Who are FSU football fans rooting for: Gators, Jimbo Fisher or asteroid?

Neither the Florida Gators nor Jimbo Fisher will win any popularity contests among Florida State fans. Before they meet Saturday at Texas A&M, we asked fans on the FSU Subreddit who they’re rooting for: an in-state rival or the national championship coach who had a scorched-earth exit from Tallahassee? Some of our favorite responses (lightly edited for clarity):

“A&M wins, but looks terrible doing so. Bad play calls, clock management, penalties, and a complete loss of control of the locker room. Florida loses to officiating and unforced errors. That would be ideal.” — GodFeedethTheRavens

“I think Jimbo has been thoroughly humbled at this point, can’t blame his ‘lack of resources’ at FSU for his losses anymore. I don’t want UF to gain any momentum with a first-year head coach since the chance of a big marquee matchup between us on Black Friday is already off the table. So I’ll pull for Aggies to win ugly.” — SharkMovies

“I hope Florida goes 12-1 every year with that loss being to us. I’ll never root for that snake to win ever again ...” — IceyBoy

“I’ll never root for Florida. Also more direct recruiting with UF. I want Florida to go into the FSU game at 5-6 so we can shut them down for bowl season. Jimbo can continue getting his comeuppance immediately after.” — ChampaBay12

“Gators. Want them with the best record possible when we crush them in front of recruits.” — MilitaryJAG

“Botched snap on a UF punt leads to an A&M safety. Teams combine to throw 6 interceptions and lose 4 fumbles. Final score: Aggies 2, Gators 0. Seventy-eight years from now, historians vote it as the worst college football game of the 21st century.” — SJ_One

“I guess I’ll root for the asteroid, then.” — DepletedGeranium

Local of the week

Florida State running back Lawrance Toafili (Pinellas Park High)

Last week, Toafili became the first Seminole since Cam Akers in 2019 to record a rushing touchdown and receiving touchdown in the same game. Miami has a top-25 rushing defense but is susceptible to big passing plays. Don’t be surprised if Toafili and FSU’s other backs have a big catch or two as they try to win at Miami for the first time since the Block at Hard Rock in 2016.

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Viewing guide

Lamest time window: Early. Go to brunch or take a long hike or something, but be sure you’re back for the afternoon and evening games.

Noon: We’ll see how Florida responds from the Georgia loss when the Gators travel to Texas A&M (ESPN). Also, keep an eye on whether always-tricky Texas Tech can upset No. 7 TCU (Fox).

2: If USF can’t beat Temple (ESPN+) and its first-year staff in Year 3 of the Jeff Scott era, the scrutiny surrounding his job performance will spike.

3:30: Hopefully No. 2 Tennessee at No. 1 Georgia (CBS) is as thrilling as last month’s Vols-Alabama game.

7: No. 6 Alabama looks more vulnerable than most years, which could be trouble at No. 15 LSU (ESPN). Texas at No. 13 Kansas State (FS1) has the potential to be wildly entertaining, too.

7:30: Florida State at Miami (ABC) always seems to deliver drama, no matter the records.

8: No. 20 Wake Forest’s entertaining offense faces No. 21 North Carolina State’s sound defense (ACC Network).

9:30: Arizona State has won two of its last three under interim coach Shaun Aguano and will try to knock off No. 10 UCLA (FS1).

Audible

“This is a year-long preparation for this game. There’s only two teams that I talk about in our very first team meeting, and this is one of them.” — FSU coach Mike Norvell on Miami

Mario in rivalries

Though Mario Cristobal has never been a head coach in the FSU-Miami series, he has plenty of rivalry game experience:

Miami player vs. FSU: 3-1

Miami GA/assistant vs. FSU: 2-4

Florida International coach vs. Florida Atlantic: Lost first four, won last two

Oregon coach vs. Washington: 3-0

Oregon coach vs. Oregon State: 3-1

Stat of the week

From ESPN’s David Hale: North Carolina redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye has 29 touchdown passes, three interceptions and 2,671 yards. The only Power Five quarterback in the College Football Playoff era to put up those numbers through eight games was the Gators’ Kyle Trask in 2020.

X marks the spot

Xavier Weaver has been a bright spot in USF’s rough season. He’s already in the top 10 in program history in career yards (1,556) and catches (106) and is on pace to match USF’s single-season record of 67 receptions. He shouldn’t have much of an issue padding his total against a Temple defense that’s No. 96 nationally in opponents’ passing efficiency (139.18).

GameDay breakdown

The best matchup in the Tennessee-Georgia game centers on the Volunteers’ elite offense (No. 1 in scoring, No. 2 in SP+ advanced metrics, No. 3 in yards per play,) against Georgia’s elite defense (No. 2 in scoring, No. 2 in SP+ advanced metrics, No. 9 in yards per play). The deciding matchup, however, could be on the other side. The Bulldogs average 41.8 points per game and have scored on 46 of their 47 red-zone possessions. Can Stetson Bennett capitalize against a Vols defense that’s pedestrian against the pass?

By the numbers: Week 10

1 — Division I-A teams Jeff Scott has beaten at USF (Temple last year)

1 — Other team with only one I-A victory since 2020: UMass

3 — SEC regular-season games between teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP poll: LSU-Alabama (2011 and ‘19) and Georgia-Tennessee (Saturday)

35-5 — UCF’s record as a nationally ranked team since 2013, heading into the No. 25 Knights’ trip to Memphis

73-28 — Combined score of Brian Kelly’s two games against Alabama while at Notre Dame

26 — Consecutive regular-season wins for Notre Dame against ACC teams heading into a home game against No. 4 Clemson. The last loss: at Miami in 2017

338 — Passing yards last week by Texas A&M’s Conner Weigman, the most ever by an Aggies true freshman

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