UCF Knights
Blowing Out The Buffs?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When you’re trailing 28-7 early in the third quarter, typically you don’t think running the ball is a recipe for a comeback win. Unless, of course, you’re RJ Harvey.
UCF’s star running back carried his team to a dramatic, 35-34 comeback victory over TCU two Saturdays ago, finishing with 180 rushing yards and two touchdowns on a career-high 29 carries, plus a 29-yard receiving touchdown.
The Knights erased a 21-point deficit in the second half to open their Big 12 play with a win, The Knights are now 3-0.
Harvey went into halftime with a respectable 66 yards on the ground before shredding TCU’s defense after the break, ripping 114 yards,6.3 yards per carry to flip the momentum and score in UCF’s favor.
With a home showdown against Colorado and coach Deion Sanders on Saturday, Harvey finished sixth in FBS with 1,416 rushing yards in 2023, averaging 149.3 yards per game in 2024 (fourth in the country).
What makes UCF particularly dangerous is that Harvey doesn’t have to do it alone. Toledo transfer Peny Boone, Cincinnati transfer Myles Montgomery, and speedy senior Johnny Richardson round out arguably the deepest running back group in college football, with all four averaging at least 6 yards per carry. Add in dual-threat quarterback KJ Jefferson, and the Knights have the top rushing attack in FBS at 375.7 yards per game.
UCF lost five in a row to open league play in 2023, their first season as a member of the Big 12. The challenges of upgrading from the AAC to the Big 12 manifested into several late-game collapses, including: Kansas State, Oklahoma, and a 29-point meltdown against the Baylor Bears. Those Knights didn’t have the horses or swords to keep up.
Coach Malzahn worked to rectify 2023’s roster through the portal, adding 24 transfers this offseason.
“There’s nothing like experience in college football,” Malzahn said. “The more experienced team you have, the better chance you have to be successful. We have a lot of older guys who have played a lot of football.”
That experience showed up on the road against TCU. UCF’s defense tightened up just enough, forcing two punts and three field goals, the last one a desperation 58-yard attempt that sailed wide right as time expired.
Jefferson is still finding his footing with the Knights through three games, but when the team needed him to step up late against TCU, the veteran delivered, including a pair of 20-plus-yard touchdown passes to senior wideout Kobe Hudson.
The bigger issue last season, however, was a defense that wilted against Big 12 competition, particularly against the ground game. UCF allowed 4.9 yards per carry in 2023.
The current three-game sample isn’t enough to get excited about. They were best in the Big 12 with 2.5 yards per carry allowed in 2024, and the additions of players like Pace, Arnold and defensive linemen Nyjalik Kelly and Dayan Dotson have strengthened the defense at all three levels.
Is it improved enough to contend in the newly crowded and chaotic Big 12 race?
UCF gets their next chance to prove something on Saturday against Colorado, fresh off the Buffs’ Hail Mary overtime win against Baylor.
It’s still up for debate how much better this Colorado team is compared to their last place finish in the Pac-12 in 2023, but it boasts two game-changing talents in Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter, as well as the Coach Prime effect: Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show is headed to Orlando, Fla., and the game gets the network’s 3:30 p.m. ET national spotlight.
It’s probably the biggest showcase UCF has had since ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Orlando in 2018.
These Knights will face more challenging in-conference tests against Iowa State, BYU, Arizona and Utah later in the schedule, as well as a short trip to Gainesville on Oct. 5 for a non-conference game that could kill Billy Napier’s tenure at Florida.
If UCF truly is good enough to compete for a Big 12 title, it should take care of business at home against a Colorado team that needed a last-second miracle to beat Baylor. The uniqueness of Saturday is an opportunity to burnish those bona fides with plenty of eyeballs watching.
UCF is a young Power 4 team with a lot of growth. Saturday at 4 pm, The Bounce House will be rockin and a large national audience will see UCF. UCF 34 Colorado 23
The Collective
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m fairly confident one of the four Power 5 programs in the state of Florida will make the Playoff in the next five years. What gives me that confidence?
Recent history of College Football Playoff rankings before bowl season. Florida State was 13th this past season. In 2020, Florida was seventh and Miami was 18th. In 2019, the Gators were ninth. In 2018, UCF was eighth and Florida was 10th.
In 2017, Miami was 10th. None of Florida’s schools has made a College Football Playoff since Florida State in 2014.
