FSU football: Trey Benson could have memorable performance versus arch-rival Florida

FSU football will be taking on their arch-rival Florida Gators in the hostile environment of Ben-Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

As the fanbase knows by now, redshirt senior quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending injury on Senior Day in last week’s matchup versus North Alabama. As a result, redshirt junior Tate Rodemaker will be taking the snaps as the starter against Florida.

The Gators will be determined to get bowl eligible after losing this past weekend to the Missouri Tigers by a score of 33-31. As we seen in the 2021 matchup against the Seminoles, Florida gave their all to obtain bowl eligibility and ended up winning up by a score of 24-21.

Florida State ended the 2021 season with a 5-7 record and not being able to make it to a bowl game. Fast forward to 2023, the Seminoles are currently undefeated on the season and have all of their dreams and aspirations in front of them. Florida would like to do nothing more than spoil Florida State’s undefeated season.

FSU fans would certainly like to see redshirt junior quarterback Tate Rodemaker comfortable in operating the offense. It won’t be easy considering that the crowd at Ben-Hill Griffin Stadium will be loud and center Maurice Smith was injured during the North Alabama game.

As a result, I believe this is perfect opportunity for a player such as redshirt junior running back Trey Benson to step up. The former Oregon transfer could allow Rodemaker to have easier reads.

Florida State’s offensive line has struggled at times to run the football. On Saturday night, the Seminoles’ leading rusher was CJ Campbell Jr. who had three carries for 78 yards (includes his 70-yard touchdown).

I believe that it is time for Benson to emerge as a leader for this squad. After an emotional night of seeing Travis going down with his injury, the talented back only had six rushing attempts for 22 yards and one touchdown. He currently has 743 rushing yards on the season (257 yards away from the 1,000-yard milestone).

This could be a prime opportunity for the Seminoles’ offense to generate the ground game. Florida’s defensive unit has struggled to contain the running game where they rank 86th in the FBS in rushing yards allowed (161.5).

My hope is that Florida State can go back to what they were successful with on the offensive side of the football: Running the football.