Florida State probably did Florida a huge favor by putting together its
best overall performance of the season in a 37-3 rout of Maryland on
Saturday night. Urban Meyer and the Gators watched that game and were
impressed. Now, No. 2 Florida is on full upset alert.
Had the Seminoles messed around in that game and looked sloppy (or even lost), the Gators might have been taking FSU a little more lightly than they should in a rivalry game like this one. That’s not going to happen now.
Meyer is always saying that the best way to get your team ready for a good opponent is to put in the tape, and let the players see for themselves what they’ll be up against. What Florida will see on the FSU tape is a very fast, very aggressive defense that forces a lot of negative plays (the ‘Noles lead the nation in tackles for loss) and turnovers. If FSU forces turnovers Saturday, the upset is a good possibility, and the Gators know that.
As for the FSU offense, it looks like it has finally found its rhythm with dual-threat quarterback Christian Ponder, whose running ability is a major concern for the Gators. The Seminoles are doing some things on offense similar to what Florida does in the running game with the quarterback.
Florida State has struggled at times this season, especially in the running game, but the Seminoles looked like a very complete and very dangerous team Saturday night.
The Gators were watching – and they’re on full upset alert this week.
