Listen Now! FSU looks to stay unblemished against rival Gators at The Swamp in Gainesville

I was fortunate enough to attend the University of Florida during the glory days of the rivalry between the Gators and Florida State Seminoles.

During my second year on campus — 1996-97 — the undefeated Gators lost to FSU to end the regular season. Yet, through a series of divine events on conference championship Saturday, the two teams were paired up again in the national title game, which Florida famously won 52-20.

During my time on campus from August of 1995 to May of 2000, the two teams met six times and were 3-3.

Florida owned the series in the 2000s, but Florida State retook the edge in the 2010s.

The Gators had won three in a row prior to Jordan Travis’ heroics last year as the Seminoles won in a shootout, 45-38.

This year, the game has a storyline I can't recall ever happening in my more than 30 years of following this series: both teams lost their starting quarterbacks the week before the game takes place.

FSU's Jordan Travis suffered a terrible leg injury in a victory against North Alabama while Florida's Graham Mertz injured his collar bone in a loss to Missouri.

Travis will be replaced by junior Tate Rodemaker while Mertz will be replaced by sophomore Max Brown.

On this week’s special 150th episode of “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast,” powered by the USA Today Network, I welcome back Seminoles beat writer Ehsan Kassim of the Tallahassee Democrat and Gators beat writer Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun to find out what this will mean for this year's rivalry game.

Ehsan will tell us more about Rodemaker, who has been with the program for some time backing up Travis.

"Tate Rodemaker is less mobile but very athletic. He can make all of the throws," Ehsan says during the podcast. "He's been with the program for four years and he knows this offense probably as well as Travis. He's only had one career start in 2020 in his freshman season against Jacksonville State, so this will be a second career start."

He also talks about the upcoming ACC title game against Louisville, as well as Florida State's chances at a spot in the College Football Playoff.

"I believe they'll be favored over Louisville when you get to that game," Ehsan said. "I just think the talent is better there. ... The way it's designed, the way it's supposed to be, Florida State as an undefeated ACC championship team has a good enough roster all around, that they should be in the playoffs."

Kevin will fill us in on Brown and how his performance against Missouri will help him coming into this game at home against Florida State.

"He is coming into this game with some confidence, knowing that if you could do it at the SEC level on the road, you know coming back home to The Swamp where the crowd is going to be cheering you, you know teammates have confidence in him, and he just brings that mobility element too in terms of the read-option game," Kevin says during the podcast. "So he does bring that element, that mobility element into the game."

He'll also tell us what he thinks will happen with head coach Billy Napier should he close out the season on a five-game losing streak while missing out on a bowl game berth.

"I think the fact that they competed hard against Missouri and I think if they compete hard against FSU and show there's something there, that the players still believe in the coach and, you know, fans still believe in the direction of the program. ... I do think Billy is safe," Kevin said.

I also have the two reporters ask each other questions. They see the teams everyday, so no one is better to ask questions of the opponent more than Kevin and Ehsan.

This and so much more.

If you’re a fan of the Seminoles or Gators, or just love a good old fashioned football rivalry, then this is the podcast for you.

Find out why tens of thousands of fans have checked us out and why our journalists give you the best sports breakdowns in the state.

We can be downloaded wherever you listen to podcasts, or simply type in “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast” into your favorite search engine. We also can be found on any of the 17 USA TODAY-Network Florida websites.

If you like it, you can check out previous shows, which feature current and former professional athletes and coaches, as well as our stable of journalists who cover beats and write columns, all of whom have a tie to the Sunshine State.

Contact Walters at twalters@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Podcast looks at Saturday's Florida State at Florida game