No. 5 Florida State vs. Florida Gators Preview & Score Predictions

Logan Robinson from he the spear presented to you by no gaming.com we are here on a wonderful live fantastic Wednesday evening and it is officially Florida week gentlemen just like that we're back in rivalry week and man oh man oh man there's so many different story lines in this one it's going to be pretty interesting and fun to discuss between the guys on here this evening we'll also have Zach Goodall from all Gators our friend over there uh writing about the Florida Gator and covers the football team very very well he comes on here every Florida week to help us preview the Gators and what FSU fans should be looking out for for Billy Napier Squad as forestate heads into the last regular season game of course the biggest thing to discuss is Jordan Travis a couple updates there Dustin gonna give him his time as he was there at the game in the Press Box definitely want to get his thoughts on the situation there of Florida State losing their star player and big biggest leader on the roster we're going to talk about Florida State dropping down to number fun number fun number five in the college football playoff rankings um not maybe FSC fans not so fun but uh either way Florida State they do what they need to do we should have a pretty good discussion on why they should stick into that playoff no matter what if they get it done here this week and next we're GNA talk about Tate Roden maker we're going to jump into a preview with Zach and then we're going to have our score predictions with the game and then at the very end we're going to talk Florida State basketball they just pulled off a big upset against Colorado Austin fe's feeling pretty good with that all being said with me this evening Austin VY our lead basketball writer and game preview guy for the season for both football and basketball and down below is our editor-in chief Dustin Lewis gentlemen happy Gator week definitely a little bit different of a Vibe than what we expected to have coming into this one but nonetheless we're heading down to Gainesville and Florida state has a job to get done on Saturday night yeah as unfortunate as what occurred on Saturday was you know the the season continues and Florida State they're really at the Apex here you know the most important stretch of the Season obviously with this rivalry game in Gainesville and then going right into the AC championship and even though you know we'll get into the discussion later even though dropping at number five you're still right here in control of your own destiny if you can figure out a way to win these two games Florida state is going to be in the college football playoff Florida week's always a heated week you know as many fans hate Miami I hate Florida more just growing up in Jacksonville Florida it felt like everybody was a Florida fan so this is a big week for me as as a as a fan growing up and Florida's got to take care of business there's gonna be a lot of hearing control what you can control what you can control throughout these next couple of weeks and it starts this Saturday with with keeping Florida from being bold eligible which team do you got guys not like the most is it is it Florida obviously got Florida but what about you d i it's the same way with me it's got to be Florida because I don't know it just felt like FSU that run against Miami they were just kind of smacking them around whereas Florida it's just always been competitive at least since I've been watching the Rivalry series and just feel a little bit more uh vital there with the Gators you also have to keep you you have to keep in mind when we were growing up Miami wasn't really that good you know we were we were kids the last time Miami won a national championship whereas you know right in our middle school days was tinbo and Chris leek and Percy Harvin and all these guys that's just always been who's the most relevant and there's not that many Miami fans in North Florida this well there's not Miami many Miami fans General but especially not in North Florida you very rarely see them so definitely bigger week for Florida for me yeah the last time I was in Gainesville me and Dustin were there two years ago where Florida State Mike norell dine Johnson Jordan Travis was out there as well got dinged up there early in the game Florida State didn't didn't win and couldn't go to a bowl game that was a major Miss on Florida State and and Mike norvell's part and now you look at it two years later Florida State now fighting for a college football playoffs spot already reaching that ACC Championship opportunity um and a time before that I was only there in 2013 when Florida state did take care of business very nicely with Kelvin Benjamin having a day Timmy jurnigan wrecking and the trenches jamus being jamus Telvin Smith you know it was so much fun being there but now going into a night game like this it's gonna be a hostile environment and you know we heard from Tate rodmaker and we'll listen to a little bit more of his interview later tonight but you know talking about the expectations of what you're going to be dealing with going into the swamp he felt like he kind of got a little bit of that in high school but going to be on a whole different level and uh definitely expect that to be my case my first night game in the swamp so looking forward to it nonetheless as being a college football fan but when it's for to State first Florida there's almost there's nothing uh better than that it's going to be wild uh night game in the swamp final home game for the Gator this season maybe the final game of their 2023 season if they don't pull this upset off against FSU so I mean you can expect a pretty crazy environment I think we can say Logan the last time we were down there I mean kind of the same scenario but except Florida State too you know both teams um five and six going to the game winner was going to the postseason loser goes home unfortunately it was for to state that day with um a plethora ple plethora of mistakes but the atmosphere up there in Gainesville it's definitely crazy and they get up for this one as you can imagine FSU fans do in Tallahasse we saw you know obviously the fans rush the field and do Campbell Stadium last year after that emotional win so it's going to be an energy charge environment and it's going to be uh something special you know Tate rodmaker making his second start you got UF Max Brown making his first career start uh one of these quarterbacks is going to rise to the occasion and Lead their team to a win it it's a lot of desperation from both sides kind of like you're just referring to if Florida State trying to keep their college football playoff hopes alive Florida's playing to try to get into ball and you know maybe is coach Napier trying to trying to play for his job or coach for his job you know the last time Florida lost five games in a row was 2017 that was Jim M's last season in Gainesville so you never really know what's going to go on there there's a lot to play for I'm sure it's going to be kind of tight a lot of mistakes early before they start settling in maybe this favor Florida State because they have the more experience you know norville's been better under these situations I think it's gonna be a really really exciting game it's probably be a little bit too exciting for my heart most likely I'm fully expecting that to be the case no matter what um just kind of how we were up there in Death Valley it was a lot that went into that and was highly stressful and that felt like a pretty tough uh pretty tough outing there and and blood pressure everything heartbeat everything it was just that's just kind of the how the how the uh game went and then you know we go into Florida week and there's just so much more maybe there's still you have that pressure but maybe some of it's been lifted off but you still dealing you know with a whole lot of emotional stress and stuff that you is in your mind and definitely not just for the players the coaches everybody involved on that staff and so uh it's been a busy week for that program so looking forward to talking about it more as we move on but as always before we get started you can listen to this podcast on iTunes Google play Spotify if you're on YouTube right now hit that like button shout out to everybody on our YouTube as well hitting 10,000 subscribers I believe we we you know kind of Grew From on that 5,000 range up to 10,000 in just this season alone so all that has to go to you guys coming out here and hanging out with us either live on on the stream or listening to the podcast or watching the practice interviews all of that has helped us uh get to where we're at and super thankful for also you coming on here uh pre Thanksgiving uh to hang out with us this evening hopefully everybody enjoys the holidays safe travels if you're on the road right now uh and traveling over to be with family friends hope everybody has a great holiday from all of us here at n game day and here the spear uh Dustin you know I want to get your take on the Jordan Travis injury um you know it's been a couple days now it definitely felt like since really on Sunday and Monday getting time to actually really maybe it was Monday when he didn't have football on all day was Sunday football kind of really hit me the hardest probably on Monday that that was Jordan Travis's you know last game that was his last play he was ever gonna have and Garnet in gold and definitely whenever you were posting the videos of the quarterbacks coming into practice and JT not being there joking around always having that smile saying what's up to you guys you know it it brutally hit me and I think a lot of that rest of the Florida State fan base but uh just take us through that Saturday night for for yourself and do it was uh brutal man I think I think pretty quickly after the hit uh at least up there in the Press Box we knew that it was a pretty serious injury I mean I think within within less than 30 seconds they were running out there the trainers with the aircast and you could already see the cart starting to get backed up and I mean that's how you know like something devastating just happened there for Jordan Travis and I mean you know as for everyone in the stadium just like in the Press Box it it was a really really tough moment it was hard to focus the rest of the game obviously writing that article about Jordan Travis it's tough to even kind of put that into words in the moment and you know same thing last 48 72 hours it's just been a tough time for semal fans around the country obviously Forida State's coaching staff and players because Jordan Travis just means so much not only on the field but also what he's done off the field you know G to go down as a record setting quarterback in for State history one of the one of the best ever behind center for the seminol and it just sucks because everything that he worked to do during his time at Florida State to lead the team to a season like this to have them in position to win an ACC Championship to go to a college football playoff or a new year six bowl you know to compete on a national stage and get fora State back to where it wanted to be under Mike norell and it just all gets ripped out from under him so it's just been extremely tough to have to deal with that like you said Logan just realize that Jordan Travis has played his final snap in garnet and gold it just sucks you know as much as we create all these storylines and romanticize this sport it can all just get ripped out in front of you in an instant in just a brutal and you know kind of meaningless way in a game like that yeah we didn't know we were me and VY doing the instant reaction like that just so many thoughts you know flowing through your head um but you know for the most part didn't really want to cover the rest of the game worth of crap you know you know I'm sure was the same way for you guys up there you know you just you just kind of worried about what's the state of Jordan Travis you know he knew it was severe you know you kind of already knew what the result was going to be you're not going to see him back out there but you really just wanted to know if he was going to be all right and you know I think the FSU fan base has really came together with the team you know it's crazy how much this program has been through in this like fiveyear span it has