GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When No. 5 Florida State meets rival Florida this Saturday night in Gainesville, the Seminoles and Gators will both be led by quarterbacks making their first start of the season.
Florida State quarterback Tate Rodemaker will make just his second career start – and first on the road – in place of the injured Jordan Travis, while Florida's Max Brown will fill in for an injured Graham Mertz.
But this isn't the first time that a quarterback from either sideline has been thrust into action prematurely.
Here is a look back at those games and how the quarterback play impacted the outcome.
Year: 1998
Quarterback: Marcus Outzen (Florida State)
Score: Florida State 23, Florida 12
Location: Tallahassee
In 1998, Marcus Outzen filled in for an injured Chris Weinke, who suffered a season-ending neck injury two games earlier. The No. 4 Gators led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter, but Sebastian Janikowski's 42-yard field goal in the second quarter cut Florida's lead to a point. Later that quarter, Outzen was sacked and fumbled on a third-down play in Florida State's own end zone, giving the Gators a safety. Florida tacked on its final points before halftime on a 22-yard field goal by Jeff Chandler. Trailing 12-6 at halftime, wide receiver Peter Warrick caught a touchdown pass and threw for another to orchestrate Florida State's second-half comeback. Outzen completed 13 of 22 passes for 167 yards, including the 32-yard strike to Warrick that put the fifth-ranked Seminoles ahead for good with 3:29 left in the third quarter. Florida State went on to lose to Tennessee 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl for the national championship.
Year: 2002
Quarterback: Chris Rix (Florida State)
Score: Florida State 31, Florida 14
Location: Tallahassee
Adrian McPherson had started the previous four games for the No. 23 Seminoles, taking over for a turnover-prone Chris Rix, but McPherson was kicked off the team days before the rivalry game after a police investigation led to his arrest on a charge of felony grand theft, giving Rix a second chance. He didn't disappoint. The Seminoles broke open a 3-3 tie in the first quarter with a pair of touchdowns to outscore the No. 15 Gators 14-3 in the second quarter. Midway through the third quarter, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman flipped a pass to tight end Aaron Walker, who tipped the ball into the hands of Florida State linebacker Kendyll Pope. His 13-yard interception return for a touchdown gave the Seminoles a 24-6 lead. The Gators cut Florida State's lead to 10 in the third quarter, but Rix and receiver Anquan Boldin finished the Gators off, connecting for their second score of the night, and kicker Xavier Beitia's 41-yard field goal was the added insurance to keep the Gators winless in Tallahassee since 1986. Rix finished 13-for-29 for 194 yards and two touchdowns.
Year: 2009
Quarterback: EJ Manuel (Florida State)
Score: Florida 37, Florida State 10
Location: Gainesville
Starting his third game in place of an injured Christian Ponder, E.J. Manuel and the Seminoles couldn't get much going in a 37-10 loss at top-ranked Florida. The Gators led 30-0 in the third quarter by the time Dustin Hopkins booted a 20-yard field goal to give the Seminoles their first points of the evening. Florida State scored its first touchdown of the game with 6:05 remaining in the fourth quarter when Manuel lobbed a pass to the back of the end zone to Jarmon Forston for a 9-yard score. Manuel finished 19-for-30 for 198 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Meanwhile, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow – playing in his final home game – was 17 of 21 for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Longtime Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden announced his retirement shortly after the game and the Gators went on to lose the next weekend to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference title game.
Year: 2015
Quarterbacks: Sean Maguire (Florida State), Treon Harris (Florida)
Score: Florida State 27, Florida 2
Location: Gainesville
Both teams had fill-in quarterbacks but for vastly different reasons. Florida State's Everett Golson, who transferred from Notre Dame before the season, was benched in favor of redshirt junior Sean Maguire, who filled in for two games after Golson suffered a concussion and was named the starter for the previous game. Florida sophomore Treon Harris started the first game of the season but lost the job to Will Grier, who would later be suspended after testing positive for a banned substance. That paved the way for Harris to return to the starting lineup. No. 14 Florida State's defense held the No. 10 Gators to their fewest points in the history of the rivalry. Harris completed 19 of 38 passes for 134 yards but was sacked four times. The Seminoles only led 10-0 at halftime, but it was Maguire who helped Florida State cross the end zone in the second quarter. Facing fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line, Maguire scrambled to his right and held onto the ball until the last possible moment before finding Jeremy Kerr for a touchdown. Florida's only points came in the fourth quarter when Maguire recovered his own fumble in the end zone. Maguire completed 14 of 28 passes for 160 yards.
Year: 2017
Quarterback: James Blackman (Florida State)
Score: Florida State 38, Florida 22
Location: Gainesville
Technically, James Blackman spent most of the season as the starter after Deondre Francois suffered a season-ending injury in the opening game, but because the South Bay native was a true freshman and had to face the Gators in "The Swamp," it's notable because he helped extend Florida State's winning streak in the rivalry to five games – its longest in the series. Blackman broke a 7-7 tie in the second quarter with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Nyqwan Murray. Florida State kicker Ricky Aguayo tacked on three more points with a 25-yard field goal and cornerback Levonta Taylor intercepted a pass from Feleipe Franks and returned it 18 yards for a touchdown to give the Seminoles a commanding 24-7 lead, but the Gators scored again before halftime to cut the deficit to 11 points. The Gators appeared to be mounting a comeback when Florida State running back Cam Akers rushed into the end zone from 10 yards out and Blackman connected with receiver Auden Tate on a 3-yard touchdown pass to stretch the lead to 38-16. The Gators scored once more, but it was too little too late. Blackman finished the game 10-for-21 with 128 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in what was Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher's final game before he left for the same job at Texas A&M.
