Florida vs. FSU: 2014 Florida Cup TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Time and More
Saturday's showdown between the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles has wildly different implications for both sides.
For the 6-4 Gators, this is about pride. The final game of the season and final send-off for coach Will Muschamp gives the team a chance to ruin an in-state rival's perfect season and national title aspirations.
Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles are at a point in the season where anything less than outright wins may very well send them careening out of the inaugural College Football Playoff.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Both teams have been down as of late, but the stakes could not be higher Saturday afternoon in the battle for the Florida Cup.
The Ground Grind
Florida makes no attempt to hide what it wants to do—the Gators want to cram the ball down a defense's throat and play great defense.
The Seminoles know this is coming. Florida touts a stable of impressive runners, which includes a pair of quarterbacks at the end of the list:
| Matt Jones | 157 | 788 | 5.0 | 44 (TD) | 6 |
| Kelvin Taylor | 99 | 528 | 5.3 | 65 (TD) | 6 |
| Treon Harris | 56 | 250 | 4.5 | 33 (TD) | 3 |
| Jeff Driskel | 66 | 173 | 2.6 | 18 | 4 |
Speaking of quarterbacks, Florida will trot out freshman Treon Harris once again despite a slight injury scare last week in a rout over Eastern Kentucky. Clearly Harris is a talented runner, but he also takes good care of the football and has six touchdown passes to one interception on the season.
Still, the problems for the Seminoles come on the ground.
The fact that the Gators rush for almost 200 yards per game on the ground is of concern for a Seminoles defense that most recently allowed Boston College to turn 51 carries into 240 yards and a score on a 4.7 per-carry average.
In that contest, Tyler Murphy did much of what Harris will do Saturday by way of being a serious dual-threat that gives the Seminoles fits. The Seminoles allowed him to throw for 73 yards and a score and rush for 48 and another score.
If Florida State does not shore up its defense in the face of a great rushing team, championship aspirations may fade in a hurry. A lack of discipline and physicality against the rush is why the Seminoles have been living on the edge as of late—and the Gators know it.
Getting Dramatic
Jameis Winston and the Seminoles sure love to put on a show.
Winston has struggled at times to look like the player that took home the Heisman last season. He has completed 66.0 percent of his passes for 3,125 yards and 19 touchdowns to 13 interceptions, but time after time has needed late-game heroics for his team to win.
Fisher at least attributes part of this to the fact his team gets every opponent's absolute best shot.
"We're going into battle," Fisher said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "These games are going to be dogfights. People are going to try and be the one that knocks us out, knocks us off, got nothing to lose."
Not only is this a rivalry with all of the aforementioned implications, but these two simply have a habit of making things closer than they need to be. Just ponder a note from Brendan Sonnone of the Orlando Sentinel:
Each and every possession is going to count Saturday. So is every time the chains actually move.
With Florida State's inability to get off the field, the few times Winston actually has the ball in his hands are going to decide the game.
So far this has worked out fine for the Seminoles. So far.
When: Saturday, November 29, 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
Television: ESPN
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 53
- Spread: Florida State (-7.5)
Team Injury Reports
| Neiron Ball | LB | 11/17/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | knee |
| Jarrad Davis | LB | 11/17/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | knee |
| Will Grier | QB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Florida State | Questionable | back |
| Treon Harris | QB | 11/24/2014 | is probable for Saturday's game against Florida State | Probable | knee |
| Mark Herndon | RB | 09/21/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | knee |
| Thomas Holley | DT | 08/18/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | hip |
| J.C. Jackson | CB | 09/11/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | shoulder |
| Jake McGee | TE | 09/07/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | leg |
| Leon Orr | DT | 11/08/2014 | was dismissed from the team | Out | disciplinary |
| Colin Blake | S | 10/29/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | shoulder |
| Demarcus Christmas | DT | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Florida | Questionable | ankle |
| Ukeme Eligwe | LB | 11/07/2014 | was dismissed from the team | Out | disciplinary |
| Rashad Greene | WR | 11/24/2014 | is probable for Saturday's game against Florida | Probable | arm |
| Isaiah Jones | WR | 08/16/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | academics |
| Nile Lawrence-Stample | DT | 09/24/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | pectoral |
| Delvin Purifoy | LB | 08/31/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | ankle |
Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
The Seminoles are better than the Gators at most positions, but there is a big difference between talent and execution.
It falls on the shoulders of the defense Saturday. So long as the unit can actually get a few stops and halt an elite rushing attack, Winston will once again be able to will his team to a win.
Look for this one to be close until the final frame. At home, Winston will be able to pull off a definitive drive late in the contest against a defense that is strong but certainly susceptible to exploitation through the air.
Prediction: Seminoles 24, Gators 20
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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