Project Rivalry: Florida vs Florida State

The Florida/Florida State rivalry goes back to the early 1900's, when due to different legislatures and Acts, the Florida State College got turned into many different forms of colleges, from an all-women school, thus ending football, back to an all-male school.

It wasn't until 1947 that the Florida Legislature reorganized the state's university system again, and we finally wound up having the Florida Gators, and the Florida State Seminoles. The Gators and Seminoles played their first game in 1958 where the Gators defeated their in-state rival 21-7.

Florida dominated the rivalry up until 1977, which was a year after the Seminoles hired a man who would become a legendary coach at Florida State, Bobby Bowden. The Gators also changed leadership, hiring Charley Pell as their head coach. Under Pell's leadership, Florida took their turn dominating the rivalry from 1981 to 1986. Unfortunately under Pell's run as head coach, the NCAA uncovered multiple violations and Pell ended up being fired by the Gators.

In 1986 the Gators extended their win streak over the Seminoles with a 17-13 win in Tallahassee. However, Florida State won four straight against their rivals, and became a fixture of the NCAA's Top Ten rankings. Florida floundered under heavy NCAA sanctions.

In the 1990 season, Steve Spurrier, who was a former Heisman Trophy winner for the Florida Gators, returned to his alma mater, but this time he became their head coach. Between the years of 1990-2001 the Gators and Seminoles went back and forth, not only defeating one another, but also winning National Championships, or ruining the other's chance at a National Championship birth.

Spurrier left the Gators after the 2001 season and Ron Zook took his place. In 2005 Zook left, and Urban Meyer took over as head coach. Although the rivalry didn't hit the magnitude it did with the Bowden/Spurrier era, the teams shared much hatred toward the other. 2009 marked the last season that Bobby Bowden would coach the Florida State Seminoles, and his protege Jimbo Fisher took his place. 2010 marked the last year Urban Meyer would coach the Gators as well. Unfortunately for Meyer, the 2010 UF/FSU game marked his only loss in 11 games against the Seminoles.

This rivalry has seen many heated games, many close games, and many controversial games. It has given us the "Choke at Doak", which saw the Seminoles score 28 points in the last 15 minutes of the game to end the game in a tie. It has also given us the rematch that very same season when the Seminoles defeated the Gators 23-17 in the Sugar Bowl.

This rivalry has also given us many great coaches, players and plays. And the rivalry is far from over. Bobby Bowden and Urban Meyer may have moved on, Bobby to retirement and Urban to the Ohio State Buckeyes, but this rivalry is just as heated as it was when these two teams were playing to spoil each other's National Championship hopes. Florida may lead the feud with an overall record of 34-21-2, but the Seminoles are hell bent on taking the feud over. Whether they play in The Swamp, or at Doak Campbell Stadium, these teams come to play each time they lock horns, and they will continue to do exactly that!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Project Rivalry: Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy; Michigan vs Michigan State

The Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans are separated by about 64 miles. They are about a one hour drive away from one another, but just because they're fairly close does not mean these two schools get along.

The Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans
lock horns every year in this popular rivalry.

The Wolverines and Spartans play yearly for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Paul Bunyan, the imaginary lumberjack, seemed like the perfect person to represent this rivalry's trophy with Michigan being a major lumber producing state. However the Paul Bunyan Trophy was presented into the rivalry until 1953.

The first meeting between these two teams was on October 12, 1898. In this meeting, Michigan won with a final score of 39-0. Overall (pre-Paul Bunyan Trophy as well as post-trophy), the teams have met a total of 105 times with Michigan leading the rivalry 68-32-5 (although they only lead the series post-trophy 35-23-3).

Michigan owns the largest margin of victory record in the rivalry, with a 49-3 victory in 2002, and a ridiculous 119-0 score in 1902 before the Paul Bunyan Trophy was presented.

Through 1957 the Wolverines had the home field advantage in the rivalry most of the time, hosting the rivalry game 44 times in Ann Arbor and only traveling to East Lansing six times.

From 1950-1969 the Spartans had a good grasp on the rivalry as they had a winning record of 14-4-2. However in 1969 the Wolverines hired Bo Schembechler as their new head coach. After his hiring, from 1970-2007 Michigan went 30-8 against their rival.

The Paul Bunyan Trophy was first presented
into this rivalry in 1953.