Had there been a 12-team playoff, there likely would’ve been representation on this side of the map. Looking at the now and near future, Florida State will make it first because the Seminoles are furthest along in their rebuild and are reaping results.
As for NIL collectives, it’s impossible to rank them. We don’t really have that financial data available to us. As of now, we must take these collectives at their word, followed by the actions of transfers and recruits.
Based on my experience talking to both college and high school players about the process, I think money plays only a slight factor if what is offered by the schools is relatively equal in value. So, they’ll make their choices based on playing time, history, NFL relationships, as well as day-to-day relationships with their position coaches and coordinators. NIL gets you in the game or knocks you out if it’s nonexistent.
How would I describe the actions of the NIL collectives? Are they helping win over recruits, simply doing their job, or are they failing to meet expectations?
All three characterized the collectives they covered as doing their jobs. Except for one player at UCF, none thought the programs lost players the coaching staff wanted to keep because they were necessarily outbid by other collectives.
In Miami’s case, I can certainly think of at least a couple of examples in which the program’s healthy NIL collective helped push UM toward the top of recruitment.
Does that make Miami the strongest NIL in the state? Maybe — based on its track record.
On the other hand, NIL is constantly evolving. Bankrollers come and go, and the truth is the in-state collectives are just really getting their act together since state laws changed in February.
Apart from what John Ruiz’s LifeWallet has done for UM, Miami’s Canes Connection Collective has announced dozens of signings throughout the spring. These are big wins off the field.
Florida’s Victorious Collective is putting the Jaden Rashada mess in the rearview mirror and providing the Gators real leadership and balance.
Florida State’s Battle’s End has been operating since December, and the Seminoles have kept top players Jared Verse and Jordan Travis happy.
UCF’s The Kingdom has raised several million and expects to be middle of the pack in the Big 12.
Again, it feels as though the collectives at the Power 4 in the Sunshine State are doing their jobs.
But until Florida, Miami, Florida State and UCF produce consistency that fans have grown accustomed to, programs will be frustrated.
NIL’s will help The Sunshine State’s schools keep top talent in the state. Keep the talent in the state and Playoffs will follow.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch March 31
Revamping NIL In Florida
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Less than three years after Florida enacted a law to help athletes and universities get a head start in the profitable NIL space, now the legislature is ramping up efforts to make sure those groups don’t get left behind.
When the State House and Senate convene next week for a two-week session, one of the main topics tackled will be revamping Florida’s existing NIL law.
“In 2020, Florida was proactive in creating legislation which governs how college athletes can be compensated for use of their names, images and likenesses,” House Speaker Paul Renner wrote in a Friday memo to House members and staff.
“However, the recent enactment of NCAA regulations regarding athlete compensation has put many states with such laws at a disadvantage, causing a need for Florida to revisit our current law. We recognize the need to address this issue in a timely manner so our collegiate teams can remain competitive.”
The 2020 Florida law made it permissible for college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, but it prohibited coaches, staff and other representatives of universities from being part of the process.
That became an issue when the NCAA subsequently ruled that all athletes could earn money from NIL deals as long as they followed their state laws, which meant those in Florida and a handful of other states would actually be at a disadvantage.
Several states promptly repealed their state laws once that happened, but two bills in Florida stalled during the 2022 session.
The new House legislation will be referred to the Education and Employment Committee, according to Renner’s memo. The Senate version will go to the Post-Secondary Education Committee.
Virtually, all college coaches claim it has led to widespread tampering and even more illegal recruiting than usual, and many programs worry about the effect it is having on locker room chemistry.
At the same time, people also believe it is long overdue that college athletes have the right to earn money through marketing agreements and other above-board business opportunities.
The proposal by Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, would align Florida law with those in other states with schools that compete with Florida universities, which generated $1.1 billion dollars in revenue last year, according to a House analysis.
This Bill would allow schools to set up space on campus for NIL entities to meet athletes and for university employees to introduce athletes to companies willing to pay them to use their name and likeness.
When the NCAA issued new NIL guidelines last October to allow schools to have a more active role in connecting athletes with NIL entities, Florida schools — such as the University of Florida, University of Central Florida and Florida State University — suddenly found themselves at a competitive disadvantage.
The Bill specifically states that a school is not required to identify or facilitate NIL opportunities for students, or that an NIL deal qualifies a student as a university employee.
Also, they amended the proposal shielding schools and coaches from liability related to damages resulting from routine decisions — like benching a player — because schools have sovereign immunity.
