Dan Mullen has found himself in the hot seat in Gainesville after losing to Missouri in overtime, with Florida's hopes of a postseason bowl resting on rivalry weekend.
Both the Gators and Florida State enter next weekend's game with a 5–6 record, both needing a win to reach a bowl. Their stories to this moment couldn't be more opposite despite the records.
Florida has lost nine of its last 11 Power 5 games, sitting 2–6 in conference games this year—oh, and it gave up a whopping 52 points to Samford. Mullen's squad is currently second to last in the SEC east, ahead of just Vanderbilt. Meanwhile, FSU is at an even 4–4 in the ACC.
The last time the Gators missed out on a bowl was in 2017 when they finished 4–7 overall, 3-5 in SEC play, with the Florida State beating them in the final regular season game, 38–22. Could this end up being a repeat of that harrowing season?
Meanwhile, the Seminoles have snagged some monumental wins after starting the season 0–4: a 35–25 over UNC in Chapel Hill and 31–28 over Miami in Tallahassee. They missed out on the bowl season during the 2020 campaign, finishing the season at 3–6 overall.
The two programs did not play each other last season because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, but Florida has won the last two games in the series. This next matchup may just be biggest of the last few years, with a chance to go bowling—and some coaching jobs—on the line.
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