Florida State ended their season on Saturday facing their in-state rival Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium. Entering the game with a 2-9 record, not many people expected the Seminoles to be competitive. Billy Napier and Florida have turned their season around, and the Gators kept the ball rolling on Saturday with a 31-11 dominating win over the Noles.
For the second straight game, FSU freshman Luke Kromenhoek started at quarterback. The freshman went 15-of-28 for 140 passing yards. On the ground, the Seminoles struggled to establish the running game. Roydell Williams had six attempts for -1 yards. Lawrance Toafili led the Seminoles in rushing with 43 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. That just so happened to be FSU’s only time reaching the end zone against the Gators.
Florida attacked FSU on the ground for much of this game. Rushing for 235 yards as a team, the Gators were led in the backfield by senior Montrell Johnson Jr., who had 99 yards and a touchdown. Jaden Baugh added 81 yards on 11 attempts for UF. Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway finished the game 14-of-22 passing for 133 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. FSU struggled on defense in stopping the Gators from moving the ball downfield.
This season has been a major letdown for Mike Norvell and the Noles. But getting obliterated by a rival to finish the season made it that much worse. The odds were stacked against Florida State, and that showed in this game. The Noles had five fumbles against the Gators, and could not keep possession of the ball.
FSU held the ball for 32 minutes in the game, yet only tallied 11 total points. The Seminoles offense saw overthrown passes, minimal rushing gains, and miscues be the main focus of this loss. Kromenhoek overthrew a few passes in this game to his receivers, one of which would have been a score for the Noles to trim the lead in the fourth quarter.
Billy Napier and the Gators constructed the perfect gameplan to beat down Florida State for four quarters. Attacking the ground game and exposing the FSU defense through the air did wonders for Florida.
After an undefeated regular season in 2023, Florida State finishes the 2024 season with a 2-10 record. The 2024 season for Florida State football is one to forget, but also to look back on and wonder what could have been given the amount of talent the program had.
As for Florida, they won’t be hanging up the cleats for the rest of the season as the Gators are bowl eligible. It’s the first seven win season for the Gators since 2020.