been absolutely of a wild roller coaster someone needs to do a movie on it I mean not just only just on the field but in recruiting as well head has been roller coaster of a ride and it's kind of all led up to this moment to where you've been able to build this culture right in the locker room with what Mike norell has been able to do and you saw that in that speech afterward in the game you know it took a lot for him to hold his emotions back and who knows you know you know it could have shown for sure but for what we saw on the on the Cinematic recap you know really came to my attention that this team has really built a love and a bond between one another and you saw that you know just a hours later when he saw a lot of his teammates going and visiting at the hospital Mike Nell being there as well but throughout the weekend and Monday too when Jordan Travis was at the hospital this team really really does love one another and if you can get that going in your locker room and as a program uh you know there there's so many opportunities moving forward on and off the field to do some really great things as a for State University so um it just so happened to be that sadly and tragically was was Jordan Travis and that went down and you could just see how big of a leader he is for this team and uh is's really the Bell Cal in that in that room and I mean he really just you look at the record books I mean he goes down as a legend in Forida State history and again that's why it sucks just to not get to see him lead the team to this moment uh we'll get to Tate Rod maker in a little bit but the seals really believe in what he can do and the season isn't over for Florida State but as for Jordan Travis holds the program record for total offense 10,554 yards um total touchdowns with 97 rushing yards by a quarterback with 1,910 rushing rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 31 and that's important to note because he's fourth on FSU career list in rushing touchdowns the only guys ahead of him dvin cook Greg Allen and War done so I mean that's that's just incredible um would have had another 3,000 yard season if he was able to finish the the 2023 season finish with 20 touchdowns and two picks 63.9% complete in percentage right behind last year 64% uh tied his career high with seven rushing touchdowns so very productive season for Jordan Travis proved himself as one of the best players in college football his development over the last couple of years has just been insane I mean from what he's done since arriving at Forida state in 2019 to now leaving in 2023 it's it's just absolutely insane it's hard to put it into a words I think like you said Logan there's got to be a movie or a documentary on this because there's there's not many people that do what Jordan Travis did especially at this level of football and you know you really got to root for this guy as he tries to make his way back and make those NFL dreams a reality you really don't even have to go that far back for the development of Jordan Travis I mean just at the start of the 2021 season you know we having those those discussions of is Jordan Travis the guy has he made enough progress has he shown enough with his arm you know he's fighting with McKenzie Milton who was coming off a horrific leg injury at UCF in his own right and to see where Jordan Travis is leaving Florida state is no one could have fathom that you know a little over two years ago the records he set the the culture he helped build with with Coach Norville you know we could sit here for an hour just talking about Jordan Travis and it still wouldn't be enough to do to do him enough Justice for what he's done for Florida State he's he's one of the all-time greats it doesn't matter if he's in the Mount Rushmore in the top 10 top 15 whatever he's done as much this program arguably is a guy like Ron Simmons did way back in the day to put Florida State on the map because Jordan Travis helped put Florida State back on the map and it sucks to see him go this way he deserves so much better um just sucks man absolutely sucks to your point offs and he he took over the Seminoles when they were a loser I mean at one of the worst times really in program history and was a big piece and turning them back into a winner 17 consecutive victories you know dating back to last season tied for a second in school history with 28 career victories as Forida State starting quarterback so I mean like I said before a seminal Legend and Jordan Travis is going to be remembered in a big way not only for what he did on the field but also for what he's done off the field developing into a leader helping establish a strong culture at Florida State and we've seen that over the past couple of days and you could see too from a lot of the transfers these relationships that he's built and you know he originally being a transfer from Louisville him having a lot of ties to getting a lot of these players over to Tallahassee from that transfer portal like a Trey Benson like a Keon Coleman like a Johnny Wilson a lot of those guys bought into what Jordan Travis was telling them and not only you know you can do your coaching you can do your coaching recruiting all that kind of stuff on that way but I think whenever it comes down to transfers and definitely those that are older um it's those one-on-one times that you have with that player that's already on the roster and that happened almost majority of the time with Jordan Travis and they believed his word and everything that gone that went with it and and you know told them to believe in this process and what they're trying to build at Florida State and a lot of those players obviously coming in to find major success behind Jordan Travis at least on that offensive side but nonetheless he he's helped out on a lot of different ways on getting this program back to where it should be and yeah like you guys said JT will always be highly remembered and highly regarded and as he should um should should be treated that way um super super great player someone too as just being a media person easy to talk to very friendly is always gonna you know ask how you're doing and certain things like that he's just gonna uh be a super down thee guy and that's how he always represented himself and he did for Florida State and you know he's always going to continue to do that you know but uh it was great seeing him at practice and we'll jump into practice observation here a little bit but I do want to go into the college football playoffs um as this kind of is in the discussion of Jordan Travis just depends on who on what your opinion might be but Florida state in the latest college football playoff rankings from last night drop down to number five Georgia at one Ohio State 2 Michigan three Washington takes the number four spot over Florida State simol at five Oregon 6 Texas 7 and Alabama 8 I don't think this really comes too much of a shock to me guys I don't know about you um I thought you know what Washington did what they have on the resume currently uh is is nice and it it it deserves for them to move up I'm not entirely sure if it's because of uh Jordan Travis's injury where Florida State Falls backwards in that case um it's just what what Washington put up on the plate at this moment and we kind of already predicted this sort of to happen Florida State still is vying for a college ball playoff spot no matter what as long as they take care of business these next two weeks yeah it it wasn't very surprising to see this one you know I actually had it written up in the draft that we had ready to go so I just I mean I just published that thing but you know we've seen Washington the last three weeks beat three straight ranked opponents um obviously still remaining on the still remaining undefeated on the season one of the top offenses in college football um Florida State losing Jordan Travis obviously that's a big blow to their hopes to win the college football playoff but the committee when speaking on Tuesday night I mean they really gave all the credit to Washington and their performance as of late building a strong resume they actually noted that Florida State you know after Jordan Travis went out scored 58 consecutive points to win that game so they didn't Factor his injury a ton into dropping FSU um this week specifically and again you know I talked about it at the beginning of the show continue to win you control your own your own destiny Ohio State and Michigan are going to play this weekend um Washington still has some tough games coming up going to I guess it's at home against Washington State this weekend they're going to play A ranked team um in the Pack 12 Conference Championship Georgia is gonna have to play Alabama there's a lot of stuff that's still in flux here so being number five not the worst thing in the world Forida State just needs to go take care of business in Gainesville defeat Louisville to have a top 10 win as you go right there into the final college football playoff rankings and you know that'll be huge to get them in that final four field but just focus on you you control your own destiny don't worry about a number yeah control what you can control like I said earlier you know with the Ohio State Mission game this weekend Something's Gonna Have to happen there Something's Gonna have to give I think ideally you'd like one team to blow out the other just so there's no way they can create the conversation of H could you back in an 11 and one Michigan in the four spot or whatever as long as Florida State wins out they're going to be in they're not going to leave out a 13-0 undefeated conference Champion if they'll let a 12- one conference champion in with a third string quarterback in 2014 in Ohio State Florida State doesn't have any concerns as long as they continue to win out looking at a couple of games this weekend one to keep a close note on is Kentucky and Louisville and I never rule out Kentucky I just uh I don't know what it is about Kentucky but um I I I don't rule them out and you know Louisville too if they let some teams stick around with them uh like they did this season they still got to put teams away but I never count out Mark Stoops and upsets I really I really don't so they're six and five on the season but um I don't know I'm keeping an eye on that one of course we've got Michigan State they've lost like five out of six or something like they've lost four straight including five of the last six yeah it's not it's uh kind of Defense yeah not the same kind of Defense at Kentucky and what he uh usually likes to bring to the table but not count out I'm G be watching it be watching it I mean we've got Ohio State Michigan at noon as well Oregon plays Oregon State uh actually on Friday at 8:30 yep it's G be at Oregon um of course we always got Auburn and Alabama that's gonna be a 330 kickoff um but nonetheless all the rest of those not too uh not too interesting at least if you're looking rankings wise and any kind of impact on Florida State's resume moving forward and what that could change there in that top six or top five but uh not too much of a shock there to see Florida State drop down to five and I saw a lot of people too and I think too A lot of the national maybe there's a few out there too as well keeping a close eye on you Rees Davis but you know Rees Davis has been high on Florida State for the most part all throughout the season was high on them too and the preseason but is really alluding to you know Jordan traps' injury and if that's going to be the same type of Team uh that they put out there on Saturday and the next Saturday but you know what we're about to find out we're gonna see if Florida State can can play that same caliber at least take care of teams and win like they should and so that's all I would tell ree Davis just let Florida State prove you I don't think it's something that you need to really you know assume until you get the product out on the field Florida State delivers then that's that's said and done type of deal it's just kind of and know we got to get the I don't know I I don't really understand that whole thing just let the games be played type of deal I don't think there's really any me need to mention you know Jordan Travis is injured you got your backup and with Tay rod and merer moving forward you know I don't think there needs to be a whole Spiel on that what I mean what do you