GatorCountry brings you a new podcast as we continue to preview the Florida Gators big rivalry game against Florida State on Saturday.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre give the keys for the Gators to have a big week against Florida on Saturday.
Andrew and Nick also talk about the rivalry and the latest around the Gators program.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew:​What’s up, Gator Country? Your man, Andrew Spivey, here with Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, it’s Wednesday, getting ready for Florida State. It’s rivalry week. Time for the Gators to take down the Noles again. I don’t know if it’s a question of if they will. It’s maybe how bad they will.
Nick:​Yeah. A couple years ago, Florida had an interim head coach, and they were going into this game not feeling good about themselves. Some of the players, even yesterday when we talked to them, said we were just hoping it would end, or just waiting for it to end. I think that’s kind of where FSU sits. It’s rivalry week, so you’re not really feeling bad for them. Like you said, you’re just how many can we put on them? How bad can it get?
Andrew:​Exactly. Let me just tell you this. The Gators, they’re not feeling bad for them at all. They don’t care how bad they are. They just don’t care. They want to beat Florida State and beat them bad. As someone told me, don’t think Dan Mullen’s going to take mercy on them.
Nick:​No. No, no. I think, Dan Mullen doesn’t talk about it publicly, especially during the week, but he knows it’s a rivalry week. No love lost for the Seminoles. I think if he has the opportunity, he’ll take advantage of it. It’ll be interesting to see what Florida State team shows up, because they’re going through a bunch right now. By the time they get to Gainesville, has the playing and rallying around Odell Haggins, has that kind of worn off? What has it been, three games now, four?
Andrew:​Yeah. Three, right?
Nick:​Yeah. So, has that worn off? I mean, honestly, the talent level is not the same.
Andrew:​Let me ask you this. Is this a situation, let me turn it back. Let me go a different way. Is this a situation kind of like what we saw with Florida with Randy Shannon, where some of the players came out voicing support for Randy Shannon, or is it deeper for Odell Haggins? Obviously, Haggins is a Nole through and through, been there forever. He’s definitely not a Cane like Shannon was. So, is it different, Nick, as far as this goes? In my opinion, and let me just say, they may, but in my opinion they can’t hire this guy as the had coach for long term.
Nick:​I was actually talking to a friend about that. He played baseball at Florida State. We always talk this week. He always asks me what I think about the game, and he said his score prediction was 41-31. I was like, hey boss, Florida State ain’t scoring 31.
Andrew:​I thought you was about to say 41-3, and I was going to say he might be smart.
Nick:​He said 41-31. I said, hey boss. He goes, why, is Florida’s defense good? I was like, they’ve given up 69 points in the second half of games this year. They’re pretty good.
Andrew:​Yeah.
Nick:​He was like, oh, never mind. But he was asking what I thought about the coach, and I said, I don’t know. I thought Mark Stoops would be probably the guy that I would go after if I was in charge over at Florida State. I thought what Mark Stoops has done and built at Kentucky, he’s probably won as much as anyone at Kentucky can, so I thought his decision would come down to have I reached my peak? Have I reached the ceiling at Kentucky? Then the other part is I’ve been up to Lexington, and they have built so much in the way of facilities and renovating the football stadium. He’s got his fingerprints. It’s all him. He’s built all that. So, I thought, do you leave what you’ve built to go to this other school, because there’s a better chance of winning? Apparently, he took his name out of the running.