The 2010s was a time where the state of Florida saw something it hadn’t seen since the 1970s - only one team won a national title during the entire decade when the Florida State Seminoles took home the final crown of the Bowl Championship Series era during the 2013 season.
Indeed, it was a time where the entire state took a step back when it came to being national powerhouses. Both FSU and their rivals, the Florida Gators, each went through six full-time head coaches and suffered four losing seasons over the decade - a far cry from the 1990s and 2000s when they combined for five national titles.
The 2019 season saw a completely different set of events take place in both Gainesville and Tallahassee - a Florida team that had double digit victories for the second straight season and enters the new year looking to make it into the College Football Playoff while a Seminoles team got swept by in-state rivals yet again and fired their head coach just 21 games into his time.
Will 2020 be the season when Florida finally makes it into the last four teams standing and plays for a national title? Will it be the season when FSU gets back to being a competitive team in the ACC after their first back-to-back losing seasons since the 1970s? Here’s a complete preview of both teams.
Florida Gators
2019 Season Recap
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Head coach Dan Mullen’s second season back in Gainesville didn’t feature any of the letdown losses that the year before had as the Gators went on to win 10 regular season games, including their first season sweep of Miami and FSU since 2008.
Their only losses coming to teams that finished ranked No. 5 (Georgia) and No. 1 (LSU). Florida ended the year with a victory in the Orange Bowl over Virginia, their second straight New Years Six bowl appearance for the first time in a decade.
Best Returning Player
Florida has speed and talent on both sides of the football, but the one person that has a shot of bringing home the fourth Heisman Trophy in program history plays the same position as the first three. Quarterback Kyle Trask started the final 10 games last season and finished with just under 3,000 yards passing and 25 touchdowns – including four games with over 300 yards in the air.
Biggest Question
Can the Gators get past rival Georgia and make it back to Atlanta? For the last three seasons, the one thing that has kept the orange and blue from winning the SEC East has been the annual loss to the Bulldogs in Jacksonville. With Kirby Smart’s team losing players at nearly every skill position including quarterback, this might be Florida’s best chance to knock off their bitter rivals.
Most Important Game
October 10th at Texas A&M: With the SEC playing a conference only schedule this season, the Gators are going to see battles each and every single week - including three foes in a four game stretch that includes the Aggies, LSU and Georgia.
Florida can’t afford to lose this one with the Tigers on deck while facing Jimbo Fisher for the first time since he left FSU – where he went 7-1 against the Gators during his time there.
Florida State Seminoles
2019 Season Recap
After watching the Seminoles get blown out in nearly every loss on their way to the first losing season since the mid-1970s during Willie Taggart’s first season, his second campaign saw close losses (including three by a combined 14 points) but came to an end after FSU’s third straight loss to rival Miami.
The ‘Noles got the two wins needed to become bowl eligible, losing to Arizona State to finish with a losing record in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1975-76.
Best Returning Player
While the Seminoles are not short on talent, the headliner on this year’s team is going to be wide receiver Tamorrion Terry. When Terry announced he was coming back for his senior season after nearly 1,200 yards receiving in 2019, new FSU head coach Mike Norvell knew his job become a little easier in the rebuild and knew the offense was going to be centered on the man now wearing No. 5 for the Seminoles.
Biggest Question
Can Florida State avoid the second half letdown? Four times in the last two seasons - Miami in 2018 and Boise State, Virginia and Wake Forest in 2019 - the ‘Noles watched as their halftime leads evaporated and turned into disappointing losses.
It’s been a trend for the Seminoles since the last few seasons Jimbo Fisher was coaching and if Norvell wants to last longer than 21 games, it’s something that needs fixing ASAP.
Most Important Game
September 26th at Miami: After seven straight wins over the ‘Canes, the Seminoles have dropped the last three with the first two by a combined five points. One could argue Taggart made no friends by losing his five games against rivals Miami, Florida and Clemson, so this will be Norvell’s first chance to show there is a new sheriff in town to lead the Seminoles back to the glory they had not that long ago.