In 2004 the Wolverines and Spartans battled to triple overtime, which was the first time there had ever been a triple overtime game in Michigan Stadium. Michigan went on to win the game 45-37.

After winning their sixth straight victory over the Spartans, Michigan's running back Mike Hart referred to Michigan State as "little brother". After Hart said that, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines in four straight meetings with Michigan finally breaking the four game winning streak this past year in Ann Arbor.

This rivalry has not only seen some legendary players on the field, but it's also seen legendary coaches. It is a yearly game, which is obviously an in-state rivalry. It is a rivalry that should be played for years to come. It's a rivalry that has given us many great football memories, and will surely give us many more to come. If you are from or live in Michigan, odds are you either bleed maize and blue or you bleed green. Either way, you'll look forward to that Saturday when the Wolverines and Spartans lock horns.

The next matchup between the Wolverines and Spartans will be October 20, 2013. Surely it will be televised, and Michigan State will be looking to win the Paul Bunyan Trophy and lock it up in East Lansing.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Project Rivalry: Iron Bowl; Alabama vs Auburn

The Iron Bowl.

Alabama Crimson Tide vs Auburn Tigers.

Roll Tide vs War Eagle.

The Iron Bowl is one of the most storied rivalries not only in the SEC, but in all of college football. The first game of the rivalry was played on February 22, 1893. Auburn won 32-22. The game was played in front of a crowd of roughly 5,000 people at Lakeview Park in Birmingham, Alabama.

After the 1907 game, which ended in a 6-6 tie, the schools could not agree on the amount of expenses to be paid to players, as well as where they would obtain the officials for the game. Therefore they put the feud on hold.  The Alabama congress threatened to withhold funding from both schools unless the rivalry resumed. Fortunately for Alabama and Auburn fans, the rivalry resumed in 1948. It was agreed that the games would be played in Bimingham because it had the largest stadium in the state, Legion Field which held 44,000 seats.

In 1980 the series had come to be called The Iron Bowl due to Birmingham's prominence as a center of iron and steel production. Auburn's coach at the time, Shug Jordan coined the term "Iron Bowl". Alabama's coach Bear Bryant wanted to call the game the "Brag Bowl" due to the fact that after you win in the game, you have a whole year to brag about the victory.

In 1989 the Iron Bowl began being a "home-and-home" series. On December 2, 1989 Alabama came to Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time in the history of the rivalry. A sold out crowd witnessed Auburn win it's first true "home" game of the series, 30-21. Alabama came into that game unbeaten and ranked #2 in the country.

Alabama held their "home" games at Legion Field, but in 1998 they expanded Bryant-Denny Stadium to a capacity of 83,818, exceeding Legion Field by a few hundred. In the year 2000 Alabama moved their home games to Bryant-Denny Stadium where their home games are still played to this day.

The winner of the game is presented with the Foy-ODK Sportsmanship Award, which is named after James E. Foy, who is an Alabama graduate, and also a former Auburn dean of students and Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society.

One of the most shocking things to come out of this rivalry was on January 11, 2011 a man going by the name of "Al" called into the Paul Finebaum sports radio talk show and admitted to poisoning two trees (known as "Toomer's Trees), which were the center of a long tradition that Auburn fans would take part in called "rolling the corner" (the trees were located on the corner of Magnolia Avenue and College street across from Toomer's Drugs). After soil samples were taken, it was determined that the trees were poisoned. Sadly the trees are scheduled to be taken down in April of this year.

The rivalry has seen many oustanding players such as Bo Jackson, Cam Newton, Johnny Musso and Pat Sullivan. It also has seen many great coaches, such as arguably the greatest coach ever Paul "Bear" Bryant.

This rivalry is a long bitter rivalry which is one of the most heated rivalries in college football. Both teams have been among the nation's elite teams for decades. They have also accounted for 30 SEC titles and are two of the most winningest college football teams in college football history.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

Army Black Knights vs Navy Midshipmen Preview

Today at 3:00, arguably the best rivalry game in college football (or all of sports, depending on who you ask), will be played in Philadelphia, PA. The Army Black Knights vs the Navy Midshipmen. Army's record this season is a very disappointing 2-9 while Navy this season has went 7-4.

