Their head coach was fired and they finished with the program's worst record in more than a decade. But at least Florida players were able to celebrate a 40-21 victory over rival FSU in their final game of the 2025 regular season. ©John RaouxJohn Romano, Sports ColumnistSun, November 30, 2025 at 2:48 AM UTC·5 min readGAINESVILLE — Close your eyes, and you can almost hear the echoes of history.
Of national championships and Heisman Trophies. Of future NFL stars and past memories. Of one of the best, and most impactful, rivalries college football has known over the past half-century.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd then you open your eyes, and wanna cry.
How did Florida and FSU end up here? As a sideshow on the best day of the regular season. Two storied programs with nothing to play for except the uniforms on their backs.
Fans of one team are melancholy because they’re not going to get a head coach they desperately wanted.
Fans of the other are bummed because they can’t get rid of a coach they don’t want.
If you must know, the Gators beat FSU 40-21 for their second straight win in the series. Sophomore running back Jadan Baugh ran for 266 yards, the second-highest total in UF history behind Emmitt Smith’s 316 yards against New Mexico State in 1989.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe game itself was mostly competitive. Fairly entertaining. Basically respectable.
Too bad it was also totally meaningless for anyone not wearing a uniform.
“It was extremely important to end this way for the players who have invested in this program,” said UF interim head coach Billy Gonzales. “Obviously, you want to walk out of here and have a good taste in your mouth from your very last game on senior day.
“I just told them, it starts from his moment on. It’s going to continue to build for them, for whoever comes in to lead this program.”
For the fifth time in the past 14 seasons, both teams entered the game unranked.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThat’s not just shocking, it’s practically sacrilegious.
There was a time when it was routine for both teams to be at, or near, the top of the polls. For 12 consecutive meetings in the 1990s (including two bowl games) both Florida and FSU were ranked in the top 10 at kickoff. At least one team was ranked in every meeting from 1987 to 2010.
That’s the legacy that Saturday’s meeting spat upon.
The Gators finish the season at 4-8, their worst record in a dozen seasons. Head coach Billy Napier was fired a little more than a month ago, and somehow the news has since gotten worse. Florida fans were hopeful — almost expectant — of luring Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. Instead, Kiffin appears torn between staying in Mississippi or bolting for LSU. UF likely will be stuck trying to convince its fan base that Tulane coach Jon Sumrall was the better candidate.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMeanwhile, Florida State is 7-17 since the start of 2024, their worst two-year record since 1974-75. Coaches with that type of record do not usually survive at programs with national title aspirations, but an obscene buyout clause in Mike Norvell’s contract means Seminole fans are stuck with him indefinitely.
Norvell did nothing to endear himself to boosters on Saturday night. His team showed flashes of talent, but continually sabotaged itself with foolish penalties and gosh-awful efforts on a pair of critical fourth-and-short plays.
If this was a brief stumble, it wouldn’t be such a big deal. It happens, even at stellar programs.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut this has been ongoing for too many seasons. The Seminoles are 49-48 since 2018. The Gators have fired four head coaches in the last 12 years. That sounds more like Duke and Vanderbilt than FSU and Florida.
“Our message all week was nothing else matters,” said Florida senior center Jake Slaughter. “It was 24 hours when we got back from Thanksgiving. This was everything that matters right now, nothing else. I think everybody did a great job.”
At this point, it’s hard to say who needs to woo who in the Florida locker room. You’ve got players coming off two losing seasons in the last three years. Do they need to endear themselves to a new coaching staff? And you’ll have a new head coach who will widely be viewed as a consolation prize. Does he need to convince the players to stick around and give him a chance?
“I’m never focused on future things,” Baugh said, when asked whether he intended to stick around or enter the transfer portal. “I’m always focused on the moment. Life is short, so just focusing on the moment, enjoying everything in front of me. I feel like that’s the way to go.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey’re excited in Baton Rouge about potentially landing Kiffin. Thrilled in Blacksburg to have James Franklin. Hopeful in 16 other college towns with playoff games in their immediate future.
In Tallahassee, they’ve lost faith in their coach and in the hope of better days.
And in Gainesville, they’re wondering how they went from three national titles to a place that can’t even attract coaches from lesser programs.
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