Gators, Seminoles face long odds in South Carolina

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida and Florida State have the same record overall record, the same conference record, the same long-shot goal of getting to a bowl game and have to take their next step in accomplishing that task on Saturday as huge underdogs in road games in the same state.

Hello, South Carolina. And if both the Gators and Seminoles lose, it’s one more step to saying good-bye to a bowl berth.

The Gators (3-5, 3-4) play South Carolina (6-3, 4-3) at noon at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia in the first game of a CBS tripleheader of SEC games. Florida opened as a nine-point underdog.

Later in the afternoon, at 3:30, and 135 miles west, the Seminoles (3-5, 3-4) face fourth-ranked Clemson (8-1, 6-1) at Death Valley, the first time in 31 meetings that FSU has faced a top-10 Tigers team while unranked. It’s also the largest disparity between rankings of the two teams at the time of the game since 1999, when the Seminoles were No. 1 and Clemson unranked.

FSU opened as 18-point underdogs, the largest in the history of Jimbo Fisher’s eighth seasons as the Seminoles’ head coach.

Rare is the time that the Gators and Seminoles have been on the road in the same state (other than Florida), on the same day. It has happened only three times before, the last time on Nov. 12, 2005, when Florida lost to South Carolina 30-22 and FSU fell to Clemson 35-14.

Both teams played in Louisiana on Nov. 20, 1982, when Florida won 21-14 at Tulane and FSU lost 55-21 at LSU. It happened for the first time on Oct. 17, 1959 in Tennessee, and both teams lost, the Gators 13-6 at Vanderbilt and the Seminoles 16-6 at Memphis.

While the Seminoles and Gators need a victory regardless of the circumstances, it’s now do-or-die when it comes to qualifying for a bowl game. While Florida missed a bowl game in 2013, the Seminoles haven’t failed to qualify for the post-season in 35 years, tied with Nebraska for the longest streak in NCAA history.

Since the Cornhuskers bowl streak ended in 2003, FSU can set the record if it somehow gets bowl-eligible.

While Fisher said he doesn’t want his players to dwell on the bowl streak, he said it’s also not something from which they can hide.

“It’s a burden you carry,” he said. “It’s part of why you come here. But you can’t let it paralyze you.”

Florida and FSU might take different approaches if either one finishes the season 5-6 or even 4-7. FSU is seriously considering re-scheduling Louisiana-Monroe for Dec. 2, a home game that was cancelled on Sept. 9 because of Hurricane Irma, UF officials have said they will not attempt to re-schedule a home game against Northern Colorado that was cancelled the same day.

South Carolina and Clemson both have a special kind of motivation against their Sunshine State opponents.

Gamecocks head coach Will Muschamp, who was fired by former Florida athletics director Jeremy Foley in 2014, will play in his second bowl game in two seasons and can have a huge say in making sure the Gators stay home.

The two SEC East division titles the Gators won in 2015 and 2016 were built primarily on the backs of the defensive players Muschamp recruited and coached and the goal of an improved offense — the biggest criticism leveled at Muschamp — never materialized under former head coach Jim McElwain.

Clemson can continue its recent domination over the Seminoles. After losing three in a row and four of five at one point, the Tigers have won the past two and used those victories as the catalyst to winning ACC titles both years.