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Gators open a big underdog to Florida State

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•11/20/22•

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For the first time in series history, the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles will play on Black Friday. The Saturday after Thanksgiving has been the traditional date for the Sunshine Showdown but ABC had a different vision for this year.

The Gators and Seminoles will play on ABC at 7:30 under the lights at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Noles (8-3) opened as an 8.5-point favorite, according to Circa Sports. The sportsbook has also set the over-under at 59.5

“It’s always important and we’re on Friday night. Friday night lights,” senior linebacker Amari Burney said. “It’s very important any time you play Florida State. It’s a rivalry and everybody knows that so we have to strap up and come ready to play.”

It will be the first time that Mike Norvell will be the favorite in the rivalry game. Norvel’s first season at the helm was in 2020, so his introduction to the rivalry was in 2021. The Gators, despite having fired Dan Mullen just six days before playing the Noles, edged out a win in Gainesville 24-21.

After starting the season unranked, Florida State broke into the Top 25 in September following a 4-0 start but quickly fell back out of the rankings. The Noles have been on a tear of late, winners in their last four games. If the Seminoles win this Friday, it would be the program’s first nine-win season since Jimbo Fisher was in charge in 2016.

The Gators are just 1-3 on the road to this point of the season. Florida State is 4-2 at Doak Campbell Stadium. While the line sits at 8.5, home teams typically get three points on a betting line as home-field advantage, meaning Vegas views this as a close, one-score type of game.

This will be the 66th all-time meeting between the Gators and Seminoles. Florida owns a 37-26-2 lead and an active three-game winning streak

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