Florida football is getting ready to host their in-state rivals Florida State this weekend in hopes of becoming bowl-eligible and handing the Noles their first loss of the season.
The Swamp is always a hostile environment, especially at night, but Gator fans may have even more motivation to be a factor this weekend after what FSU’s new QB, Tate Rodemaker, had to say on Wednesday.
Rodemaker is getting set to make his first start this season in front of 90,000+ this weekend, but he’s trying to push the narrative that he won’t be phased by it.
In order to do that, he decided that comparing The Swamp to a high school crowd of 14,000 would be a good idea.
Florida football: In for a rude awakening
Tate, nobody would knock you for being confident before this game. You’re the No. 5 team in the country with a flawless record. Why wouldn’t you feel good heading into this game?
But trying to discredit the atmosphere that you’ll be walking into this Saturday by comparing it to a high school crowd doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
The saying “Only Gators get out alive” wasn’t just made up for no reason. When The Swamp gets up for a big game, the opposing team doesn’t walk out with a win very often.
Former Gator Kyle Pitts even weighed in on what Tate said.
🧢 , THE SWAMP WILL BE ROCKING ! @GatorsFB https://t.co/IW2fbAuaOH
— Kyle Pitts👑 (@kylepitts__) November 22, 2023
For whatever reason, Rodemaker thinks that 14,000 fans at a high school equals 91,000 at one of the most storied universities in the country.
I know that FSU isn’t super great with academics, but those two numbers aren’t very close to each other, and Tate is going to find that out in a couple of days.
Florida fans didn’t need a whole lot of motivation heading into this one, but Tate just guaranteed that Gator Nation is going to be out in full force this weekend.