This rivalry game originated in 1890, and has been an annual ritual since 1930. Army had been the winner of the feud until 2004 when Navy tied the series record up. Since 2002 Navy has won every game they've played against Army, now winning the overall record 58-49-7. Last season Navy defeated Army by six points, 27-21.

Although Army is only 2-9, surprisingly they are ranked number one in the nation for most rushing yards per game, with an average of 369.8. They will look to use that ground game to surprise Navy, and break that 10 game winning streak.

QB Trent Steelman is Army's leading rusher this season.

Navy isn't bad with rushing either. They're ranked sixth in the nation with an average of 285.5 rushing yards per game. It looks like it's going to be quite the rushing game this afternoon.

Army is led by senior quarterback Trent Steelman. Steelman only has 619 yards passing, with one throwing touchdown and two interceptions. Not the best stats for a QB. But, the senior has 1,152 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns. Impressive for a player on a team that is only 2-9.

Meanwhile, Navy is led by freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds, who has 754 yards passing, with eight touchdowns and only one interception. He also has 585 rushing yards and has recorded nine rushing touchdowns.

Although both QBs have been impressive on the ground, both teams have capable running backs as well. Army has junior running back Raymond Maples, who has over 1,000 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and sophomore running back Larry Dixon, who has 778 yards rushing and punched the ball into the endzone six times.

Navy QB Keenane Reynolds has passed and rushed for a
combined 17 touchdowns this year.

Navy also has a duo of impressive rushers. Senior running back Gee Gee Greene, who has recorded 750 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as sophomore fullback Noah Copeland, who has 592 rushing yards and four touchdowns.

I have always said that with rivalry games, you can throw all records out the window. Especially depending on how much animosity the two teams have toward each other, whether the teams are batting at .500, or undefeated, these types of rivalry games can go one way or the other.

In most games defense is the key in one way or the other. It's going to be a huge factor here today. With both teams being very impressive with their rushing games, I'd think it's safe to say that whoever can shut down the other's rushing game is going to walk away with the victory in Philadelphia. Although Navy has a much better record than Army, I think Trent Steelman and the rest of the Black Knights are going to be hungry to take the Midshipmen down for the first time in a decade.

The game will be broadcast at 3:00 PM ET on CBS. With this being the last regular season game this year, and a huge rivalry game, with two teams very capable of putting up impressive rushing stats, I'd label this game as a must see.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#12 South Carolina Gamecocks at #11 Clemson Tigers Preview

This Saturday night at 7:00 PM, the #12 South Carolina Gamecocks take on the #11 Clemson Tigers. This will be the 110th meeting between the two rivals. Currently, Clemson leads the all-time rivalry record 65-40-4, however South Carolina has won three straight against the Tigers.

Connor Shaw looks to lead South Carolina past
rival Clemson this Saturday at 7:00 PM

South Carolina will be led by junior quarterback Connor Shaw. Shaw, who has been a pretty precise passer, has also shown his scrambling skills this season. He has proven that he is one tough quarterback, taking numerous hits in games, and still continuing on. He has thrown for over 1,700 yards with 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also has three rushing touchdowns to his name.

South Carolina's passing offense is ranked 75th in the nation, averaging about 222 passing yards per game. However Clemson's defense has allowed an average of 24.7 points per game (ranking them 47th in the nation for points allowed).

The Gamecocks running game hasn't been the greatest this season, most likely because junior Heisman hopeful running back Marcus Lattimore was injured earlier in the season. Senior Kenny Miles has taken the running back spot and has a little over 300 yards to his credit. He has also punched in two rushing touchdowns.

Tajh Boyd has 3,367 yards, 33 TDs and 11 INTs this season.

Clemson is led by junior quarterback Tajh Boyd, who is 240/353, for 3,367 yards, 33 touchdowns, and only 11 interceptions. He also has eight rushing touchdowns so far this season. Boyd looks to have a very good performance against South Carolina, and he definitely will need to with South Carolina's points allowed rank being 13th in the nation.

Boyd has two very reliable wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins. They have combined for over 1,700 yards receiving, and 18 touchdowns. Boyd also has tight end Brandon Ford as a nice target also. Ford has reeled in 8 receiving touchdowns this season.

Clemson is averaging 332 yards passing per game, which gains them the rank of 9th in the nation in passing yards. They are also ranked 4th in points scored, with an average of 44.6! That isn't only because of their passing game. Their running game isn't too bad either.

