Florida Football: 10 greatest Florida State rivalry games, Part 1
By James Bowers
10. 2012: Florida 37, Florida State 26
The early 2010s saw both teams in flux. Following the 2010 season, Urban Meyer left Gainesville following a brief but extremely successful tenure with the Gators.
Conversely, the illustrious Bobby Bowden era finally ended at Florida State at the conclusion of the 2009 campaign (fittingly the final game for Bowden was the 2010 Gator Bowl, where the Seminoles defeated his old team, West Virginia).
The 2010 and 2011 slates saw the ‘Noles and Gators have seasons that most middle-of-the-road programs would have called successful, but were disappointing for teams of Florida and Florida State’s caliber. The Gators won eight games in 2010 and seven in 2011. While Florida State won the ACC Atlantic division in 2010, it lost the ACC title game to Virginia Tech and won only nine games in 2011. However, 2012 saw both teams return to form.
Both teams came into their annual clash ranked in the top 10 with only one loss each. Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher and Florida’s Will Muschamp appeared to finally be living up to the massive expectations of their job titles. The matchup marked the first time the two teams met as top 10 foes since 2000.
The game started in Florida’s favor, with the Gators utilizing effective offense from players like Jeff Driskel and Mike Gillislee to jump out to a 13-3 halftime lead. In the second half, Florida State caught fire, taking advantage of incredible field position on two straight possessions to go ahead 17-13 on two EJ Manuel touchdown passes and a Dustin Hopkins 53-yard field goal at the end of the third.
The game looked like it was the Seminoles’ for the taking. It was as if Lee Corso himself was there to say, “Not so fast my friend”.
Driskel played like a man unleashed in the fourth quarter. He began his campaign when he marched the Gators 64 yards on a drive that ended in a Caleb Sturgis field goal to cut the score to 20-16. Then the Gators got handed a gift when Manuel coughed the football up upon being sacked, giving Florida the football at the Florida State 37. Mike Gillislee then took the ball and ran all the way to the end zone to give Florida a 23-20 lead.
On the next ‘Nole possession, the Gators forced a three-and-out after Florida State inserted reserve quarterback Clint Trickett. Florida cushioned its lead to ten on its next march when Driskel hit Quinton Dunbar for a 14-yard touchdown, and proceeded to ice the game when Matt Jones took to the the house from 36 yards out.
Owing to the tenacity of the rivalry, Manuel led a spirited but ultimately academic drive, ending the game with his own 22-yard touchdown run to make a 37-26 affair. Florida State would win the ACC title the next week after beating Georgia Tech and crush an out-of-place Northern Illinois squad in the Orange Bowl.
Florida would get drubbed by Teddy Bridgewater-led Louisville in the Sugar Bowl, forecasting the utter nosedive the Muschamp tenure with the Gators would take. He would go 10-14 in 2013 and 2014, and was sent packing by Florida following the latter year’s Florida State game.
We all know what Florida State did in 2013 and Fisher would keep the ‘Noles in the national title picture before bolting to Texas A&M after an underwhelming 2016 season.
The 2012 game may not carry the lore that the various Steve Spurrier vs. Bobby Bowden clashes of the 1990s did, but few could argue it was one of the most important Florida vs. Florida State matchups in recent years.