FSU football out of wiggle room, needs win at UF for bowl eligibility
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It is rivalry week as Florida State football prepares for another Sunshine State Showdown against longtime rival Florida at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Ben Hill Stadium in Gainesville.
Each program has pressing issues.
The Gators will finish with a losing record and are in the middle of a head-coaching search. FSU (5-5, 2-6 ACC), which announced earlier this week it will retain head coach Mike Norvell, needs a win to gain bowl eligibility.
Ironically, FSU’s last road win was at UF two years ago to the day. For the Seminoles to complete the regular season with a 6-6 record and go bowling, they must navigate the Swamp
“Obviously, this week is a huge week. Big game for us, trying to push to go get your sixth win, obviously in a rivalry game,” Norvell said in his Monday presser.
“You’re going on the road. Everything that surrounds this game, I mean, it’s huge. That’s going to be every bit of our focus.”
Norvell believes Florida(3-8, 2-6 SEC) is in a similar position to his Seminoles. The Gators had their fair share of close losses in the SEC.
The only main difference between the two teams is that the Gators are searching for a new head coach after firing Billy Napier halfway through the season. Norvell, meanwhile, has kept his job despite some bad road losses.
“When it comes to their team, it’s a very talented team. This is a roster that they’ve got good talent,” Norvell said.
“They’ve got ability. They’ve got playmakers on both sides, but for whatever reason, there’s been times, things that we’ve seen where it just hasn’t played complementary to each other. There’s been some games that have gotten away from them, but there’s definitely a talented team that we know we’re going to give it all that they have, and they’re going to get every bit of who we — what we have.”
FSU football must prepare for the arm talent of DJ Lagway
It has been an inconsistent year for Lagway in his second year after sparking the Gators’ offense when he took over the starting job as a true freshman halfway through last season.
When asked about Lagway and his progression from the last time his team faced him as a freshman last year to this season, a true sophomore, he praised his ability to overcome injuries from last year.
“I think DJ is an extremely talented player,” Norvell said.
“There are challenges that show up. I know he had the injury in the off-season, and people just want to turn on the film, press play, and it always go exactly how you want it to, but there’s real life that happens. When you miss an off-season, you have difficult situations, some of the pressures that jump onto expectations and what you think it will be and what it should look like. All that contributes.”
Lagway started every game for the Gators. He has completed 63 percent of his passes for 2,096 yards, 13 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. His 13 picks to first in the SEC.
“You see the arm talent,” Norvell said.
“You see the size, the ability to extend plays. He’s a dangerous player to have to go against, and he can make every throw, but at the end of the day, we’ve got to try to disrupt him, try to make him uncomfortable. We know the talent’s there.”
Despite the NC State loss, FSU carries momentum heading into the Florida game. Defensive coordinator Tony White downplayed Florida’s record and expects this rivalry game to be physical during his press conference on Sunday. He also spoke highly of Lagway and his supporting cast.
“You’re talking about the skilled athletes. It starts with the quarterback, and I get that they’ve had an adverse field season, but he has the talent to be one of the top draft choices, period, in the draft. They are big up front and got skills everywhere. It’s going to be a different challenge,” White said.
“So we’re going to have to not have a scoreboard for this one and understand that these kinds of games, it doesn’t matter what the record is. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, doesn’t matter who’s there. It’s going to be a physical battle, so we’re going to have to be ready to go.”
How to watch FSU vs.Florida
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 29
- Time: 4:30 p.m.
- Where: Ben Hill Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
- TV: ESPN2
- Radio: Seminoles.com
Florida State football 2025 schedule
- Aug. 30, Alabama, W,31-17
- Sept. 6, East Texas A&M,W77-3
- Sept. 20, Kent State, W, 66-10
- Sept. 26, at VirginiaL 46-38 double OT
- Oct. 4, Miami,L, 28-22
- Oct. 11,Pittsburgh,L, 34-31
- Oct. 18, at Stanford,L, 20-13
- Nov. 1Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m.
- Nov. 8 at Clemson, L 24-10
- Nov. 15 Virginia Tech, W, 34-14
- Nov. 21 at North Carolina State, 21-11
- Nov. 29 at Florida, 4:30 p.m.
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: How FSU football looks to nab first road win to earn bowl eligibility
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