Florida: 41 FSU: 14
Tallahassee, FL – With a New Year’s Six bowl game in their sights, the Gators ended a five game skid against Florida State on Saturday. Florida entered Doak Campbell Stadium with one thing in mind, beat Florida State!
The win solidified a successful first year under Dan Mullen. In one game, Mullen snapped the longest Gators losing streak in series history, ended a 36 year bowl streak for the Seminoles, all but assured the Gators an NY6 berth, and showed his team off in front of all of FSU’s visiting recruits.
As far as wins over rivals go, this one must have been especially satisfying for the Gators. Florida controlled the game from start to finish, leaving FSU fans looking just as defeated as their team.
The offense produced plenty of explosive plays, including Lamical Perine‘s 74 yard touchdown run. The run was Florida’s longest play of the year. Despite early success, the Seminoles defense was worn down by the Gators rushing attack and eventually gave out.
See also: WR Tyrie Cleveland leaves FSU game with broken collarbone
Save for a handful of plays, the Gators defense proved to be troublesome for the Seminoles. Florida State was held below 300 yards and seemed out of sorts most of the day.
FSU QB Deondre Francois was battered and bruised, being sacked 5 times. Jachai Polite and Jabari Zuniga were providing plenty of pressure and forced Francois into turning the ball over 3 times.
The game was hard fought through much of the first half and was well within reach with 13-7 score at halftime. From that point on, the Gators could do no wrong. Feleipe Franks and the Florida offense exploded in the second half, capitalizing on every one of State’s mistakes.
The final score of 41-14, marks the fifth time this season that the Gators have scored 40 or more in a game. That is 2 more than in the entire Jim McElwain era.
The Gators have the opportunity to win their 10th game just one year following a 4-7 campaign. Mullen has already made such an impact on the program in just his first season, it is a safe assumption that Florida football is well on its way back to being a championship contender.
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Passing Leaders
Florida
Franks: 16/26, 254 YDS 3 TD
FSU
Francois: 14/29, 154 YDS 1 TD 2 INT
Rushing Leaders
Florida
Perine: 13 CAR, 129 YDS 1 TD
Scarlett: 20 CAR, 88 YDS 1 TD
FSU
Patrick: 10 CAR, 52 YDS
Francois: 11 CAR, 41 YDS 1 TD
Receiving Leaders
Florida
Grimes: 5 REC, 118 YDS 1 TD
Jefferson: 4 REC, 92 YDS 1 TD
FSU
Terry: 3 REC, 78 YDS
1st Downs
Florida: 24
FSU: 16
Total Plays
Florida: 79
FSU: 65
Time of Possession
Florida: 36:02
FSU: 23:58
Passing
Florida: 254
FSU: 154
Rushing
Florida: 282
FSU: 139
Penalties
Florida: 7-49
FSU: 10-60
Total Yards
Florida: 536
FSU: 293
Turnovers
Florida: 0
FSU: 3
SEC East Standings
Georgia 7-1 11-1
Kentucky 5-3 9-3
Florida 5-3 9-3
South Carolina 4-4 4-4
Mizzou 4-4 8-4
Tennessee 2-5 5-6
Vandy 2-5 5-6
*Some games may still be in progress