Before the end of September, two of Florida’s premier college football programs looked to be trouble.
Both the Florida Gators and Florida State Seminoles entered the season with high hopes. The Gators boasted one of the toughest schedules in the nation with a chance to return to SEC prominence, and FSU had the chance to prove that last year’s 13-1 finish was not a fluke.
Instead, Florida State started the year winless. And Florida dropped two marquee games at home to start 1-2. By mid-October, the discussion surrounding both programs was about how to salvage the season and how to defend their 2025 commits — not about a path to the playoffs nor conference championships.
But as we near December, there has been a stark contrast between the trajectory of two schools who looked to be headed down the same path.
As FSU slid to 1-9 on the year after a 52-3 loss to Notre Dame, Florida improved to 5-5 with a statement win over LSU in The Swamp.
The Seminoles‘ 2025 commits began to waver more than ever, and the Gators capitalized on FSU’s struggles directly by flipping commitments. First, four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. from Jacksonville decommittedafter more than a year committed to Mike Norvell and company, and flipped to Florida after a visit to the Swamp for the win over LSU.
Next came three-star Seminole Ridge offensive lineman Daniel Pierre Louis, who committed to Florida State just over a week after receiving an offer in early October. He was also in Gainesville for the LSU game, and flipped his commitment by the following Tuesday.
The Gators have managed to separate themselves from Florida State on the recruiting trail after early struggles, and the win over LSU has an enormous hand in that. As of Thursday night, Florida’s 2025 class was ranked 27th in the nation by 247Sports, while FSU’s is 34th.
