Gators Fall to Seminoles in Rivalry Shootout

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – They had an opportunity to create separation on the scoreboard and tossed it away. They appeared on the verge of vanishing and stormed back. They made one last push in the final minute but came up empty.

Ultimately, the Gators suffered a familiar defeat in head coach Billy Napier‘s first season. Florida played well in spurts, stumbled at other times, and kept the game interesting until the final play.

Still, the story was the same when it was time for Napier to unpack his team’s 45-38 loss to No. 16 Florida State here late Friday night.

“The football wasn’t good enough,” he said. “There was a lot of good ball out there, but there was some things that we can do better. There’s no question.”

Six days after a small group of Vanderbilt fans rushed the field to celebrate a rare win over the Gators, thousands of garnet-and-gold-clad enthusiasts swept onto Bobby Bowden Field to savor FSU’s first win over the Gators since 2017. The Seminoles (9-3) snapped a three-game losing streak to the Gators (6-6) in the highest-scoring game in the rivalry’s history.

Florida arrived at Doak Campbell Stadium on Friday as the underdog, with five receivers ruled out due to injury. The Gators also played the first half with sixth-year senior linebacker Ventrell Miller, the team’s defensive leader and emotional heartbeat.

Beating the Seminoles figured to be a challenging endeavor for UF.

Still, the Gators led 24-21 at halftime behind three touchdown passes by quarterback Anthony Richardson and a 41-yard field goal by Adam Mihalek 42 seconds before halftime. The Seminoles took an early lead on Trey Benson’s 9-yard run early in the first quarter.

From there, the teams traded punches. Richardson hit Ricky Pearsall for a 52-yard score just 16 seconds after Benson’s run to tie the game. Florida took a 14-7 lead on its next drive when Richardson tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jonathan Odom.

But the star of the night was FSU quarterback Jordan Travis, who passed for 270 yards and one touchdown, and rushed for 83 yards and two scores. Travis scored on a 29-yard run to tie the game 14-14, and after Richardson connected with Pearsall for a 43-yard touchdown pass, Travis scored on a 1-yard run to make it 21-21. His touchdown came after a spectacular 10-yard run on third-and-10.

“His legs were the difference in the game,” Napier…