Florida State-Florida: Nine Ways for the 'Noles to Hang With the Gators

Step 7: Smart Emotion

Florida State needs to take the field with passion and fire, but not at the expense of smart football. Florida's explosive playmakers make defensive discipline a key. The defense needs to bring intensity, but over-pursuit and similar mistakes will leave them vulnerable to big plays.

Dumb penalties can take Florida State out of the game too. They will have to avoid flags in key situations. When you play an opponent of this quality, you can't give them any help.

Step 8: Seize the Opportunity

Florida State will welcome a Florida team deemed virtually unbeatable into Doak on Saturday. Expectations are low, with the Gators a 14-point favorite. The 'Noles have an opportunity to show the Gators and the Nation how far they have come, as well as ruin Florida's opportunity to have a National Championship season.

Essentially, they stand everything to gain, and virtually nothing to lose. If they lose it, will only be expected. They should play with this in mind. They can feel loose knowing that the game offers nothing but an opportunity to seize national relevance and reignite a rivalry that has been lacking the games of national magnitude that defined it in the '90s.

Florida State is a team full of talented players, and a motivated and passionate performance could give the Gators a lot to deal with.

Step 9: It's a Rivalry

Bobby Bowden will have to summon up some of his old magic on Saturday for the underdog Seminoles to pull the shocker. But the key to an upset won't be any motivational speech or ploy. It will be smart football with a low number of mistakes and a positive turnover margin.

The 'Noles will have to keep the ball out of Tebow's hands and in Ponder's, and the Seminoles' defensive line will have to be hassling the Gator backfield all afternoon.

Also, don't overlook the fact that this is a rivalry game. Sometimes the records can be thrown out for one afternoon.

Finally, among other keys, the Seminoles will have to hope the rock they throw at Urban's Goliath catches it right between the eyes.

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