Why FSU Football can – and just might – upset the Florida Gators

FSU football knows the mountain they have to climb if they want to get a fifth straight win in Gainesville, but there is one reason why its possible.

It’s no secret that the annual rivalry between FSU football and the Florida Gators is not what it once was – arguably one of the best series in all of college football that saw the winner play for the national title five times in an eight year period in the 1990s that included the loser of the game even winning the title one of those times.

This year’s meeting will be the fifth time in the last seven seasons that at least one of the teams comes into the game unranked – with this year’s team being the 6-5 Seminoles, who come into the game as heavy underdogs against a 9-2 Florida team who could be a win away from playing in another New Years Six bowl game.

Is there an uphill battle FSU football has to climb to get the upset win? Yes. Can it happen? Yes.

Florida State Seminoles Football

The reason why the Seminoles can go into Gainesville and get a win for the fifth straight time inside of the Gators’ famed home called ‘The Swamp’ by those in orange and blue is simple – this is a rivalry game and there have been plenty of times when the better team has not always won.

Head back to the 1997 game where the Seminoles went into Gainesville as the number one ranked team all set for a national title game in the Orange Bowl – until Fred Taylor ran for four touchdowns and the Gators got the upset win.

How about the following season, when FSU football and backup quarterback Marcus Outzen got the upset win inside Doak to go on to the national title game? How about in 2012, when the Seminoles got beatdown by Florida in a loss I still haven’t figured out? What about three years later, when the Noles held the Gators to just two points at home?

Yes, there was much better talent on both sides of the ball and on both teams but the fact is simple no matter what – when the Seminoles and Gators meet on the field of play, records and squads and rosters don’t matter because these are two hated rivals that want nothing more than to beat the heck out of each other.

Would I feel a lot more confident if the Seminoles didn’t look like a M*A*S*H unit this season? Of course. Do I have confidence in guys like James Blackman, Tamorrion Terry and a Cam Akers who has had three weeks to heal? Very much.

Am I predicting a win for the Seminoles? Not at this moment – but I’m saying don’t be shocked if it takes place.