The Opening Kickoff: Gators at No. 16 Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida-Florida State game used to be must-watch TV. It used to be great theatre, viewers never certain of what they might see. The Gators-Seminoles rivalry used to be full of trash talk and future NFL stars and pregame drama.

The game used to be fun, fun, fun.

“You know, when I was growing up, Florida and Florida State were dominating college football,” first-year Gators coach Billy Napier said this week. “It was Steve Spurrier, and it was Bobby Bowden, and it’s pretty awesome to be a part of this game.”

When the Gators (6-5) and No. 16-ranked Seminoles (8-3) meet Friday night at Doak Campbell Stadium, a national TV audience and a sold-out crowd will be part of the package. The game remains a big event.

 

Sixty Minutes.

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— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 25, 2022

What has been missing in recent years is the kind of marquee matchup that impacts the national championship race and top of the polls. That is why Napier was hired at Florida, and that is why Mike Norvell is in his third year at Florida State.

The best thing that could happen to this rivalry is that in eight, nine, or 10 years, we’re still talking about Napier and Norvell leading their teams into the annual Florida-Florida State game. Both schools need stability at head coach, and both are young enough to hang around for a while.

So, as the Gators and Seminoles meet for the 66th time Friday night — and the first matchup between Napier and Norvell — here is to more of the same in years to come.

If that happens, then we’ll know the Florida-FSU rivalry is back where it belongs on the national stage.

For more on Friday night’s game between the Gators and Seminoles, here is The Opening Kickoff:

THREE STORYLINES

• The Gators and Seminoles square off on a Friday night for the first time in the series. The matchup at Doak Campbell Stadium marks Florida’s first visit to Tallahassee since 2018. The 2020 game was canceled due to the Covid-impacted schedule. This is the first meeting in the rivalry between first-year Gators coach Billy Napier and FSU’s Mike Norvell, in his third season. A lot of newness surrounds this year’s game.
• Florida has ruled out five of its top receivers because of various injuries: Justin Shorter, Xzavier Henderson, Marcus Burke, Ja’Quavion Fraziars and Thai…