Clemson's running back, senior Andre Ellington has also had a pretty good season, rushing the ball 186 times for 959 yards and eight touchdowns.

Last year's game, South Carolina put a whooping on Clemson, winning 34-13. I see this game being a lot closer. Although Clemson is ranked a lot higher in passing yards and points scored per game, South Carolina's defense has been very good this season. With the addition of having Connor Shaw at the reigns as quarterback, you definitely can't count the Gamecocks out.

It's probably true in most games, but I'm going to say that the team with the most takeaways is going to win this game. Clemson is going to have to put pressure on Connor Shaw, making him one dimensional, and shut down the Gamecocks' backup running back. If they can successfully do that, they'll win this game. But if they let Connor Shaw have his time, and be able to throw or run when he needs to, he can shred this defense.

Should be a good one going down Saturday night at 7:00 PM ET. The game will be broadcast from Memorial Stadium on ESPN. You don't want to miss this one.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at USC Trojans Preview

Saturday night in prime time, the #1 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish will head into Los Angeles Coliseum with two things on their mind. Number one, is beating the USC Trojans. Number two, is if they beat the Trojans, they are pretty much guaranteed to be playing for the National Championship. The last time the Fighting Irish won the National Championship was 1988, so it's something that they have been itching to do for quite sometime.

Although we can't look past the Trojans. USC is normally led by Heisman hopeful quarterback Matt Barkley, but after injuring his arm, Barkley will sit this important game out, and freshman quarterback Max Wittek will take the snaps. Wittek hasn't had much experience, throwing less than 100 yards and only one touchdown. But he has a supporting cast that will definitely make his job at quarterback a little bit easier.

Marqise Lee looks to upset the #1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Wittek will be looking to another Heisman hopeful in sophomore wideout Marqise Lee. Lee has reeled in 107 catches for 1,605 yards and 14 touchdowns. Lee has made Matt Barkley's job as Trojans' starting quarterback easier, and he'll look to do the same for Max Wittek Saturday night.

But the wideouts don't stop there. Junior wide receiver Robert Woods has also had quite a season, catching the ball 66 times for over 700 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wittek will definitely have some reliable receivers at hand to help him out Saturday night. Although Notre Dame's defense is ranked number one at points allowed, only allowing 10.1 points per game. And another Heisman hopeful, Manti Te'o will be looking to spoil Wittek's hope for an upset of the #1 team.

USC's backfield is also looking rather impressive. Junior running back Silas Redd and senior Curtis McNeal have combined for over 1,300 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. They'll look to make Wittek's day a little easier as well, gaining a lot of yards on the ground and opening up the option to pass it down field, spreading Notre Dame's defense thin.

Notre Dame however, isn't lacking at offense either. They're averaging about 200 yards rushing per game, and they can thank both running backs for that. Senior backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood have gained a combined 1,454 yards on the ground and 8 rushing touchdowns.

But the Brian Kelly's team's offense doesn't stop there. They are also equip with sophomore quarterback Everett Golson who has thrown for over 1,900 yards and 11 touchdowns, with only five interceptions thrown. And that's not counting Tommy Rees. Rees has only thrown for 436 yards and two touchdowns, but he's a natural leader that has came into the game and led critical scoring drives. Coach Kelly loves to have the ace up his sleeve that he can pull out if he needs to.

Golson has two wide receives that he's hooked up for for over 1,000 yards and eight touchdowns. Their names are Tyler Eifert and TJ Jones.

Manti Te'o is looking to prove to the skeptics that he
deserves the Heisman hype, and that ND deserves the #1 spot.

On paper, the matchup looks fairly even. USC has the nod in passing yards and points scored per game, while Notre Dame has the better stats in rushing yards and points allowed per game. But without Matt Barkley, the USC Trojans are going to have a hard time defeating the #1 ranked team in the country. There are many skeptics that say Notre Dame isn't as good as a #1 ranked team should be. But Brian Kelly, Everett Golson and of course Manti Te'o beg to differ. With big victories over Michigan State, Michigan, Stanford and Oklahoma, the Fighting Irish feel they deserve every bit of that #1 ranking, and they'll look to prove it Saturday night at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.

Can USC pull the upset? Stranger things have happened. But like I said, with Barkley out of the game, and with a freshman in as starting QB, it's going to be a tough task. We'll see what happens! Should be interesting.

