TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida State Seminoles came into Saturday's game against archrival Florida with all the momentum. But what some thought might be a blowout turned into a nailbiter that ended with the Noles pulling out a 45-38 victory over the Gators.
The game was remarkably close throughout, with both teams exchanging leads throughout the game. The name of the game all day between FSU and UF was the running game.
FSU ran the football 44 times for 227 yards, a 5.2 yards per carry clip. Not to be outdone, the Gators ran the ball 46 times for 262 yards or 5.7 yards per carry.
But the difference came down to the quarterback play.
FSU's Jordan Travis outdueled Florida's Anthony Richardson in the game. Travis finished the game passing for 270 yards, running for an additional 83 yards, and three total touchdowns in the game.
UF's Richardson couldn't get the passing game moving at all in the second half and finished completing just 33% of his passes for 198 yards but did add three passing touchdowns.
Both teams performed well on third and fourth down throughout the game, both finishing above 50% efficiency on the key downs. UF and FSU also finished within 37 yards of total offense in the game, with FSU totaling 497 and UF racking up 460 total yards.
It was that way across the stat sheet, with both teams nearly even across the board, with one exception: penalties. UF finished the game with ten penalties for 91 yards, while FSU had six penalties for 38 yards. The refs missed a call on the final play and botched a pass interference call earlier, so both teams benefited from the officiating.
But in the end, FSU stood tall and completed the Sunshine State sweep by beating both Miami and UF in the same season.
FSU finishes the regular season 9-3, while Florida ends the season at 6-6. Both teams are expected to be selected for bowl games.