expect but he flipped on us man he turned on his Jets like that we were putting out tons of content on him this whole season and preseason about him going really really really high on for C but I guess he was really like uh like holding on or like you know Holding On by you know Jordan Travis there on doing that for Flor city which is highly understandable yes but I I just don't get the whole Spiel there but you know ESP spin they got to keep the time moving and keep the show going so it doesn't matter it's like I said I think last week there's no reason this needs to be a weekly thing because all it does yeah it was an hour that yeah I turned that off it just creates unnecessary drama just do it at the end of the season and let it beat but that's what they want because they're drawing people in to come watch these rankings every week and then the top eight changes by one spot it didn't even change the first two weeks it took until the third week you had Ohio State and finally get hopped by Georgia and then this week you know Washington Hoops for to state but that top eight I mean it's it really hasn't moved and they changes we to we in these like there's no reason it needs to be more than once a month realistically they can just do it at the end of the season after after confence championship week the worst part is just how they just slowly count it down and then last night since they knew state was gonna move down to five they're like we're gonna do something a little different tonight start at number one they know what they're I mean I don't blame them I mean I don't and they say they don't know the rankings before they see them yeah oh yeah that that's where it's like come on do come on you're already I love how they predict it and they predict it exactly right and they're like oh look at that look how smart I am my man you have been told well in advance my guy well in advance I doubt ESPN would want to make their commentators look stupid so um but yeah that's the college football playoff rankings for8 at five now it's just get get like we've been saying for the last month do what you need to do on the field Come Away with wins and you'll you've you've earned your right to make that college football playoff things could get crazy of course things can get crazy things can get wild imagine some crazy stuff happens this weekend and then going into Championship weekend Conference Championship weekend crazy things happen in the SC uh you know things could flip around a tiny bit but Florida State should be able to groove into a three or four spot in my opinion I will say maybe another thing that helps fla State potentially out in the end you know you're going to have number nine Louisville uh get that win that's a top 10 Victory but also in this week's addition of the the rankings Clemson moved in there in the back end up to number 24 so Forida State now as things stand two wins over teams that are currently in the college football playoff top 25 LSU at number 14 Clemson at number 24 so FSU fans I know you don't like to root for Clemson but it'd be better than not for them to beat South Carolina this week and continue to stay in that top 25 they they shouldn't have any troubles in that game I'd imagine well they weren't supposed to last year either true this is true but South Carolina looks a lot worse this year and I believe it's at South Carolina this year it is because I thought the big thing was they won in Death Valley yeah yeah I just I don't see South Carolina being competitive in that game call me crazy I wouldn't but crazier things have happened I'm here for crazy but not too crazy and and while we're on the while we're on the topic of Clemson making it back in the top 25 how in the hell is Tennessee still ranked didn't you see what the the comments from the college football chair guys he said something like they they were good earlier in the year oh they are they have not looked competitive at all recently got smoked by Alabama Smoked by Missouri Florida beat him and we and we'll get the Florida here in a minute but that's not exactly a redeeming loss why are they ranked there is zero reason for them to be ranked and they they led me in because I thought the Georgia game was going to end up being close and they scored the first touchdown and after that it was a massacre yeah it's just I I don't get it at least Clemson has shown they they can get up for these bigger games like they they push Florida State to the brink they beat Notre Dame they beat North Carolina what has Tennessee done who have they beaten they like to keep Rocky Top in there they do uh let's jump into uh some practice we should be having Zach come joining us very soon so this will transition nicely into some Florida talk but Florida State going into practice this week uh Dustin had had I wonder what you were expecting the most but you know without Jordan Travis being there uh and also to monitoring I know you can't disc Clow on on injuries and there were some guys that got dinged up in this last game against North Alabama but still overall not only Jordan Travis kind of keeping an eye out on the team overall for healthwise it was good seeing kayin Doo out there practicing he was dressed out like Martin norval said in this opening press conference this week kayin Delo was dressed probably could have gone if needed to but they kept it safe and he was able to just sit out this one and rest but seems like it's going to be a go for number four which is going to be huge for Florida on defense on Saturday night uh what was kind of vibe out of practice to you did you tell if there was anything different yeah I mean I don't want to say different but especially today obviously the the energy boost there with Jordan Travis and I mean just a ton of smiles guys um really happy to have him back around the team and I mean you can just really see what Jordan Travis means but I think FSU you know they're bringing an edge this week you can just kind of see a little bit of grittiness I guess you could call it with the way that they've been practicing these last two days of a lot of focus and you know as much as everybody wants to talk about the numbers don't matter the ringings don't matter Florida State's here in all of this discussion that their season's over Jordan Travis is out they don't have a chance now to go to the college football playoff they're here in all this and we've got to remember this is still a very talented football team you know Jordan Travis is a phenomenal player but there are still a bunch of guys on this FSU team that are going to go play in the NFL and that have proven themselves in Garner and gold and have won games for this team you know we can go from the offense to the defense to the Special Teams um there's still a lot left for these guys to prove and I think they've got a little bit of a chip on their shoulder now with all this kind of quote unquote disrespect now going for State's way with the narrative shifting a little bit these last couple of days uh yeah seeing two just a lot of the players seemed like still a lot of focus uh you know I think too a lot of Florida State fans looking at their star players like Keon Coleman Johnny Wilson on the offensive side and looking at kayin Delo Jared verse taking those big steps and and stepping up this upcoming weekend and you're going to go into a hostile environment was the crowd noise loud inside the ipf per usual I think that was maybe as loud as I've ever heard it like they it's the loudest they could go they had to have cranked it up to full blast like it's normally pretty loud when you've got for to State preparing like I remember Clemson week it was it was pretty loud and um some of the crowd noise they kind of incorporate some of Clemson's like band in there and like uh some of their chants so you're just kind of getting a little bit familiar with what you're going to hear um that weekend but man it was just cranked up to a whole another level these last two days and you know you've got Florida's fight song blaring and you've got Tom Petty's uh I Won't Back Down some of the some Snippets in there from that it's it's a pretty funny thing to listen to but you know when they get out there on Saturday that's that's what it's going to sound like and um I think being able to simulate it like that especially inside the ipf whenever they shut the doors and everything I mean it's just kind of you walk out on your ears or ringing um they'll I think they'll be ready as you can be for an environment like that well let's talk about Tate rodmaker because you got to see him Tuesday Wednesday and you know usually through practices you're seeing him a little bit get that second drive after Jordan Travis and get opportunity with the twos and and maybe some threes and maybe there's a mix of some some ones in there but he's going with the first team product and you know he can't disclose everything that's why I always highly suggest everybody go check out the practice observations because there is some good detailing on how some of these players are improving as as youngsters and also some of the veterans and showing out as it come sometimes translates onto Saturdays but uh for the most part like on the NFL side I don't get to see we just see some walkthroughs of special teams for 20 minutes and then you're throwing the F out of there and you know I only see like healthwise what's available but in this case Mell opens up these practices to the media and gives you guys a lot of great um not really I would say more like practice work to use and kind of give info off to the fan base and and some sort of way to keep them detailed on some of the players and looking forward into what's happening on Saturday so what happened throughout these last couple days D and specifically just on you know a little bit of Tate Roden maker as well yeah I mean he's definitely coming to the week he spoke after practice today and said you know with him as a starter on the depth chart and knowing that he's going into the game as a starter it helps him with his preparation a little bit because he knows what to expect you know going into a back going into the game as a backup you never really know are you going to play are you not going to play um he said he's always always one play away and now that those numbers been called he's ready to go out there and prove it and I think the unique thing with Tate rodmaker is he's not really like your typical backup I mean this is a guy that's been at Florida State for four years he's obviously led a comeback Victory against Louisville I mean damn led a double digit comeback against North Alabama on Saturday um he's proven himself at Florida State especially his last two years I mean I think earlier in his career he obviously you know on this podcast we gave some criticism and there are some real struggles there and we're like is he going to be able to make it at Florida State but these last two years we've seen the strides and you know not only this week in practice but the last year of practice I mean Tate Rod maker has really elevated his game and become a solid and dependable backup for fora State and I really think this week you know it's it's a lot of the same it's not a ton different from what we've seen from Tate um pretty confident in his decision making you can see his arm strength I mean that's something that he really brings to the table is um a very accurate deep ball whenever he's able to get time in that pocket there was a couple throws from 40 50 yards out where I mean he's just hitting the guy right over the shoulder um even with a Defender you know in the area so that's something that we're going to need to watch is maybe that deep ball I think fora state is also GNA want to try and get the ball maybe out of his hands a little bit quicker as well sometimes so expect to see some maybe read option stuff to kind of help him and stuff over the middle intermediate type stuff not deep balls but um the thing with him is he can really just move the ball all over the field coach norell said that he can make every throw that fora State requires in this offense um already has some chemistry with Jem Bell with them playing together in high school so I think you're bringing in a guy who's already very comfortable in this system sneaky athlete he actually had like a 20 25 yard scram so today during two minute drills to kind of get four