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#19 Michigan Wolverines at Ohio State Buckeyes Preview

I have always said that one of the things that makes college football better than the National Football League is the rivalry games, and I will stand by that statement until I'm long gone. This game, "The Game" is one of those rivalry games.

Growing up about an hour from Columbus, I got to experience the rivalry. I've seen die-hard Ohio State fans. I've seen die-hard Michigan fans. I've seen the competition and the hatred.



Since before Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes, these two teams have hated each other, although Bo and Woody faced off in the 10 Year War, and really took this rivalry to a whole new level.



Bo went 5-4-1 against Woody in the 10 Year War.

Both teams have had off-seasons. Both teams have had their fair share of struggling against the other. Ohio State fans had to live through the John Cooper era, while Michigan fans had to endure the Rich Rodriguez era.

Michigan leads the rivalry with an overall record of 58-43-6. This is the 109th meeting between these two teams, and I have to say, this is one of the toughest to pick a winner. Both teams seem very much similar, despite what any Michigan or OSU fan would say.

Both teams have struggled this year throwing the ball. Michigan is ranked 97th in the NCAA averaging about 200 yards per game, while OSU is ranked 103rd, with an average of 180.8 passing yards per game.

Ohio State has the lead in rushing, being ranked 9th and averaging 245.5 yards per game. Michigan is only ranked 36th in the nation, and is averaging 194.5 yards per game.

Both teams average close to the same amount of points per game, Michigan averaging 30.8 (ranking 48th in the nation for points scored), while Ohio State scores an average of 38.2 (ranking 18th in the nation).

Defense could very well be the key here. Michigan's defense is allowing only 18.1 points per game, while OSU is giving up 23.0. That's a ranking of 17th for points allowed for Michigan, and a ranking of 34 for Ohio State.

Let's dig deeper shall we?

Michigan used to be led by quarterback Denard Robinson, and in some ways, they still are. Denard was injured earlier this season, and just stepped back onto the field last Saturday in Michigan's victory against Iowa. And although he did take some snaps at QB, Robinson's role was very much a running back and wide receiver, something that some Michigan fans have been asking Brady Hoke and Al Borges for for some time.



Devin Gardner has proven to be quite the QB for Michigan.



Michigan's man under center now is junior Devin Gardner, who has been quite impressive as QB. In his only three starts for Michigan as a QB, Gardner has thrown for over 800 yards, seven touchdowns, and three interceptions. He has also punched the ball into the endzone six times in those three starts.

Denard also looks to be a huge weapon as a running back/wide receiver. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards this season and hit pay dirt six times as well.

Michigan running back Fitzgerald Toussaint was unfortunately injured last Saturday and doesn't look to play for the rest of this season, but since he is a junior, he'll be back next year. It's still sad that he'll miss a game as important as this.

Gardner also has two reliable receivers in Jeremy Gallon and Roy Roundtree, who have combined for over 1,000 yards and four receiving touchdowns. Gardner definitely has a lot more accuracy than Denard, and is just as much a threat to be able to tuck the ball and run. With his 6'4" frame, he can stretch for those yards a little easier than Denard could.

Does this seem like it'll be the battle of two quarterbacks yet?!



Braxton Miller has been an impressive QB for OSU.

Braxton Miller will look to lead the Buckeyes to victory. The Buckeyes should somewhat be used to beating the Wolverines, having only lost two games in the last 10 years to their rival (that's if you count Ohio State's vacated 2010 victory over Michigan.

Miller has had quite the year, gaining Heisman talk with stats of 134/236, 1,850 yards, 14 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Miller has also scored 13 rushing touchdowns.

Miller's running back, junior Carlos Hyde will look to ad on to his 824 total rushing yards for this season. He also has 15 rushing touchdowns to his name as well.

Braxton also finds help in his wide receivers. Two of which, Devin Smith and Philly Brown, have combined for a total of over 1,000 yards rushing and eight touchdowns.

Their offenses have been rather impressive this season, but have also had their struggles. The same story is with their defenses. Both teams have defenses that can shut out teams, but also give up many points, and put their team in jeopardy of losing.

Michigan's defensive coordinator is none other than Ravens' former defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. With a defensive coach of that magnitude, you'd have to think that he'll have them ready and willing to flatten that Ohio State offense come Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. But obviously Luke Fickell will look to have his defense ready as well.



