The CFB gods have finally bestowed rivalry weekend upon us. Some teams still have overarching goals to achieve heading into the final Saturday of the regular season. Playoff berths, Conference Championship shots, or salvaging bowl eligibility. Amidst the high stakes, an old-fashioned grudge game with nothing but pride on the line would go down as a treat. One such matchup beckons in the Sunshine State.

The FSU Seminoles (2-9) will host the Florida Gators (6-5) in a night game at Doak. That’s enough to get the juices flowing if you’re of a Seminoles persuasion. The game presents an opportunity to end a dismal season on a high. However, one adversary may just have provoked FSU by firing the inaugural shots leading up to the battle. A battle he shall not even be in the trenches for himself!

Kahleil Jackson, junior year WR for the Gators, is the adversary in question. He posted an IG story of him running a great route followed by a first down against ex-Seminole DB Renardo Green. The clip was from a previous game between the two schools. Jackson added the hashtag “#beatfsu”, along with an emoji of a man throwing trash in the garbage. Not a very subtle choice to make his feelings toward his rival known.

Renardo Green is now playing in the NFL for the 49ers. Unfortunately for Kahleil Jackson, he would not have had an opportunity to recreate the catch anyway. Jackson is out for the season with a torn ACL. He suffered the injury during practice back in September. Yet, he made sure to potentially instigate some back-and-forth between the two sets of players. 

Both programs have had seasons they’d look back at without much to cherish. FSU lost 6 games on the spin before some respite last weekend against Charleston Southern. Florida meanwhile found a pulse to their season a shade prior. They’re off the back of consecutive wins against ranked opposition. One thing however has kindled fervor among both fanbases- the players destined to line up under center on Saturday and, they hope, for the foreseeable future.

FSU-Florida rivalry was headlined by the quarterback matchup

Amidst the many facets at play in the latest iteration of this storied rivalry, one in particular yields special intrigue. Both offenses will be spearheaded by true freshmen.  DJ Lagway and Luke Kromenhoek will be the quarterbacks for the Florida Gators and FSU Seminoles respectively.

DJ Lagway doesn’t need much introduction to CFB fans. The guy has already captivated onlookers along each of his 5 starts so far. He’s been a breath of fresh air who’s changed the perception around his team and perhaps even been key in securing HC Billy Napier’s future in the Swamp. Luke Kromenhoek, on the other hand, is even more of a novice in the CFB realm. He made his first career start in last weekend’s win, and did he leave his mark. Kromenhoek threw for over 200 yards through the air and 3 TDs. Talk about an instant impact. Kromenhoek was a 4-star prospect and will likely be entrusted with the future of the flailing program.

The home environment may well be an edge for Kromenhoek to ease the nerves a little when they face this weekend. If Kahleil Jackson is an allegory for how the Florida Gators’ defense feels about their nemesis, he will need it. Perhaps the freshmen will be at the center of the next round of trash talking even. A fascinating game beckons in Tallahassee. Keep an eye out on the airwaves for some retaliation to Jackson in the lead-up!