Florida State Football: 3 lessons from win over rival Florida

Florida State football and Florida played close until the fourth quarter. Here’s what we learned as the Seminoles pulled away to win a fifth straight against the Gators.

It has been a trying year in both Tallahassee and Gainesville. Florida State and Florida watched as the balance of power in the state shifted southward in 2017. Miami, UCF and South Florida earned most of the accolades this season, as the trio kept the Sunshine State relevant on a national level after the Seminoles and Gators fell off the map.

Jimbo Fisher’s team opened the season ranked in the top five, but a season-opening loss to Alabama proved especially costly when starting quarterback Deondre Francois was injured for the year. Florida was also a top-20 team according to the preseason polls, but a streak of futility cost head coach Jim McElwain his job.

Instead of contending for conference titles, the two teams met on the Saturday after Thanksgiving both sporting 4-6 records. Florida had no chance of reaching a bowl game thanks to the cancellation of its game against FCS Northern Colorado. Florida State was still alive for a postseason berth coming into the game, thanks to a rescheduled game against Louisiana-Monroe on the first weekend of December that will give the Seminoles a 12th game.

Though the records left something to be desired, the showdown between the Seminoles and Gators is always a spirited affair. That was the case yet again this season, as Florida State held on for a 38-22 victory in the Swamp. Keep reading for three things we learned from the fifth straight win by the Seminoles in this series.