FSU Preview: Florida State Hosts Florida

Saturday night at 7 p.m. on ESPN2 the Seminoles host the rival Florida Gators.

Florida is 6-5 on season with wins against Samford, UCF, Mississippi State, Kentucky, LSU and Ole Miss with losses to Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia and Texas.

FSU is 28-37-2 versus Florida in the series all-time. The ‘Noles won in a defensive slugfest last year at the Swamp and won in a shootout, 45-38, in ’22.

Observations from the last game

The quarterback, Luke Kromenhoek, showed he can make most of the throws at a few different arm angles and demonstrated his athleticism in the open field and in the pocket. The young skill position players, Landen Thomas, Amaree Williams, Elijah Moore and Micahi Danzy, made some big plays as well.

The offensive line played decent when they followed through on their assignments.

Florida State offense versus Florida defense

FSU is going to go with Luke Kromenhoek at QB once again. The key on this side of the ball is the run game for FSU. The Gators have done a decent job against the run but have been better the last two games versus LSU and Ole Miss.

Florida State is 132^nd in yards per game rushing but might have gained some confidence in the last game. If Lawrance Toafili and Kam Davis can get some yards on first down, it’ll open things up for the freshman quarterback.

When it comes to the passing game it should be tough against a defensive front that has 5 players with at least 2 sacks including Tyreak Sapp, who has 6. Stat stuffing DBs Trikweze Bridges and Jordan Castell are other players to look out for.

Florida State defense versus Florida offense

UF quarterback DJ Lagway had a slow start to the season due to facing some tough defenses and an injury but has been turning heads the past couple games. Lagway is normally a dual threat, but his leg injury has hindered him a bit. This still hasn’t deterred them from being a run heavy offense (57% run to pass). Jadan Baugh, Montrell Johnson and Ja’Kobi Jackson split the carries and have 18 rushing touchdowns between them.

FSU needs a big performance from the defensive line to disrupt the running game and give the linebackers like Blake Nichelson (48 tackles) and Cam Riley (44 tackles) clean lanes to make the tackle. Elijah Badger (22.2 yards per catch), Chimere Dike and tight end Arlis Boardingham are Lagway’s go to guys in the passing game.

Special Teams

Chimere Dike is 10^th in FBS in punt return yards per attempt with 14.9. He gives UF the slight advantage.

Prediction

This game will come down to the trenches. This is where the Gators have a major advantage. UF should be able to establish the run on offense and will have Kromenhoek under pressure all night. Mercifully, the season we would like to forget about, comes to an end.

Florida State 13 Florida 41.