Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
A PERFECT TIME FOR REDEMPTION
Tired of losing to FSU, No. 11 Florida looks to end 5-game series skid
GAINESVILLE — Growing up near Mobile, Ala., running back Lamical Perine felt that the Iron Bowl was the gold standard among rivalry games.
After two losses to Florida State, the junior is all in on the Gators-Seminoles series.
Perine hopes his teammates are as tired of losing as he is and ready to snap a five-game skid against the Seminoles when the teams square off at noon Saturday in Doak Campbell Stadium.
“It’s just something you really should just have in your head, ‘Dang, I’m tired of getting whupped, you feel me?’ ” Perine said. “It’s either you’re going to man up and try to fight back or you’re just going to keep being beat up on the ground. What do you want to choose?”
There’s a good chance the No. 11 Gators are going to have to dig deep at some point Saturday against Seminoles.
UF (8-3) has enjoyed a nice turnaround season under Dan Mullen and is favored by four points — the first time since 2009 the Seminoles have been underdogs in the game.
Meanwhile, FSU (5-6) looks to salvage Willie Taggart’s disappointing inaugural season and keep alive their record 36-year bowl streak.
Mullen is well aware a win against their rival Gators would give the Seminoles and their fans something to remember during an otherwise forgettable season.
“Every year it's huge,” Mullen said. “You're talking in-state rivalries. I mean, you're talking a lot of neighbors against neighbors. You go to the grocery store; you want to have bragging rights over your neighbors for the year.
“To get that win, it gives all of the Gator Nation the bragging rights over all of State's fans.”
The Gators’ struggles against the Seminoles are among many examples of the UF program’s decline the past five years. FSU won the five games by an average score of 31-13. Twice, in 2015 and 2016, the Gators failed to score an offensive touchdown.
The sea change this season under Mullen has been significant. UF wins against Mississippi State and LSU marked the first time since 2012 the Gators defeated ranked opponents on consecutive weeks.
An offense ranked outside the top-100 nationally all but once since 2011, checking in at No. 96 in 2014, is a respectable No. 56 following back-to-back games with 550 yards for the first time since 2009.
With a win at FSU, the Gators’ resume is expected to earn them a spot in a high-profile New Year’s Six bowl game, either the Peach on Dec. 29 in Atlanta or the Fiesta Jan. 1 outside of Phoenix.
For a program where championships long have been the standard for success, a big-time bowl game still would be significant, especially to a group of players left out of the postseason following last season’s 4-7 finish.
“Man, it’d be a whole reverse from last year,” junior linebacker David Reese said. “Just whole opposite feeling, being able to finish top-10 in the country than finishing how we finished last year. So it’d be great. The fans will enjoy it. I will enjoy it.
“Everyone will probably be more happier instead of being home for three to four weeks, miserable without football.”
With an upset win Saturday, the Seminoles could end the Gators’ good vibes.
UF realizes FSU certainly is a capable.
“I don't think their record reflects how good of a team they are,” said UF quarterback Feleipe Franks, who grew up 25 miles south of Tallahassee.
Veteran quarterback Deondre Francois headlines some talented playmakers on offense while defensive end Brian Burns has 10 sacks and is a future first-round NFL draft pick.
FSU’s offensive line has been the team’s Achilles heel, but the Gators are bracing for the Seminoles’ best performance to date.
“I feel like they’ve got a lot of talented guys on their team,” Perine said. “That’s everybody; everybody’s on scholarship. You can’t take anybody for no joke. You’ve just got to come out and play hard. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Until last week’s 63-10 rout of overmatched Idaho of the Football Championship Subdivisions, the Gators have not looked exactly unbeatable.
UF trailed by 18 points before rallying Oct. 13 at Vanderbilt and erased a 17-point deficit two weeks ago at home against a pedestrian South Carolina squad. In between, the Gators suffered losses to Georgia and Missouri by a combined 40 points.
The stretch of games was an eye-opener for the Gators, who were riding high and ranked ninth in the polls following an Oct. 6 win against LSU.
“We just learned how the season can go from bad to worst real quick,” Reese said. “We could easily be sitting at 5-6 or 6-5, you know easily.”
Instead, UF enters Saturday seeking win No. 9, but more important the first against FSU in eons.
No one of UF’s current roster was even being recruited by the Gators at the time of their 37-26 win in 2012. Perine, for one, was a high school freshman.
“That’s something I’ve got somewhere on my to-do list,” Perine said. “Before I leave here, I definitely need a win against Florida State.”