Florida and No. 16 Florida State renew their rivalry on the Friday after Thanksgiving this year with both jockeying not only for bowl positioning but also the bragging rights that come with one of the most prestigious in-state rivalries in the sport. These two programs combined to win six national championships (three each) between 1993 and 2013, becoming the faces of the sport at a time when college football’s popularity was exploding across the country.
The Gators lead the all-time series 37-26-2, and have a three-game winning streak against the Seminoles. It’s Florida State that has been the more successful team to this point, however, recently rising to No. 16 in the College Football Playoff Rankings. Florida, meanwhile, just lost to Vanderbilt in Nashville for the first time since 1988 to fall to 6-5 on the season.
But as Billy Napier’s first season at the helm in Gainesville, Florida, comes to a close, there remains one great success that could be had in the 2022 season and that’s continuing the program’s winning streak against a hated rival. Florida State, on other hand, needs a big win and some help elsewhere to open the door for an appearance in the New Year’s Six after what would be a 9-3 showing here in Year 3 for Mike Norvell.
Florida vs. Florida State: Need to know
The Seminoles are streaking: When Florida State lost three straight games to division opponents in the middle of the season, falling to 4-3 overall heading into its late-October bye week, there were few who imagined that this year’s team could potentially finish as the second-highest ranked ACC team in the final College Football Playoff Rankings. But that’s where we are after the Seminoles returned to action unshaken by the defeats, and the gains across the season became the focus rather than the disappointing setbacks. This current four-game winning streak has been notable for its blowouts with victories coming by 25 points, 42 points, 35 points and 32 points.
Anthony Richardson among top all-purpose QBs in the country: The Gators have a productive and versatile rushing attack with three different players ranking in the top 10 of the SEC in yards per carry. Running back Trevor Etienne has an explosive element that sets up for big plays in the offense, and Montrell Johnson has been steady through the year as well. But the real key to making the Gators ground game go is quarterback Anthony Richardson, who is one of just three FBS players with 2,300 passing yards and 600 rushing yards on the season and currently ranks second in the FBS among quarterbacks averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
The Arizona State connection: On the way to taking over two of the most prominent programs in the entire country, both Norvell and Napier shared a stop in the coaching journey as the offensive coordinator for Todd Graham at Arizona State. Norvell was an offensive assistant for Graham at Tulsa, a co-offensive coordinator for the lone year Graham spent at Pittsburgh and then the offensive coordinator for four years at Arizona State before he was hired to be the head coach at Memphis. Napier replaced Norvell, joining the Arizona State staff after four years coaching wide receivers at Alabama but was then hired away for his own head coaching opportunity, taking over at Louisiana.
How to watch Florida vs. Florida State live
Date: Friday, Nov. 25 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Doak Campbell Stadium — Tallahassee, Fla.
TV: ABC | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Florida vs. Florida State prediction, picks
Featured Game | Florida State Seminoles vs. Florida Gators
It’s an interesting wrinkle to the Florida-Florida State rivalry that while the series is heated, the results have rarely been close in recent years. Since 2007, only two games between Florida and Florida State have been decided by single digits. I think we get another double-digit win here on Friday, this one in favor of the home team. Prediction: Florida State -9.5
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