The proposal has two more committee stops before it is introduced to the House floor.
As always, the unintended consequences could be problematic. On its face, it’s much better they are in charge of managing the brand and not relying on outside or non-auditable parties.
You have to assume that this will lead to some sort of mutually agreed salary cap by conferences at some point down the road.
I believe this will have universities explaining why they are not using new TV revenues and other income sources to pony up for 5 stars, rather than asking their alumni/booster base to take on the additional burden of NIL.
New Path
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
McKenzie Milton has decided to officially hang up the cleats, announcing his retirement from football on Thursday.
The former UCF star returned from a catastrophic leg injury to play for Florida State in 2021, providing one great story last season.
But now that the 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone, Milton explained on Instagram that “my days of playing football have come to an end.”
Milton had a 27-6 record as a starter for UCF, after starting 4-6 his freshman season, he led the Knights to 23 consecutive wins. He contributed to two American Athletic Conference Championship teams, but that fateful injury in the regular season finale back in 2018 cost him the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Milton graduated from UCF and transferred to Florida State, where he was able to get on the field for six games with four starts during the 2021 season.
After participating in a pro day at Florida State and UCF this spring and not getting drafted, Milton can celebrate his recovery and still know he gave the NFL his best run.
In his announcement on social media, Milton made reference to the “what if” questions that might include whether his NFL Draft outcome might have been different without the injury. But he says his outlook is focused on his growing family, as he and his wife are expecting a boy this summer.
“A lot of people will wonder what if he never got hurt, what if this what if that? I asked myself those same questions for a while too,” Milton wrote in his announcement on social media. “It wasn’t until November 23, 2021 (three year anniversary of my injury) where I saw my son for the first time on ultrasound and then understood why I went through what I went through. It took three years to put it all in perspective. I get goosebumps thinking about how divine it is that three years to the day I get hurt, is the same day I see my baby boy for the first time.”
While Milton was working out with NFL aspirations, he simultaneously got active in the name, image and likeness business.
Dreamfield was founded in the summer of 2021 by two then-active college quarterbacks, McKenzie Milton and D’Eriq King. At the time, both had transferred to Florida schools after great AAC careers. Both said they wanted to take advantage of the new opportunity that was NIL.
Through their Dreamfield platform, they did things like releasing NFTs or non-fungible tokens, which are blockchain-based assets that allow college athletes to easily monetize their NIL, build their brand, and authentically connect with their fans in new and unique ways.
They also brought in other student-athletes, who wanted to use the platform to help find NIL deals.
Today, they offer numerous resources for the athletes who they’ve partnered with, including help with taxes, compliance, and brand building. Meanwhile, they help brands identify the right athletes for them and track the success of their campaigns.
They also exist to help boosters in the NIL era, as they try to begin crowdfunding and things of that nature.
Dreamfield works to bring student-athletes and brands together for the purposes of NIL. They do so without pairing up directly. Instead, they team up with the athletes themselves.
Among those athletes who they have teamed up with are Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham and Washington quarterback Michael Penix.
Now, with these new brands, they will be able to help those brands partner with more student-athletes in deals moving forward.
We may have seen the last of Milton on the gridiron, but he made his impact in college athletics.
Beating The Odds
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
McKenzie Milton had quite the college football journey. After breaking out at UCF, Milton suffered a gruesome leg injury and was thought to be in danger of never playing again.
However, he recovered and ended up transferring to Florida State, playing the 2021 season.
Milton had a unique helmet for the Hula Bowl, a postseason college football all-star game. Ironically, it is held in Orlando, Florida, home of the UCF Knights. Milton debuted his helmet, sporting both the UCF and Florida State logo on each side. As far as Milton’s future in football, he said he was holding out hope to make it in the NFL.
“Honestly I have no idea,” Milton told reporters when asked what is next for him. “To me, I shoot for the NFL. Hoping that opportunity will come, but we’ll see. It just depends..”
Later the reporter asked if a coaching career is in his future, Milton said his current focus is on playing at the next level, though he does anticipate entering the coaching industry when the time comes for him to hang up his cleats.
In total, Milton finished his college career with 9,458 yards, 75 touchdowns, 28 interceptions, a 61.3% completion percentage, 1,065 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns.
He led the Knights to a 27-6 record as a starter, including an undefeated 2017 season, and two American Athletic Conference championships.
