.
“We hear they have an opportunity at a bowl game, so we’re going to just spoil that,” UF receiver Dre Massey said. “There’s not much to look forward to with this season, so we’re looking forward to that.”
Which struggling offense performs better could decide the outcome.
UF ranks 109th and FSU 110th of 129 teams nationally in total offense and are No. 113 and No. 115, respectively, in plays longer than 10 yards.
But each attack gained confidence last weekend at the expense of overmatched competition.
The Gators scored more than 20 points for the first time since September and 30 for just the second time all season during a 36-7 against bowl-bound UAB. FSU destroyed Football Championship Subdivision foe Delaware State 77-6 after totaling just 44 points during the previous three games — two of them losses.
egthompson@orlando sentinel.com