to Sate into field goal range so a sneaky athlete and um you know someone who has been here for a long time and has a lot of maturity I don't know if y'all saw the Tweet earlier I'm gonna try to find it but it was earlier in the week uh I believe it was probably maybe the spring or maybe a summer uh practice week something like that conditioning strength and conditioning week but uh they had some times listed up of fastest players in their units as skilled big guys Etc and um Specialists as well but looking at the skill position group Tate rodm maker at least yeah Tate rodmaker was faster than Jordan Travis and that time by a pretty decent margin pretty pretty decent he was the fastest listed on the team as well over some speeder I'm gonna try to find the names of who was on that list but I think a lot of people like you're saying aren't are maybe overlooking the athleticism that Tate Rod maker brings I mean the dude's freaking over here here you saw him scrambling last Saturday night but you also see too the ability with his arm and he can utilize his speed if need be uh just in case something is happening on Saturday if things start you know collapsing inside the pocket that's maybe where he's going to be the most vulnerable and to me like you were saying Dustin Florida State getting the ball out early for him is going to help a ton but also utilizing taking those shots I think with that accuracy that he has when we were seeing him throw that ball on Saturday night I think the wide receivers too and maybe tight ends also got to adjust to him because he has a little bit more heat on it than Jordan Travis does when he comes in there and it's coming at you it's coming with a lot of speed and some it stings when you're trying to catch it that's something that maybe some of those throws don't need to be too hard on it definitely when there's some quick outs just get it where it needs to be nothing too uh nothing too Zippy on it but he does have an arm and that's something that I think M norell and Coach Atkins Ron dugans you the whole entire offensive staff kind of have to shape up a few different things because this is a different type of quarterback that's in this room that was shaped to go through this system behind Jordan Travis but now you have him moving forward for the rest of the season and I I think he was very confident you know this week of practice and his decision making pretty good for the most part um did have an interception today where he just kind of stared down the receiver and he missed the DB it got picked off over the middle but it was his response that really impressed me because he came back very next play and fired a dart right in the same area and completed the pass to Kyle Morlock so I mean he just kind of he's able to shake off those mistakes maybe like he wasn't able to do earlier in his career and I think that's going to be big going on the road against Florida because Austin kind of alluded to it earlier but this is a game you know with Rod maker making his second career start Max Brown making his first career start this could be pretty ugly you know throughout that first second quarter as these two quarterbacks get acclimated um in that game and and their respective systems and rodm maker if he does make a mistake in that first half he's gonna have to get over it quickly and get back out there and keep performing for this Forida State offense I mean we saw it in the Louisville game last year it it didn't exactly start out pretty for him you know there's some ugly throws balls thrown in the dirt well below people's hands over B interception bad interception and then he comes back in that fourth quarter and just plays with his hair on fire balls out I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen in this game he does kind of have a tendency to just stare down a receiver before throwing but you know he's got the arm strength he's been here long enough Norvell obviously likes him it was it was norville's first commitment at Florida State I think he's gonna have enough to get it done and to to your point about running earlier I think he kind of runs it a little too quick we saw him get in get in against Wake Forest and norvel kind of got onto a little bit for tucking it down too quickly uh late in that game so I think he's got enough I think he's going to do what it takes we'll see if it's enough just man I I'm just thinking too just the situation that he's put into and it was good to hear from Fabo given a lot of high respect to R maker and they've seen him grow from uh from from the very bottom you know let's be honest what we saw earlier on in this career we criticized quite a bit but there's a reason why you're going into college you're being coached and you're getting developed and that's something that Florida state is able to put out a product like they did against Louisville like you were saying other earlier Dustin know he's kind of been in that situation before where he's put himself into a little spot there where he's had to bounce back and you know take away what he you know had done earlier in the game and try to respond quick just like that and that's what he did on the road against Louisville and in last season which was a massive win for the seminal and which I think was the big turnaround for this Florida State program showing that these guys behind can step up to the plate yes you're facing your rival and it's going to be a highly highly uh you know contested kind of stadium that you're going into um and it's going to be a different kind of caliber situation but still he was able to do that at Louisville that shows a lot to me on the road and you got to feel you got to feel better imagine if you didn't have that from Rod maker before man a lot of FSU fans would be having a lot of question marks in their head about what they're going to see uh on Saturday night and then they'd probably be vying for the true freshman Brock Lynn to get in there I think some FSU fans feel feel good if Rod maker is able to get to the get this ball out and get it to the a wide wide range of weapons like Stephen A Smith was saying on his show Florida state is stacked with players all across the board on the offensive side of the ball and we'll see what Mike noell likes to do to build a game scheme and game plan around that for R maker and I think there should be some confidence because he's not your typical backup like we were saying earlier he's been here for four years he's been in this system he was a guy that Mike norell has first uh committed at Forida State and Mike nor actually had been pursuing him while he was at Memphis but didn't think he was going to be able to get because he was a power five caliber quarterback and um that went over Louisville I mean that was really Tate rodm Maker's moment breaking that glass ceiling and ever since then I mean he's really developed into what we've seen now and become a lot more confident of a quarterback this last you know year and a half or so and that's why Florida State fans they should be confident because you know he's not a Max Brown he's not starting his first career game he's very unique as far as backups especially when you have a quarterback like Jordan Travis you don't typically have a backup stick around for four years and gain this much experience in the system and with the coaching staff and with the players around the program and um you know all these guys have just professed their belief in that Tate rodmaker can go out there and perform whether it's Mike norell Alex Atkins Tony toar is talking after practice today Keon Coleman he's not going to go be Jordan Travis he just needs to go be Tate rodmaker they have different strengths different skill sets but they can still both go out there and Lead forward state to wins and at the end of the day that's Rod Maker's goal go out there and get a win Carol's on here asking about the first team wide receivers the first string how has uh R maker connected uh with a few of them throughout Tuesdays and Wednesday's open practices to the media D I mean obviously you know him being the backup for the Maj majority of the time he isn't thrown to them as much as a guy like Jordan Travis so there's not as much chemistry as there was between Travis and Keon Coleman and Johnny Wilson but at the same time you know he has been he has gotten reps with them before and Wilson and Coleman being the stars that they are realized that they're going to have to elevate their game now with Jordan Travis out of lineup and we really saw that uh with Keon these last two days I mean especially on Tuesday um just being a freak made made a ridiculous one-handed catch after practice Mike gel kind of laughing he's he was like that was a stupid catch like why would why would you catch it with one hand but I think he liked seeing Keon go get that one because it was just a crazy play but Keon Johnny Wilson Jem Bell um Trey Benson Lawrence Toof Philly all the veterans on that offense the skill players you know you're seeing them rise up a little bit jakai Douglas had had a fantastic day on Wednesday with some grabs so that's the big thing for this four state offense you know you don't need Tate rodemaker to come in there and be the Superstar but can Tate rodmaker come in there perform at an adequate level and can everyone else put his foot a step forward it's a question on here from Michael on Facebook saying do you guys feel like Mike norell is holding back and I'm guessing this is talking about some play calling um on that side of the ball for Florida State do you guys feel like he's holding back or could there be some execution um situations where Mike isn't maybe maybe not Mike but it's on the roster itself and not executing plays um I wouldn't say holding back I would say guys getting banged up maybe has limited Florida State reaching its full potential on offense because I mean that entire offensive line for the most part has gotten banged up and you've also that means you've got transfers going in there playing for the first time on along the offensive line specifically you know getting that first experience under coach Atkins and that was something he talked about at the beginning of the week you know guys like rodic and um Jeremiah buers and Keandre Jones they don't have that game experience with him so they're learning all of this for the first time whereas guys like Robert Scott or darus Washington Mar Smith they've all been through it before they're learning these lessons on the Fly and that's kind of led to some mistakes and obviously Johnny missing some time Keon being banged up jakai jakai Douglas uh Missing majority of the first half of the Season Jordan you know was banged up at times before getting that season ending injury I really think that's been the thing more than Mike norell holding back I think part of it I think part of norvell's play call in has been he knows he has the ultimate trump card in Jordan Travis to bail him out of situations if he needs it on a third down he can he could have made these crazy plays and crazy scrambles on third down to get you a wild first down he's not going to have that luxury anymore does that change some the play calling going forward make it more efficient I think there's honestly a chance they're not going to he's not going to be trying some of the stuff that we've seen the past couple weeks and just make everything more manageable get it to the second and fives the third and twos just make it as efficient as possible make it as easy as possible for raker what should be a hostile environment boom we've got our guests perfect timing as we transition a little bit into this Florida State first UF matchup we've got our friend over here Zach Goodall from all Gators Zack it's always great to have you on here hope you're doing well but what's going on man hey I'm doing great sorry for uh sorry for the delay there we uh I don't want to talk too much crap but we've gotten kind of used to delays at the press conferences and that's exactly what we had tonight so glad to be here those used to happen quite a bit in the Jimbo days Mike does a good job of being on time but maybe Billy's not on time as much he started a little hot when he first got to Gainesville when he first got to Gainesville he was good about getting there on time but as we've gone along they've got bigger things to worry about this week for sure 100% 100% but