The Hawaiian high school star suffered a catastrophic knee injury during the regular-season finale in 2018 which forced him to miss the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
After multiple surgeries and several years of rehabilitation, Milton took over as quarterback for UCF’s scout team.
After graduating from UCF and completing a long road to recovery, Milton transferred to Florida State to close out his college campaign. Appearing in 6 games for the Seminoles, Milton threw for 775 yards and 3 touchdowns to go along with 6 interceptions while making 4 starts.
Milton was named the ACC’s Brian Piccolo Award winner, which honors the league’s ‘most courageous’ football player and is named for the former Wake Forest and Chicago Bears running back.
Florida State quarterback McKenzie Milton capped off a stellar college career by being named one of three winners of the 2021 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award on Tuesday.
Milton’s focus is now on the future, particularly one in the NFL, as he looks to make an impression on some of the 100 scouts on hand for this week’s game.
“You’ve just got to go out there and be yourself,” Milton said. “Perform as if thousands of people are watching, which is how it is in the game. So, it’s nothing different. “Everything you put on film is your job interview as well. So, it’s just trying to maximize every rep, even when I’m not in there, get mental reps, too. But it’s been a good learning experience for sure.”
Milton has no idea what’s in store for him, but he plans to participate in FSU’s Pro Day and possibly one at UCF. “I’m just hoping that opportunity comes,” he said. “It just depends on if it’s right for me and if it’s right for my family, so we’ll see.”
McKenzie Milton will be finishing his college football career where it all began: the Bounce House.
Expansion
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If you’ve been living off the grid, you missed the big news last week.
College football is headed towards expanding the Playoffs to 12 teams. Let’s break down which programs are going to benefit the most on the field.
1.UCF: Through the past five years, the Knights have been widely regarded as the most capable Group-of-5 program.
Add Cincinnati and Boise State to that mix, and with expansion, there is now a seat at the table for really talented and fun to watch teams that may come once every few years for a program.
These types of teams have historically been an afterthought to the committee for the College Football Playoffs.
- Georgia: Georgia has made the Playoffs in the past, but now the Bulldogs aren’t at the mercy of Alabama.
Kirby has built an elite level roster; and instead of making it once every ten years, Georgia is going to make it every. single. year.
- Every Second Tier Big 12, Big 10, ACC, and SEC teams.These programs will no longer have to conquer the powerhouse programs in their conference to make the Playoffs.
When the Playoff expansion hit, the first person I thought about was Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. Given his troubles surrounding Tennessee, I’d make a strong case that UCF is a better job than dealing with the SEC.
Most fans don’t view the Group of 5 as worthy of a playoff spot because they don’t play a Power 5 schedule, and/or they don’t recruit at the same level. The Best G5 teams every year still end up very, very good.
Now some of these G5 programs UCF, Cincinnati, SMU and Boise State (to name a few) actually have something to sell. These teams have better resources and support than most of their peers at the same level, and they suddenly have a fighting chance of making the Playoffs on an annual basis, more so than middle tier Power 5 teams.
If the Playoff expansion is approved, UCF, SMU, Cincinnati and Boise State are the real winners in terms of how this will help the schools improve their recruiting.
The losers in this expansion are Notre Dame and the Pac 12. The PAC 12 commissioner and athletic directors want automatic bids for conference winners. Unfortunately, they are likely not alone in this discussion.
Notre Dame cannot receive a playoff bid due to no conference affiliation. Look for the Irish to join the ACC in the near future.
While the College Football Playoff expansion to 12 is expected to be formally approved as soon as August, it’s not going to take effect immediately. The earliest it could take effect is 2023.
When there is more money available, that usually leads to more business opportunities. For college football, more opportunities usually leads to realignment and expansion among conferences.
My question is, will expansion kill the hype around the mid-level bowls games?
Florida Grades
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football season is over and Alabama has regained the throne.
For the Big Four in the State of Florida, its year-end report card time.
The biggest question when I go to grade these teams is expectations versus on field performance.
Florida State: The buzz surrounding Florida State Football has been steadily building with the arrival of Mike Norvell. The Seminoles kicked off the season against ACC rival Georgia Tech and ended with Duke.
FSU finished with three wins and six losses. The Noles had three games canceled due to COVID. The signature win was against number 5 North Carolina 31-28. Many fans were excited that the program had finally turned the corner and FSU football was back.
But a week later Louisville routed the Seminoles 48-16.
