Florida State Football: 3 lessons from win over rival Florida

2. With the win, Florida State is still on path for bowl eligibility

The loss to Alabama was significant mostly because it knocked Deondre Francois out for the season. Otherwise, falling to the Crimson Tide was never going to hurt the Seminoles much in the standings. Then Hurricane Irma disrupted several straight weeks of play, forcing the Seminoles to reschedule games against rival Miami and Sun Belt opponent Louisiana-Monroe.

When they returned to the field, the Seminoles looked like a shell of themselves. Florida State lost two of its next three and four of its next six, hovering under .500 in the standings all season long. After falling to Clemson in early November, it appeared that FSU’s 35-game bowl streak was finally coming to an end.

But with the rescheduling of the game against the Warhawks for December 2, there was still a sliver of hope. The Seminoles took down FCS Delaware State to get to 4-6. And with their fifth straight win over the Gators, Florida State needs only to defeat ULM in Week 14 to secure a 36th straight trip to the postseason.

Jimbo Fisher has kept his team competitive week after week despite key injuries, with the Seminoles sporting a 3-3 record in one-score games. What has been a trying year in Tallahassee has turned into a tale of resilience.