Florida State beats rival Florida and makes case for Orange Bowl bid

No. 14 Florida State has beaten No. 15 Florida for the fourth year in a row, 31-13, a week after the Gators knocked off LSU in Death Valley.

FSU’s defense held Florida to just 0-for-12 on third down and the Gators managed to get into the red zone just two times on the night. Florida State sacked UF quarterback Austin Appleby five times, and he was pressured for essentially the entire game. The QB went just 19-of-35 for 149 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions.

FSU running back Dalvin Cook had a great night, rushing with 153 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Deondre Francois was equally impressive, throwing for 138 yards and a touchdown. He rushed for another 63 yards.

Florida State’s season hasn’t been nearly what the Seminoles surely wanted. Clemson and Louisville were both ahead in the ACC Atlantic race from September onward, and the ‘Noles never seemed close to mounting the Playoff run many picked them to mount. But this is a pretty great way to close, and it might result in FSU finding its way to a New Year’s Six (non-Playoff) bowl game. Officials from the Orange Bowl, which has an ACC tie, were in attendance for Saturday night’s game. Thanks to Louisville’s loss to Kentucky, that is looking like even more of a possibility for the ‘Noles.

It’s a disappointment for Florida, which has had a lukewarm year even as it’s locked down the SEC East title. The Gators are trudging into Atlanta next weekend for a conference championship game against No. 1 Alabama, and they’re likely to lose it. If they can’t pull an upset, that’ll make two losses in a row heading into bowl season, and three in five weeks. Not great, Gators! And time’s running out to right the ship.

Good news for the ‘Noles: even with losses to Louisville, UNC, and Clemson, they still get the opportunity to play for a pretty rewarding bowl game, depending on where they end up. Not to mention that they get to say they beat their most hated rival four straight years.