FSU vs. Florida: Score, Highlights and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Florida Cup

The No. 13 Florida State Seminoles aren’t headed to the ACC Championship Game or College Football Playoff, but they pushed forth a convincing finish with a 27-2 road win in the season finale over the No. 12 Florida Gators.

Dashing their archrival’s national title hopes was merely a consolation prize, as ESPN showed:

The Gators were on the brink of their first shutout since 1988, but they saved face when defensive end Cece Jefferson forced a fumble and safety halfway through the fourth quarter.

Florida never turned the ball over, but quarterback Treon Harris was limited to just 134 yards on 19-of-38 passing. Running back Kelvin Taylor churned out 136 yards, but he found himself in the shadow of Seminoles star Dalvin Cook, who turned in 183 yards and two touchdowns.

Cook strengthened his case for belonging among the nation’s elite at his position, as noted by Wes Durham of the ACC Network:

Had he avoided injury earlier this season and were his team in the national title race, Cook likely would be in the thick of the Heisman Trophy discussion. ESPN's Danny Kanell pondered the same thing:

The game shaped up as a defensive duel early, going scoreless until Roberto Aguayo notched a 45-yard field goal early in the second quarter to give the Seminoles a 3-0 lead.

Quarterback Sean Maguire connected for a one-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Kerr on Florida State’s next drive to push the lead to 10-0. Aguayo added another 51-yard boot in the third, building on what was already a comfortable cushion.

Maguire wasn’t much better than Harris—finishing 14-of-28 for 160 yards and a touchdown—but he never turned the ball over and leaned on a stout defense for support. His lone score was a prayer, as Dr. Saturday of Yahoo Sports tweeted, but he connected nonetheless:

The Seminoles were eliminated from playoff contention with their second loss to No. 1 Clemson in Week 10 to compound a gut-wrenching defeat of miraculous proportion to Georgia Tech two weeks prior.

Had a few plays gone the other way, it could be the Seminoles playing No. 14 North Carolina in next week’s ACC Championship Game, perhaps as an unbeaten and for a playoff spot. However, they’ll have to settle for a respectable bowl game, possibly even pushing into the new year.

The Gators will stumble into next week’s SEC Championship Game vs. No. 2 Alabama as the representative of a beleaguered East Division. But the Gators weren’t expected to return to college football’s elite so quickly.

Under first-year head coach Jim McElwain, Florida reached heights many thought were far out of reach. Though a tough finish—just a week removed from a narrow 20-14 win over 3-9 Florida Atlantic—the Gators still have a shot at the nation's toughest conference's crown. The future appears bright in Gainesville.

Postgame Reaction

FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher led the Seminoles to the 2013 national title and an undefeated regular season a year later. Yet the resolve in this year’s crew ranks among the highest he’s been around, per David Visser of Tomahawk Nation:

McElwain insisted that despite Harris' performance, there were never any discussions to replace him, per Zach Abolverdi of the Gainesville Sun:

The first-year head coach also believes his defensive unit is among the nation’s best, according to Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun, which should shape an interesting matchup next week against Alabama’s Heisman favorite—Derrick Henry:

Speaking of the sport’s most prestigious award, Fisher questioned why Cook’s name doesn’t rank with Henry and LSU’s Leonard Fournette among top candidates, per Bud Elliott of Tomahawk Nation:

Fisher advanced to 5-1 against Florida, though given McElwain’s promising start, this rivalry seems on course to reach exciting heights in the coming years.