uh yeah I'm I'm so glad to have you on here we've got a lot to talk about we you know I'm glad you join a little bit later because we had a lot to discuss regarding Jordan Travis Florida State losing him for the rest of the season and in y'all's case on the Florida side covering them what's kind of been the vibe this week you know with merts getting hurt and now Florida or Florida putting out their backup as well on Saturday night against the Florida State Defense how's that Vibe been and what also has Billy Napier uh any kind of update on merch's side yeah I mean it's it's been deflating for sure I mean I don't think Florida has obviously nearly as much to hang their hat on as a team like Florida State for them to go and lose their their franchise quarterback so to speak but that's exactly what gram Merz has been for this transfer um I mean when he came in over the offseason I was one of the kind of the doubters I'm willing to eat that at this point he's really elevated this team which is crazy considering it's a five and six team uh makes you wonder about where it could be if gram Merz didn't come in and kind of find this career Revival that he had but I mean he was putting up just absurdly efficient numbers uh he wasn't necessarily the guy that's going to beat you over the top or be super Dynamic with his legs like a Jordan Travis Jaden Daniels you know the top tier quarterbacks were seeing these dayses I can kind of do it all but he was just doing everything Florida was asking him to do and some and it was really starting to click here it was a reason why even though Florida's you know their losing streak is what it is their record is what it is but they've been competitive down stretch here in a lot of their games and I would argue the biggest if not the only reason is really how how great and clean Merz has been Florida obviously needs to win this game to make it to the postseason um four straight defeats coming into this contest against Florida State a really heartbreaking loss to Missouri over the weekend I guess kind of what's the mood of the team right now you know coming into a rivalry contest that's I mean as heated as this one between the simol and Gators yeah I mean I think emotions definitely took a a shot when Merz went down because of how impactful he's been but even with that being said you know Max Brown steps in there and he's a quarterback that not only doesn't have much college experience but I think this is his fourth year playing quarterback in general and uh I think for the most part you saw a lot of fight out of the team while he was in there at the end and even though things kind of got away from him there in the final few minutes and that's been a theme for the team A lot of times this year even when it's been clear they just weren't in the games that they were playing they they haven't really given up and I would I would like to think for them that that's that's carried into what is obviously such an important matchup I mean fair or not even with the asterisks that come for both teams in this game it's still ultimately with the way the year is gone it's a game Billy Napier will be judged for it's a game that his team that he's building and there's a lot of talk about how young it is how it's still in the rebuild but it is over 70% Billy Napier's roster at this point this is the type of game that fans always remember it's just how it goes he will be assessed for it they will uh they certainly have got a hope and I think for all of us watching this game as intriguing as it is with these storylines you want to see a competitive game from both sides and I would surely hope that neither team has I I don't want to say quit because I don't suspect that but I hope Nei of them have taken their intensity down a level after losing just two studs that they've got their quarterbacks speaking of it being a judgment game for Billy Napier last time Florida lost five in a row was 2017 that was J M's last season in Gainesville is there any kind of you know seat warming up what's the talk in Gainesville right now with with Coach Napier sure uh I think the nois is has been loud throughout a lot of this season I think the honeymoon phase truly lasted the entire first year for Billy people understood what they were signing up for with his rebuild um but they wanted to see Improvement this year and ultimately they're staring down potentially you I mean it will take beating Florida State to match last year's record and get Bowl elig ability to I mean do they even want to go and have a repeat of what happened in a Bull game last year if there to be opt outs if there are to be injuries if there are to be draft declarations in a bad game where a team is motivated to play Florida um all that's to say is that obviously you know optically things aren't that great right now and there is a lot of outside judgment and I for what it's worth I believe that some of the noise does get in and they have the responsibility of blocking it out and to my my point that I made earlier I think they've done a good job of when it comes down to it when they're in games when it matters they do block out the noise enough to just just focus on that game and not quit on on their team which I think is really important when you've got your backs against the wall when you're looking at that that horrible potential five-game win or loss losing streak I should say um it's easy to quit I've seen this Florida team quit not this one in particular but last year's team I felt quit right around the Vanderbilt game uh I thought the 2021 team with Dan Mullen quit at South Carolina and I've not seen that so even though there's potential like yes I I think in theory the seed is warming a little bit I I think Billy Napier's job is totally safe entering this offseason um that being said next year is kind of when the gloves come off that that's when the roster is going to be close to 90ish percent his at that point if not higher you have to start closing the gaps you got to finish with a winning record in the conference especially I would think there there going to be a lot of goals that they need to meet next year um but that's kind of where it is it's a looking towards next year when you've got that class that stud top five class for the class of 2024 coming in and hopefully for their sake improvements to the transfer portal strategy um people have talked a lot about potential assisting coaching changes so you look all of that is to say like this is very clearly pointing towards a judgment comes next year thing but there are so many different things that Napier's going to have to hit on in this off season as a part of that judgment ultimately earlier in the season we saw Florida get a big win against Tennessee and we're like oh okay hold up now is here to compete and then you know on this losing streak that they're currently on there's been some games where they've kept it uh competitively and like we saw just this last weekend against Missouri what do you think is been the you know the cause of Florida losing these games not being able to take that next step and and win on a consistent basis I think you can point to a lot of things I mean I I'm a nitpicker quite frankly I mean I tell people this all the time when they get upset with me for nitpicking but like I grew up on Jacksonville Jaguars football I'm a nitpicker by Nature um you know the the most noticeable and just concerning consistent thing has been Florida's special teams and so many jokes have been made about it but I mean it was going into what week 11 and they were still struggling to get the adequate number of players on the field for a given special teams unit and when you can pick something up like that in each and every game to me it becomes coaching um and not everything can be blamed on coaching I do think that there's still a talent deficit here at really crucial positions especially in the trenches um offense and defensive line but there are there's yet to be a complete game when the offense defense special teams and coaching are all clean and they come out with like a that was a great performance on all four parts in all four phases there's always something that holds them back and in a lot of games it's been multiple and as of late I would say the second half of the season it's been mainly the defense um there's struggle with simple Tech techniques um coverage their liability to give up big plays and then miss struggle to finish them I mean struggle to make tackles to get anything from the contact they create with the ball carrier um and when you see these concerns game after game um in the same areas it again to me it kind of speaks to some assistant coaching issues maybe some issues just in terms of the general operation which you again to what Napier is going to have to do this offseason is is certainly changed some things like for one I mean the overarching thing again is special teams they don't have a special teams coordinator like I don't know how many teams don't have a special teams coordinator but it seems simple enough get a guy that is able to coach on the sidelines on game day and you probably can put 11 players on the field it's it seems simple enough to me I wanted to uh talk about Max Brown making his first career start for the gator in this game against Florida State you kind of mentioned him earlier a little bit doesn't have a ton of experience playing quarterback maybe um what hases Billy Napier said about him this week and what do you feel like maybe are some of the strengths that he brings to the table because obviously a different quarterback than gr merch yeah certainly I mean I don't at all want to compare him to Anthony Richardson but I think the offense itself is going to shift towards what it looked like with Anthony Richardson with a lot more read option um I think they're going to really try and simplify the passing Concepts make it more half field make it so he doesn't have to think as much and can just get the ball to his Playmakers and I mean we've seen that so much even with Grant Merz I mean this it it's become a thing itself where Eugene Wilson is so Dynamic on the first drive and Florida gets him the ball and then he goes away whether it's because he's just not getting targeted or he's taken away one way or another like we know that Napier has a tendency to find what works or maybe script something that he knows will work to get his quarterback comfortable right out of the gate and and try and build on it from there uh that's going to be more important than ever this week with a quarterback in Max Brown who again he started playing football full-time as a junior he's primarily a baseball player uh he's even started playing baseball here at Florida in his free time um but definitely more of the backyard guy than the traditional pocket passer and I think that even though there could be some downsides even though he could be prone to maybe making some mistakes given inexperience he might be able to create some fun just a result of his uh as his natural abilities for sure Florida State you know obviously they've got Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman the guys in the backfield to kind of Step Up Now with r maker moving in that starting role how much do you feel like it helps uh Brown you know to have Ricky peol and like you said Eugene Wilson Trevor etn guys like that to lean on yeah it certainly helps uh Florida's been aided as The Season's gone on with some receivers and in general playmakers that have broken out Trevor etn dealt with some health issues in the middle of the season but as of late has has really been firing when he's gotten the ball um they still split the ball between the running backs between him and Montell Johnson and that can be maddening at times but ultimately both players have been effective and etn especially when he gets the ball you can just tell that there's something different um Wilson's emergence I mean he he looks like a veteran at this point in terms of underneath route running he's he's able to make a lot out of nothing um Ricky piol is obviously well documented Arles Bingham and Hayden Hansen have emerged as potential scoring weapons as young tight ends uh but the issue is the offensive line they've gotten into a bit more of a Groove as of late but there's just there was a ton of turnover I think they lost eight players from that unit from last