Florida State has long been considered one of the Elite programs in the country, but if last season is a gauge of the program’s direction, it is in big trouble.
Team stats: Passing 159 for 292 for 1,771 yards, ten touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Rushing 352 attempts for 1,799 yards and 19 touchdowns. Receiving 159 catches for 1,771 yards. Defensively the Seminoles allowed 257 yards passing per game and 199 yards rushing per game. FSU scored 232 points this season and allowed 324.
The few bright spots from this season were Jordan Travis, Lawrence Toafili, Amari Gainer and Emmett Rice.
Mike Norvell’s first season grade: F
UCF: The Knights entered 2020 with the goal of winning the AAC. That goal was not accomplished.
The Knights blew two big halftime leads to Tulsa and Memphis. That set the tone for the remainder of the season.
Central Florida finished with a 6-4 record but that did not meet the expectations of the program.
Offensively the Knights did put up record breaking numbers led by Sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel and wide receiver Marion Williams.
Gabriel was 248 for 413 for 3570 yards, 32 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Williams recorded 71 catches for 1039 yards and ten touchdowns.
UCF was very defensive in 2020. The Knights gave up 299 passing and 192 yards rushing (average per game).
In UCF’s four losses, the Knights allowed Memphis 41 first downs and over 700 yards of total offense, they also allowed Tulsa 23 first downs and over 450 yards of total offense. Cincinnati had 28 first downs and over 500 yards of total offense and BYU had 34 first downs and over 650 yards of total offense.
UCF fans have great expectations but realize that 2017 & 2018 are long in the past.
Josh Heupel’s grade: C+
Miami: The Canes finally had a standout starting quarterback in D’Eriq King and he helped bring some of the swag back to South Florida.
The Hurricanes took strides forward from Manny Diaz changing the culture in Miami.
Miami finished 2020 with eight wins and three losses.
King was a difference maker for the Canes. He was 211 of 329 for 2,686 yards passing, 23 touchdowns, only 5 interceptions, 538 yards rushing, and 4 touchdowns.
The Hurricanes struggled against top tier ACC teams with blow out losses to Clemson (42-17) and North Carolina (62-26).
In these games, Miami was plagued with errors whether it be penalties, missed assignments, drops, or lack of effort.
The offense took a step forward, but Miami’s defense looked unmotivated, porous and undisciplined.
Despite great performances against Duke and Florida State, the defense surrendered too many yards on the ground to North Carolina (554).
They also allowed Oklahoma State’s quarterback to throw for 300 plus yards and four scores.
Manny Diaz grade: B
Recruiting Wars
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I am handing out grades to the following teams’ recruiting classes following the early Signing Period for the class of 2021.
Considering the challenges all coaches have to deal with while recruiting during the pandemic, there is plenty of praise and blame to go around for Miami, UCF and Florida State.
Recruiting has three periods: Early Signing, National Signing Day, and Transfer Portal. I’ll be looking at the Early Signing Period and Transfer Portal.
Grading any recruiting class is a subjective venture. I determine grades based on the balance of talent level that is brought in, alongside with how the class addresses needs on the roster.
Miami: The Hurricanes earned the signatures of 21 players during the first day of the Early Signing Period. When the dust settled, the Hurricanes had the 11th class in the nation and 2nd class in the ACC.
Miami put a big emphasis on locking down the best players from South Florida (15 of the 21 signees are from Miami-Dade and Broward County).
The keystones of this Hurricane class are five-star defensive tackle Leonard Taylor and safety James Williams.
Miami also flipped four-star quarterback Jake Garcia from USC. The Hurricanes still need to add a couple more offensive linemen and cornerbacks. I’m giving Miami an A-.
UCF: The Knights had 19 players sign and one transfer. The Knights rank 61st Nationally and 4th in the AAC.
UCF focused on the defensive side of the ball with 11 defensive players signing.
Anthony Hundley signed with the Knights after decommitting from LSU. The Miami native had offers from Florida State, Michigan and Ole’ Miss.
Mikey Keene became the third quarterback to sign with the Knights since Josh Heupel took over. The Arizona native passed for 5,089 yards and 47 touchdowns during his time at Chandler High School.
Former Virginia quarterback RJ Harvey transferred to the Knights; however, he will play at running back.
UCF is a program unlike the others in this article, their recruiting budget is 1/10th that of the other schools. The Knights will add a few more pieces in February and use the Transfer Portal to fill out their class, but the grade for the Knights is C+.
