The No. 5 Florida Gators (13-4, 0-0 SEC) hit the road for the first time in 13 games for a matchup with their biggest in-state rivals, the Florida State Seminoles (6-6, 40-5 ACC), on Tuesday evening. After taking the final two of three from the Jacksonville Dolphins last weekend, UF is looking to extend its winning streak to three heading into Southeastern Conference play.
The Seminoles have been in a bit of a lull lately after a run of success over the past decade-plus, entering Tuesday night’s tilt unranked, which has been a rarity in recent times. After winning the season-opening series at home against the North Florida Ospreys — though they did lose their opening game, much like the Gators did — the Noles were swept by the Pitt Panthers at Dick Howser Stadium the following weekend. Since then they have won three-game sets against the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies on the road and at home, respectively.
Historically, Florida State holds the all-time edge by a narrow 129-121-1 margin since the series began in 1956. However, Florida has dominated the rivalry in recent years, running off 11 straight wins from 2016 to 2019 and 16 of the past 18 meetings; in fact, you can stretch that window of success to 21 wins in the past 25 games played.
Sadly, FSU’s last win in the series came last year in the final game played before COVID canceled the schedule — and it also broke UF’s program-best winning streak to start the season at 16 games. Suffice to say, the Gators will be looking for revenge on Tuesday night when the two teams take the field for a one-off tangle.
Here is a look below at the starting pitchers lined up for Tuesday night’s game along with the projected starting lineup. Scroll down further for interesting excerpts from the media guide.