year including four starters at the start of the year they had a lot of in inuries and they've continued throughout so I feel as though the the true first team unit we've really only seen them like half of the Season at this point whereas I mean you look at that for Florida State I think as an advantage I mean granted Jordan Travis has been so good at he can he can get out of pressure he can make plays on his own but Florida State's offensive line has not really been his makeshift uh and certainly they've been able to keep their quarterbacks clean whereas Graham Merz I mean I couldn't tell you how many times he was under pressure this year it felt like it was half the time um and that that certainly has been a disadvantage for Florida speaking to that offensive line I think you guys were missing both tackles by the end of Missouri game plus the center which I'm not going to try to pronounce his last name uh has there been any update on the health of the ghost guys and and seeing if they'll be able to play this coming weekend I get the feeling they will be without at least Kingsley igw walk in the center um he's he's been available the past game maybe two maybe just one but he was in a backup role at this point cuz he's been dealing with an ankle sprain since August I think he's aggravated it like three different times now trying to come back and finish he's a red shirt junr fifth year guy trying to finish on a strong note and it's just been tough so even if he's available I wouldn't expect him to play um Austin Barber the starting left tackle he's questionable again he missed last week with an upper body um he'd gotten hurt twice against LSU one was I believe to the shoulder and the other was a lower body um and they're really concerned more about the upper body that being said it's not a um it's nothing that requires surgery at this point uh Billy Napier described it tonight as a pain tolerance deal so he really might be a game time decision um at this rate I was going to ask you on the defensive side of the ball for FSU fans listening uh because a lot of eyes are going to be on Tate maker and what how and how he's going to be able to run this offense on Saturday night in that hostile environment who's a player on Saturday night for Florida that you need to see step up for the Gators that FSU fan should be keeping a close eye on that's a good question because I think that there are some individuals on this Florida defense that can be or even are really good but it it gets overshadowed by allowing 700 yards to LSU you know what I mean uh um but uh Prince Ley uman Mellen The Edge rusher he's he's getting draft grades he's made he's had a lot of pressure throughout the year but uh this pass rush as a whole and he's a part of it obviously has struggled to put quarterbacks in the dirt um especially mobile quarterbacks they've really struggled to contain and keep those guys in the pocket so you know this game not being not having Jordan Travis sucks but for Florida that obviously is a benefit because they don't have to necessarily work about the contain Factor as much unless Tate comes out and surprises the this pass rush he gets out and does some things with his legs too but um at the very least I would like to see a guy like princ Ley uh maybe the Freshman Edge rushers uh TJ cersi and Kelby Collins who have been impress impressive at points this year uh not only do they need to put pressure on Tate but they they've got to put him on the ground they got to get passers into the dirt make negative plays uh I guess not even with just with the quarterback but with Trey Benson too and with the running game you you got to create negative plays to put Florida State in a position where they're trying to fight to get yards back on second down and create a third in manageable you want to I mean that's ultimately it right you got to get them a little bit uncomfortable otherwise this offense versus this defense just on paper I mean it looks like one that can just run all over um they've got to create a couple negatives and they got to do it real early and I think that comes in the form of their Edge rushers you mentioned Florida's special teams units earlier and how that's kind of been a struggle for them and you know maybe that's an advantage for Florida State going into this game um when you're looking at it from the Florida perspective you know I know there's been some struggles as of late but is there anywhere that you're seeing on either offense or defense so you think maybe the Gators could exploit or find a mismatch um just in terms of like where Florida's got strength yeah yeah like where you think Florida has the advantage over FSU if I mean if anywhere that's a good question um I mean really with the Run game if they if they can commit to it and they've struggled to commit to it throughout the year granted it's because they've been losing games they've had to go to their efficient quarterback to throw them out of losing um but even if they go down you know with a guy who is an inexperienced quarterback yet a rushing threat in Max Brown I would say just commit to that and even if Florida State can create some stops early just keep trying to press it and at home I would think you should be able to make that work with um you know at this point Jake Slaughter to me at Center is a starter and has gotten better as the year's gone on so it really just depends on Austin Barber but if you can run I mean I hate to make it sound this simple but even if you can just run a little bit better to the right side and commit to it and commit to the read option to to throw that edge defender in that linebacker presence in a bit of a loop um you you got to that's supposed to be the strength of this team that's supposed to be what this offense is built around as its running game and you've got a quarterback who because he's not used to coverage Concepts in the SEC you got to let him do what he's comfortable with and I I've got a ton of respect for Florida State's defense but if I see an aspect of it not gonna be wrong here but if I see an aspect of it that's stronger than the other I I totally think it's its pass coverage I think that the back half of that secondary just doesn't allow completions at the end of the day and that's that's a challenge for a rookie quarterback like Max Brown you got to lean into him being able to run the ball I've only got one more on my end and kind of generic here I know you know you don't have to give a score prediction or anything but where do you think this uh game is going to go soldout crowd Tim TBO the Savior and all the gods of universe will be there on the sideline a lot has stacked into this game obviously fighting for postseason like Dustin said earlier but how do you feel like this game is going to go um and you don't have to give a score prediction but just your Vibe on this one going into it yeah it's so fascinating I mean asked me a week ago and I'm going FSU by 21 like it's just that's just how The Season's gone and now I don't know I mean there is so much motivation on the table for Florida you're right and I it's obviously impossible to predict what we're going to out of these quarterbacks but with all that I guess I'm just going to go with with what I believe to be the better team is Florida State I've got no reason to believe that when you put these two teams head-to-head no matter who the quarterback is Florida team Florida State's top five for a reason Florida's unranked getting critiqued as it has all year for the same exact thing for for the reasons that it is deserved so I could see being close I've again like I've literally considered in moments about picking Florida but I just I gotta go with the team that that has earned it right now I think that's Florida State hey I remember last year you came on here and predicted Florida State to win big and I mean man that ended up being a really competitive game in do camble Stadium between FSU and Florida um I guess for this one you know if Florida is able to pull the upset in this game how much does that change maybe the trajectory moving forward and maybe how people perceive uh Billy time at UF oh I mean it depends on who you ask fans All Is Forgiven all is great we're going New Year 6 bowling next year and and ride the max Brown train baby because that's what's going on um for me I mean you know I still see a lot of things that need changing I I do think that there's going to need to be some operational overall some changes with uh some assistance and the way things are done here in the offseason but listen the the big question right now for Florida because I think a lot of people have written him off pertaining to this season is can they keep this recruiting class together and a lot of that class is going to be in the swamp on Saturday so Florida can win this game shock the world I mean anecdotes and asterisk asde pull off a top five win to end the season like the recruiting class is ALS is not only the threat of it falling apart won't only go away but all of a sudden there's going to we talk about who's you know who who is Florida going to add next to close out the cycle momentum will be back on their side and that that's everything they needed more I think at this point I mean I I feel for these guys I try and not let emotion get in the way I'm obviously I've told you guys I'm not a Florida fan but I pity these guys I know it's been a tough season I know it's been a long season I know they're tired of questions from guys like me about the future um it'd be cool to see them get that I if they could get that this weekend it would be cool to see the stress you know kind of be alleviated as they enter their offseason Zach will you be there and attendance up there in the Press Box with us yes sir ah perfect perfect perfect well definitely link up there uh super appreciative of you coming on here spending the night before Thanksgiving and everything spending a lot of time with us giving some insight into Florida this upcoming match up but to look out for for Florida State fans as all as always we're definitely thankful for you coming on here as always and youall do a phenomenal job over there for our SI Fan Nation Network at all Gators even if it's a rival of this magnitude uh yall do phenomenal work so it's always great reading up and keeping up to date with the Gators on your end absolutely I appreciate you guys having me on Happy Thanksgiving and I'll uh I'll definitely link up with you on Saturday appreciate you we'll see you then see you guys thanks Zach perfect so Zach giving us some uh great insight there on the Gators and what FSC fans should keep a close eye out for and man oh man oh man there's gonna have to be some players to step on step up on both sides of the ball but with Max Brown it is going to be his first career start and I think a lot of Florida State's defensive line inside the trenches there and a guy named Jared verse and his last rivalry game will be licking his chops and I can go and tell you right now just coming off of a few things I've heard and also seen on social media I think Jared verse is ready to turn the Notch and take it up to another level which should be fun to watch on Saturday night gentlemen we've already kind of previewed this throughout this uh tonight's episode but uh you know we're kind of here at the score prediction stage of this one we've all predicted since the very beginning of the season in our season preview predicted Florida State to go undefeated we gotta we gotta be proud of that man we gota right now we're rolling on predictions and I'm just wondering isn't it wild that the last game at least in the regular season you don't have Jordan Travis anymore and are we still going to go in the route of Florida State staying undefeated and completing a 12-0 regular season what what a what a wild ride what a wild ride this 2023 season has been but man last last thoughts on this before we get into the score predictions last thoughts on what and what what we're going to do on Saturday night and work should be a should be a competitive game I I think there's going to be some twists and turns in this one it's not going to be as uh straight and narrow as some of those other wins that we've seen Florida State get they're they're really going to have to fight for this one and take it from the Gators up there in gains if they want to advance to 12-0 and you know I