Breaking down Florida football heading into season finale with rival FSU
The Sun’s Kevin Brockway breaks down Florida football’s press conference before its showdown with rival FSU.
Florida football will hope to avoid its worst season since 1979 this week.
The Gators (3-8, 2-6 SEC) will host in-state rival Florida State (5-6, 2-6 ACC) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29. Kickoff is set for 4:30 p.m. with the game nationally televised on ESPN2.
UF comes off a 31-11 loss to Tennessee, while FSU fell to NC State 21-11.
FSU quarterback Tommy Castellanos has thrown for 2,520 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions and added 480 rushing yards and eight scores. His top target has been Duce Robinson, who has hauled in 53 catches for 1,021 yards and six touchdowns.
On the defensive side, Earl Little Jr. has a team-leading 69 tackles, four interceptions and two forced fumbles for the Seminoles.
Florida quarterback DJ Lagway has thrown for 2,096 yards, 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Running back Jaden Baugh has rushed for 904 yards and totaled eight touchdowns this season.
Linebacker Myles Graham has a team-leading 68 tackles and six tackles for loss.
Stream Florida football vs Florida State
Florida football vs Florida State odds, moneyline, over/under
Florida will try and end a dreadful season on a positive note. This game will likely be decided by third down as FSU’s defense has struggled to stop teams on third down as of late, while the Gators’ offense has struggled all year to convert third down. Florida has also been bitten by the injury bug, which stacks the mounting problems for UF. Despite the fact that anything can happen during rivalry week, Florida State should pull this game out.
Spread: 1.5
Over/under: 50.5
Moneyline: -110
Florida vs Florida State predictions, picks for Week 14
Andrew Abadie, The Gainesville Sun
Florida State 35, Florida 10: Running back Jaden Baugh will break the 1,000-yard mark in the matchup, but that will be the only positive in the game for the Gators. Florida State’s offense will have plenty of success against Florida’s banged up defense. Much like UF’s game vs Tennessee, FSU’s will get off to a hot start and never look back.
Kevin Brockway, The Gainesville Sun
Florida 20, Florida State 17: Senior kicker Trey Smack will boot a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds to help Florida avoid its worst season since going 0-10-1 in 1979. Sophomore running back Jadan Baugh will rush for more than 100 yards and score 2 TDs to become UF’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Kelvin Taylor in 2015.
Noah Ram, The Gainesville Sun
Florida 24, Florida State 20: I would usually be in no position to pick the Gators given their performance last week, but Florida State isn’t Tennessee. The ‘Noles simply have not proven they can win a game away from Tallahassee. Florida will dig deep and play hard on Senior Day to prevent its archrival from reaching a bowl game. Tommy Castellanos will still play well against a suspect Florida defense, but DJ Lagway will show improvement against an equally suspect Seminole defense. Give me UF avoiding making this the worst season since disco was going out of style.