Florida State: The Seminole fans hoping that the football program was going to take a dramatic, positive turn in the first year under new head coach Mike Norvell were in for a rude reality check.
The prized newcomer for the Seminoles won’t be a freshman, but rather, former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton. If Milton is healthy, this is a talented game changer for Florida State.
This is the first class in modern day FSU history that has not included a five-star player.
In addition, the Seminoles only have one player ranked inside the top 250.
Norvell is very clearly trying to revamp the FSU defense with 10 of their 16 commits on that side of the ball.
Hunter Washington is the Seminole’s highest ranked recruit, and he is a bit undersized at 5 foot 11 and 175 pounds. Hunter Washington, Malik McClain, Shambre Jackson, Omarion Cooper, Rod Orr and Patrick Payton anchor Novell’s second class.
Florida State ranks 22nd Nationally and 4th in the ACC.
The Seminoles have a lot of work ahead of them to raise the talent level of their roster. Norvell must utilize the Transfer Portal. My grade for Florida State would be a D- but the arrival of McKenzie Milton alone raises it to a B-.
Sunshine Rivalry
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This is the best week of the year for college football fans.
Rivalry week is finale week to yet another college football season.
The feast begins Friday night at the Bounce House with “The War on I-4”, and ends Saturday night with Florida vs. Florida State.
We have heard it so many times in our college football lives, “You can throw the record book out when these two teams get together.”
This year it may be different, both UCF and Florida are heavy favorites in their respective matchups.
“The War on I-4” is the end of the year battle between UCF and South Florida. The Knight’s open up as a 23-point favorite. These are two teams heading in polar opposite directions.
The Bulls lead all-time series 6-4, but the Knights have won the last two games of the “War on I-4.”
Take it from me, this game is going to be a blow out! The Bulls have lost three home games in a row against Temple, Cincinnati and Memphis. Coach Charlie Strong is on the “HOT SEAT.” We can call it a local rivalry game, but the Bulls are no match for the Knights in 2019.
UCF has been one of the best offensive teams in the country with the points to prove it. The Knights have 30 or more in 31 straight games, which is the longest streak in the AP poll era (1936).
On Friday night, the Knights will extend the 30 or more point streak as they boat race the Bulls.
My prediction is this game is going to be ugly if you are a South Florida Bull.
Like all UCF home games this season, the game will be over by half time.
UCF 56 South Florida 20
Florida versus Florida State: The sheer richness of noteworthy games, assures us some wild rides and crazy results.
The Gators haven’t beaten the Seminoles in Gainesville since 2009. Since 2000, Florida State holds a 10-9 advantage, despite how close the record is the games have not been close.
Just two short years ago, the Florida Gators were in the same boat as this Florida State team. Florida fired Jim McElwain mid-season and the Seminoles thumped the Gators 31-13.
Fast forward to 2019, Florida State has fired Coach Will Taggart. Florida State is 2 and 0 since Intern Coach Odell Haggins took over the reins. The Seminoles became bowl eligible with a convincing 49-12 victory over Alabama State.
Coach Haggins is 4 and 0 for his career as a head coach at Florida State. Saturday night in the Swamp Coach Haggins will take his first lost.
Florida State has been a dumpster fire since the day Willie Taggart was hired. Don’t get me wrong, the Seminoles have a lot of talented players on their roster. It’s just those players talent has not translated into wins for the Seminoles.
Quick fact: Florida State ranked 124 in the NCAA in pass defense (the lowest in School history). The Gators ranked 19 in the NCAA in pass offense.
Florida State will start the game with a lot of fire and desire but at the end of the day they are no match for this year’s Gator team.
The Gators are playing for a New Year’s 6 bowl, and they would like to send their senior class of 18 players off with a victory.
The Seminoles have given up 36 sacks and 102 hurries in 2019, whereas the Gators have sacked the quarterback 38 times and 134 hurries.
Side note: Florida State’s search for a new head coach has taken a few turns over the past few weeks.
First, FSU strikes out on Bob Stoops. Next, brother Mark Stoops tells FSU no thanks.
The hot names are Norvell, Campbell, Clawson and Haggins.
Also, a report surfaced that Willie Taggart did not sign his contract. This report is not correct Willie Taggart signed his contract, but FSU administration did not sign. Just like the regular season FSU cannot finish.
Final Score: Florida 45 Florida State 20