think it's going to be a lot more competitive you know maybe than what we were thinking a couple weeks ago when we were previewing this match up much like Zach said everything kind of goes out the window with these two new quarterbacks yeah somehow we're all gonna win our preseason prediction and still also all lose um it's Wednesday and I'm already nervous for this game I hate playing Florida I don't care what sport it is stupid things will always happen it doesn't make it any better that they're doing the Timbo thing I know right and Brandon Spikes is Mr two bits I mean I don't care about that I I don't know what that is yeah I don't I don't really care about that I just it needs to be Saturday already the the only thing making my you know concerns like die down a little bit is if the the football basketball thing is real the basketball team got absolutely smoked last week so hopefully the football team can do this can do the opposite and smoke the Gators this weekend uh score prediction time score prediction time you're up um yeah I am up I am we're wrapping back around baby for hopefully a deep uh postseason run um but I'm gonna stick with uh Florida State here I think Florida State wins on the road um I think this comes down to the offense more than anything I think the defense will take care of what we've seen Florida put out onto the field offensively but I I've really been impressed with Adam Fuller and adjustments that he makes in the second half as well in case there were to be something where Florida's Florida's putting some points up in the first second quarter um but I do think they're going to move around with this offense a little bit more put out some rollouts for raker he's got an arm we know that I'd like to see jakai Douglas utilize if Dustin Hill is able to be a full go as well take advantage of some some deep shots and I think Douglas is one of those players where Rod maker can really utilize him throughout the game going deep um and then the second player Trey Benson he's got to take a he do have to take a step up but he's got to make an impact in this game in that running back room there's a lot of Versatility in that room overall but Trey Benson needs to put some put up a good stat line in this one and the help helpfulness of having two of the top wide receivers in the country like Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman should be of help alongside those two productive tight end actually three with biscuit Kyle Morlock and Jem Bell so I got Florida State 31 Florida 16 and the swamp on Saturday night I think this is going to be ugly early on like a six to three 10 to six kind of halftime score where we're just sitting there going what what have what are we seeing on offense you know to me it's going to come down to the trenches you know on the offensive side the offensive line has to be better than they've been no really all season create open running lanes for Trey Benson for Toof Philly for Rodney Hill for whoever is running the football keep Tate raker upright and then on the defensive side that defensive Line's really gonna have to to sink in and keep Montell Johnson and keep Trevor etn from getting those big chunk plays that we know they're capable of I I already see a Trevor etn 65 yard touchdown in my head I've just already accepted that it's gonna happen it's he's just he's just that kind of playmaker and etn have always done well against Florida State no matter whether it's Travis or Trevor I think you're see a lot of rpos from Florida State I just feel like that's what R maker is more comfortable with with those Slants and posts just give them those easy completions but at the end of the day Florida state is the better team even with both quarterbacks out and I think I think they maybe get a late score to to take advantage of it I've got Florida State winning 34 to 27 and taking taking advantage of a lesser Florida defense so me and Dustin are G to be stressed out in the Press Box thanks so much appreciate it y you're welcome it's going to be a battle I I too think it's going to be tough slugging early on for both teams while they kind of feel out you know what works for each of these new quarterbacks um you know luckily for Florida State they've got some real offensive weapons I agree with you Logan I think this is one where Trey Benson especially I mean coming off that emotional game where he was right there and I mean saw Jordan go down he's going to want to come out here and have a big game against the gator I'm really looking at for State's offensive line banged up throughout the season there have been some moving Parts you know we're not sure if Marie Smith is going to be able to play after going down against North Alabama that'll be something we'll be watching leading up to the game but I mean you're really going to need a strong performance out of them uh to get the ball moving on the ground and you know give R maker some time to settle in and really you know start to get into a rhythm and also the wide receivers Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman tight end Jem Bell they're going to need to to have solid performances uh make things a little bit easier on R maker and in a tough environment and I think Florida State's defense you know this is going to be a big showing for them against the Gators who have struggled on offense now have a new quarterback I think they're they're going to Feast a little bit but this one it's going to be back and forth um gritty closely contested probably have some personal foul Flags uh but in the end I think for State um they're going to come out you know battle tested with a win in Gainesville I'm gonna go FSU 24 Gator 21 oh wow another very close Okay Okay interesting listen I I'd love it if it's your score Logan two-score game you know going to the fourth quarter I could kind of breathe a little bit otherwise I'm on the edge of my seat all game 100% you know two before moving on to basketball you know you go through that you go through that traumatic experience and your your guy goes down but you know this team still is on a mission and there's a reason why Keon Coleman came to FSU there's a reason why Trey Benson Johnny Wilson a lot of these players these newcomers definitely in that transfer portal came to Florida State like Jem Bell to not just compete for that ACC Championship but make it to that college football playoff and put a ring on their finger and at some point you got to turn your mentality over to you know grieving that that that loss of JT on your team that pivotal factor that biggest leader on on the field for you that has been the one to make plays to keep you in games um you know you gotta wipe that off and go fight for your brother and uh it's still you're still on a business trip this is still a business trip You' got games to win and this season isn't over and we're really going to see the state of this team it's going to be kind of like what we saw against Louisville last year we're really going to tell how how much more of a step this program really has taken and if they really do do their due diligence and let's say route Florida you know I I man M Nell is one hell of a coach in what he's been able to do so we'll see we'll see on Saturday night looking forward to being over there in Gainesville me and Dustin will be there covering that one looking forward to it alongside our guy Tommy Mir our editor at n game day.com so should be fun there in the swamp let's jump over to some basketball visa to end off this podcast because I think people like you were saying in the production meeting are starting to like get a little itchy to come back to Florida State basketball after definitely throwing it away in the trash last year they make a big move here and beat Colorado uh ranked number 18 in the country vzy just coming off of that window I know there some previous games too we'll talk about but what a win for Leonard Hamilton going into overtime there and setting NCA record in overtime wins well not set but extend their overtime record they already had the record from when they beat Duke two years ago and coincidentally enough that's this is the biggest win since that Duke game I don't I don't think I'm sugar coating anything Florida state was so bad last year you know I made the point of saying Florida State didn't have their fourth win until December 21st last year and they got their fourth win this year on November 21st Florida State looked like they belonged on that court and you know we'll talk about the game that happened on Friday but they made such an impressive turnaround from just a few days before to come out and beat a solid unv team and then to really beat a really really really good Colorado team I think that's the second best team in the Pack 12 they've got experience they've got talent they've got two or three legitimate NBA guys they held KJ Simpson who's an All-American type player to just five of 22 from the floor they held Tristan da Silva who tested NBA Waters last year to two of nine in six turnovers it's what you want to see you know the first few games the interior defense was pretty piss poor against Colorado who is one of the most efficient offenses in the country they held him to just 38% inside the arc and 25% on the perimeter was really just a great performance defensively they forced 20 turnovers a turnover rate of 25% if Florida State's going to win basketball games that's that's how it's going to be they're going to have to make things sloppy they're going to have to create turnovers I know some people look at the offensive rebounds and go oh my God they L up 19 offensive rebounds they only had 11 Second Chance points if they're going to limit the second chance points on those offensive rebounds you know you can you can sometimes give those up Florida state had eight Second Chance points on just five offensive rebounds so they're doing what needs to be done to win win B games right now Jaylen gainy should be back soon which is going to help that that rebounding and that defense a ton people are excited again it's it's fun to be a basketball fan again for what feels like the first time in forever um but shout out Jaylen warley 19 points on 711 shooting he was really good offensively in the second half really good defensively all game with three steals you know I've said since the begin or since before season a good Jaylen rley is an aggressive Jaylen roley and he was so aggressive last night just getting into the basket finishing through traffic it's what we've wanted to see from him and really the first four games we didn't really see it you saw it last night when he when he can get downhill and finish it makes the team so so so much better and then obviously we we can't shout out jimere Watkins enough I've seen so many people in the last week to two weeks just say he looks like a baby Terren man and he does they move this the same way they they operate the same way they can make those same flashy lob passes they dunk the same way it's like I'm watching his twin it really is and he he just does whatever is necessary this game he led the team in rebounds with 11 last game he led the team in assists with I want to say eight he just does whatever is necessary to get the job done and it's what Florida State's been missing and what a find out of the transfer portal for Florida State I mean you bring in vcu's I believe fourth leading score from a season to go and uh through the first five games of the Season Jamir Watkins has been Florida State's best player um so far just so impactful whether it's scoring uh getting rebounds passing steals Blocks he's just all over the court and has made a tremendous impact for the semal and you know like I don't know if you said it yet Austin but named the tournament MVP for the sunshine slam to kind of recognize his efforts in these two games but man fla State's defense is back they were absolutely locking down Colorado I mean throughout the game especially but in those first 12 minutes or so I think Colorado only had about 12 points and then they went they went on a little run there towards the end of the first half but you were just seeing these guys switching um physical up on guys full-court press just all over Colorado really suffocating a team who came into this top 25 uh Team potentially a an NBA lottery pick over there so this was a big win for Forida stay especially early in