Urban Meyer looks to beat Michigan in his 1st year as OSU coach.



And let's not forget the coaches! Jim Tressel resigned as Ohio State's head football coach on May 30, 2011 due to NCAA trouble. Luke Fickell was named interim-head coach for the 2011 season, and since then, Urban Meyer was hired as the head coach of the Buckeyes. Meyer has ties to Ohio State and obviously the state of Ohio, and will be looking to gain a victory over Michigan in his first season as Buckeyes head coach.

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke has ties to Michigan as well, being a defensive coach for the Wolverines when they won the National Championship in 1997. Hoke dislikes Ohio State so much, he won't even say "Ohio State". He will only refer to their team as "Ohio". Just as well, many OSU fans and coaches refer to Michigan as "that team up north".

  

Brady Hoke is 1-0 against the Buckeyes as Michigan head coach.

Brady Hoke gained a victory over Ohio State in his first year as head coach of the Wolverines (last year - 2011), and like I said before, Urban Meyer will look to do the same thing this season.



I have followed this rivalry since I was a kid, and I can say that with Brady Hoke at Michigan and Urban Meyer at Ohio State, I really could see this being the start of the "new" 10 Year War. Woody and Bo did it in the late 60's and 70's. Will Brady and Urban do it in the 2010's and 2020's? Only time will tell.

"The Game" will start at noon ET and air on ABC. It'll take place at Ohio Stadium, "The Horseshoe" in Columbus, Ohio. Pick who you think will win if you must (or if you can), but it is lined up to be quite an entertaining game!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle

#4 Florida Gators at #10 Florida State Seminoles Preview

Saturday afternoon at 3:30, the #4 Florida Gators will travel to Tallahassee to take on the #10 Florida State Seminoles in their annual rivalry game. These teams have met 56 times, and Florida leads all-time with a record of 33-21-2.

The biggest strength the Gators have is their defense, only allowing an average of 11.7 points per game (making them ranked third in the nation in points allowed). Their offense hasn't been real hot, averaging  25.8 points a game, making them ranked 80 in the nation for points scored.

Mike Gillislee most likely will break 1,000 yards rushing
this season in Saturday's game against FSU.

Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel will look to lead the Gators past the Seminoles on Saturday, but with a lot of help from senior running back Mike Gillislee and his favorite target, junior tight end Jordan Reed.

Driskel is 125/193 for 1,324 yards, 10 touchdowns and only three interceptions. His tight end Jordan Reed has reeled in 40 catches, for nearly 500 yards and three receiving touchdowns. And as far as the running game goes, Mike Gillislee has carried the ball over 200 times for 964 yards and punched it into the endzone eight times this season. He will be looking to break the 1,000 yard marker against Florida State this Saturday, but FSU's defense isn't a push over.

Florida State's defense is ranked fifth in the nation for points allowed, only giving up an average of 13.1 per game. And as far as their points scored ranking goes, they're ranked seventh, scoring an average of 42.9 points.

Many of the matchups here are very good. It's lining up to be quite a game. And with it being a rivalry game, you really don't know what's going to happen. Rivalry games in college football are the best.

EJ Manuel looks to lead FSU to it's 22nd victory over Florida.

FSU is led by Heisman hopeful senior quarterback EJ Manuel. Manuel is 203/295. He has thrown for 2,785 yards. Manuel has tossed 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Very good stats.

He has two very capable wide receivers, sophomore Rashad Greene, who has 38 catches for 549 yards and five touchdowns, and freshman receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who has reeled in 28 catches for 479 yards and four touchdowns.

These teams' defenses seem to be quite similar, not allowing many points. And if you look at both teams only loss of the season, Florida lost to Georgia by eight, and Florida State lost to NC State by only one point.

The biggest differences are their offenses. Florida State is ranked higher than Florida in passing yards and rushing yards per game, as well as points scored per game. Also with the game being in Doak Campbell Stadium, I think most experts will lean toward FSU to pull this one out. But with rivalry games, you always have to expect the unexpected. Both teams will look to pull out trick plays, hurry up offenses, and all kinds of tricks.

The game will be broadcast on ABC at 3:30 PM ET. I encourage everyone to tune in for this rivalry game!

- Matt Lytle

@mattlytle