Here’s one prediction: the tears are going to flow on the field (and in the stands) during what will be maybe the most emotional Senior Day celebration in school history before the game. Urban Meyer was in tears earlier in the week talking about his seniors. It should be more of the same when he hugs Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and the rest of the seniors when they are announced.
Here’s another prediction: if the Gators get too caught up in all that emotional stuff and lose their focus, they will get blindsided by a very dangerous Florida State team. The Seminoles are pretty spotty on defense, but their offense, even without Christian Ponder, is very potent and playing with a lot of confidence. Redshirt freshman quarterback E.J. Manuel brings a new and exciting element to the offense — the option, which FSU ran a whole bunch of times in last week’s win over Maryland. Wide receiver Bert Reed, a one-time UF commitment, is another big-play guy the Gators are wary of.
The pressure is clearly on Florida in this game. This is a team that badly wants to win this game for the seniors and get to Atlanta with a perfect record. If UF gets past this game and then defeats Alabama, the Gators will have a chance to play for the national championship in Pasadena.
But first things first.
The Gators have to play well and keep their focus to beat Florida State. The goal is the same as it’s been going into every game this season: be the best team in the stadium that day.
Clearly, Florida is a better team than Florida State. What’s important is being the better team in The Swamp on Saturday.
With FSU’s ability to move the ball on offense, things could get a little scary for the Gators at times. But I see Florida eventually pulling away and making it a happy day for the seniors in their final day in The Swamp.
Prediction: Florida 38, Florida State 21
I think it’s crazy for Florida and Florida State to continue beating up on each other the week before their respective conferences’s Championship games. I would hope that the ADs at both schools would be working on setting up final games against conference foes from their own conference divisions. This would make the final game more meaningful while reducing the BCS spoiler potential it now has. Florida and Florida State should not even play each other every year, but play them as a part of a rotation of in-state and regional opponents. Both should be scheduling a game or two from the group including UCF, USF, FIU, FAU, with Florida also scheduling Miami every 4 or 5 years as well, and FSU scheduling the Canes within the general guidelines of the ACC.
The Florida-Georgia game should be moved to the last weekend of the season, replacing Florida State for the Gators. The game would usually be expected to have SEC East implications, and occasionally decide the division champion.
Money and traditional rivalry notwithstanding, it would seem to make more sense to recognize the importance of the conference schedules in the BCS era. Florida and Florida State would both have a better chance at BCS bowls and the National Championship by doing so.