the season you've already got four wins you only had nine all of last year um I think getting one like this in the non-conference schedule could really Propel this team moving forward and as you said Jaylen gayy isn't even out there for Florida State so this team could get even better and as they continue to gel and just continue to implement these new guys that have only been playing now together for five games um you know for State as things stand could be a bright future for them as they continue to move forward into this season yeah so Jamir Watkins last season for VCU only started about half their games you know 17 of a possible 35 nine and a half points per game five and a half rebounds per game only one and a half assists per game and just over a steal per game through five games at Florida State 14 points per game six rebounds per game four and a half assists per game and basically two steals per game I mean he's just doing absolutely everything it's such an incredible find from this staff i' I've been super super impressed for him and Florida State had 17 steals as a team yesterday four players with three or more steals it's the second most steals by Leonard Hamilton team at Florida State which they've had some pretty damn good defenses when you look back mean you can look back at the Trent Forest eight Steel game you know they've just always had these guys that can get after the ball but 17 as team is pretty pretty incredible and that's just that's just going to have to be how they win basketball games make it sloppy create the turnovers and take advantage on the other end such an impressive win this early on in the season and now you look at the rest of the non-conference Slate it's pretty winnable you know there's a lot of questions about what could Georgia be what could USF be with kenesa State's Old Coach I think you can win the rest of these Georgia USF SMU UNF winthrip lipom you know there's a chance that Florida state has more non-conference wins this year than they had all of last season combined non-conference and Conference and I think they already have more non-conference wins than last year right yeah they only had two last year I mean it's it's incredible a year ago we were talking about such a disappointment in the ESPN Invitational losing by double digits to Sienna Stanford and Nebraska none of those teams are very good in case you didn't keep up with college basketball last year just a year later to beat what I think's a solid un UNL team UNLV team you know a team that's probably GNA be the top four or five of the Mountain West and then beat a really damn good Colorado team it's such an impressive turnaround really really impressive turnaround and you know maybe like I was saying before the season some of those guys that you lost maybe were more additions by subtraction thing is you know Florida State's going to have a little break here they'll face Georgia next week we'll actually be on here to talk about that and then they'll tip off like yeah a little bit later on I'm gonna try and get over there for that game you should have plenty of time 9:15 yeah you should still you should still have time though assuming we start our normal time 9:15 tip in the tuck I mean what is going on against the Georgia team that's just two and three right now they haven't been off to their best start playing our old friend in Mike White and you you know we'll we'll talk a little bit more about that game next week but I don't see a reason why Florida State shouldn't be a five or sixo favorite heading into the basketball game should be a good one maybe the maybe the students show up again you know Jaylen Del is gonna want to show out since Florida State didn't take him so he could play on the same school as his brother um but I'm really looking forward to the rest of this non-conference late and Conference slate starts next Saturday at UNC I've already talked about how I'll be pulling double duty going to that game at 2 pm then hustling down to Charlotte for the ACC Championship should be an exciting day for fla State Sports that'll be fun any chance FSU receives any votes in the Top 25 Poll I highly doubt it there's there's a lot of teams that deserve be ranked not get ranked but just get yeah I I highly doubt it one great win is great you know it's what people want to see out of Florida State just get back to their winning ways I I think you have to go out and beat North Carolina next week to start getting votes they people just need to see more it doesn't take five games for people go oh Florida State's back you know even though like like I said last week I've been I've been drinking the garnet Kool-Aid they've looked good and that Florida game was just I've said it a few times in articles in Twitter on on Discord wherever that game was such an aberration I think of those two those two teams played again this Saturday I think it's a much closer game the same Florida State wins but you're not getting that same result it was the best possible game Florida could have played and the worst possible game Florida State could have played all at once in the first half there was nothing Florida state did that worked everything Florida was doing was working that second half Florida State actually won the second half by nine points and Florida was still trying it wasn't like they gave up they were still trying Florida state was just doing some things differently and it ended up working I'm so glad they responded the way they did against UNLV in Colorado and it's going to be a really maybe not a really good basketball team going forward but I think they're going to be pretty competitive there's there's an outside chance that they're a bubble team yeah if we look at it from from the Viewpoint coming into the year of thinking you know they're probably going to be around a 500 basketball team hopefully now you can have a little bit more optimism like you know they're probably not going to win the ACC Championship but can this team now compete to be in the upper half of the league and be in a position maybe to be on the bubble in March that's I think that's maybe a fair assessment now yeah cuz let me tell you the ACC sucks it is not a good conference this year um if if we just look at results today Florida and Pittsburgh are about to play pretty much as soon as we get off this game I'll be tuned into that one Virginia barely and I mean barely beat a bad West Virginia team coming off getting beat by Wisconsin by 21 uh Cincinnati obliterated Georgia Tech today if we go back to Monday Florida state was was the only ACC team to win a basketball game as Louisville fell to Indiana and Syracuse didn't even look competitive against Tennessee Wake Forest fell to a bad LSU team on Sunday Miami's had a couple closer than expected games with Kansas State and was it FIU last week Boston College has not been good there's no reason Florida State can't be like that fifth or sixth team in the ACC I don't think they've got some Talent they've got the they've got the experience and for the first time in what feels like years they have the cohesion you can tell this team likes playing together you didn't always get that Vibe these last couple of years I'm not going to point any fingers not going to say any names um but someone did Point themselves out yesterday go to my Twitter if you don't know what I'm talking about because I was pretty funny um but they they just they look like they look like Florida State again and I heard that before this season we feel like us again and you're seeing it on the court I'm I'm willing to throw that Florida game away that I don't think that's ever going to happen again this season they're having fun and I just think really last year is like when they got in those tough moments and we facing adversity they just kind of shut down and they quit playing as a team but then when you look at what they did against Colorado I mean they were working as one on both ends of the court I mean it's a complete it's night and day compared to what you were watching a year ago for sure I mean a year ago they weren't even in these games I mean they were getting smoked early on I mean like I said you're losing by double digits to Sienna you're not in a lot of basketball games for them to not even be in but win against like I said a really good Colorado team just such an impressive turnaround from this team this staff coach Hamilton I'm I'm looking forward to the rest of the season they get a week off to to get healthy because cam Corin B hurt his toe apparently uh yesterday we'll see if that holds him out and then you know they're hoping jayen Gay's back on Wednesday against Georgia that'd be huge for this team especially going into North Carolina that has arguably the best center in the in the conference and Armando Bott so they're going to need it for that game at a minimum yeah Corin got banged up Fletcher had a didn't have a I mean he had a pretty bad game honestly green Jr did make some big big shots but only finished three out of 12 I mean that's a game whereever you get smoked last year by Colorado but instead you've got Chandler Jackson coming in there giving some contributions how about Deontay green I just about to say his name holy crap that guy kept for state in that game in the first half and then had some big sequences later on as well I mean what a what a performance from him definitely looks finally back from that ACL and not just in the Colorado game but in the UNLV game as well back-to-back games where he sets a career high with 10 points Off the Bench it's exactly what Florida State needs and now when kin comes back healthy and G's back that's a a really intriguing big man lineup of gy as a glass cleaning shot blocking monster Corin who's super versatile offensively and then Deontay green that just kind of does a little bit of everything it's such a perfect mix I'm really looking forward to seeing how coach Hamilton and especially Coach Jones because he's the big man Guru I'm look really looking forward to seeing how they use that rotation going forward it's really versatile really exciting it's a it's a deep versatile team it's what I kind of thought we'd be seeing well definitely feels good to buy into basketball again only one win though big one big one four four wins yeah yeah yeah yeah big one big one I'm buying I'm not yeah I'm feeling feeling better feeling better hopefully FSU fans keep Hing up your phone there and your DMs vzy we like it we like people interested in the and the content that we're putting out but it's nice to see Leonard Hamilton get that big win and we'll see what they do against Georgia and then North Carolina A ranked team talented as always and always end up being pretty fun ones usually so uh looking forward to that and early December but yeah I think that's going to wrap up the rest of this show appreciate Zach hopping on here to give us some Florida Gator Insight Florida State verse UF 7 o'clock ESPN hope everybody has safe travels down to Gainesville and the swamp we'll be there covering that we'll have our instant reaction on here after press conference duties wrap up there so will be giving our instant reaction down on the field I don't think we did that did we du two we just left because I think we were salty that the like all of our we had like a bunch of content set up for like FSU bowl game like bowl game projection like some different kind of stuff and like all got ruined and I think we were just like d let's just drive back to tally whatever and neither I'm G good mood I'm either G be in a really good mood or I'm gonna be fleeing stuff across my room all podcast I'm gonna be upset I'm upset 50,000 on NE is disrespect um all right there you go there you have it there you have it Drake shout out Drake shout out Drake All right but yeah that's wrapping it up I appreciate everybody listening to us this year Dustin left because of that so see you adios but uh appreciate everybody hanging out with us this evening as always you listen this podcast on iTunes Google play Spotify if you're on YouTube right now before you leave hit that like button subscribe so you get notified every release a new episode we'll be here Saturday night late one late one but we'll be giving our inant reaction to Florida State verse Florida on temp tibo night so looking forward to that see you guys have a great rest of y's week and Happy Thanksgiving peace