College GameDay Crew Discusses Florida State, Tate Rodemaker Prior To Game Against Gators

Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, and Pat McAfee all weigh in on Rodemaker and the Seminoles.

The 2023 college football regular season is wrapping up around the country and there are still as many as eight teams in discussion to make the playoffs. Florida State's chances took a massive hit last weekend when star quarterback Jordan Travis went down with a season-ending injury.

That was somewhat reflected in the updated rankings with the Seminoles falling behind Washington into the No. 5 spot. With two games remaining prior to a potential playoff berth, FSU is in control of its own destiny if the team can defeat Florida and Louisville with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker at the helm.

Jordan Travis Sends Message To Tate Rodemaker Ahead of FSU's Rivalry Game Against Florida

On Saturday morning, the College GameDay crew - Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Kirk Herbstreit, and Pat McAfee - all provided their takes on the situation. Davis noted that the Seminoles are searching for some magic, much like Marcus Outzen gave the program after stepping in for Chris Weinke and guiding the team to a win over No. 4 Florida in 1998.

"There's going to be a lot of heat on Florida if they can't get beat the Seminoles with a backup quarterback," Davis said to begin the segment. "But now Florida State's hoping for a little bit of that Marcus Outzen Rooster Magic from 1998 where he came in as a backup and sort of saved them. Rodemaker's got some ability." 

Howard continued the discussion by breaking down what he's expecting out of Florida State's offense with Rodemaker holding the reigns. He believes that the RPO system is what fits the redshirt junior signal-caller the best, referencing his performance in the comeback win over Louisville in 2022.

"Yeah, he really does. I was talking to former Nole EJ Manuel, he said that Rodemaker's a guy that has been around a couple of years so he knows the system and he's great at throwing the ball," Howard said. "Let me show you what you're going to see when Florida State's on offense tonight against the Gators, in the Swamp. First thing, when they get five in the box, they want to run the ball."

"Five in the box they're going to run. They have a stable of running backs, you've got Trey Benson, who's a leader. He's a guy with great vision, excellent cutting ability, and he can go the distance too," Howard continued. "Now, when they don't get five in the box, they're going to go to their RPO system and this is where Rodemaker is at his best. Tate is extremely comfortable with that...and he's very accurate too."

Herbstreit got into the mix by going into detail about the impact that Travis has made over the last couple of years as Florida State has gone from a middle-of-the-pack team in the ACC to a playoff contender. Without their leader on the field, how will the Seminoles respond in a rivalry game that will bring up an influx of emotions?

"I think his [Rodemaker] ability, I think we all see it. You got a taste of it in that last game," Herbstreit said. "I just want to say about Jordan Travis, watching him from his freshman year to where he is right now. I don't know if there's another player that represents a team going from one end of the spectrum where they're just trying to win games, trying to come back to being Florida State to where they are now trying to chase a playoff." 

"And he was it, he was the pulse, he was the heartbeat, and he was everything that you would want. And to take that out of this team, that's what I think people want to see," Herbstreit continued. "it's nothing against Tate and his ability, it's who takes over the leadership, the intangibles, when things get sideways I'm going to find a way. That's been Jordan Travis these last two years. As Mike Norvell has built this program, he did it with Jordan Travis right next to him. That's not there. How are they going to respond today in a rivalry game? That's what I want to see."

To his credit, McAfee thinks this is a good spot for Rodemaker to step in against a Gators defense that has struggled for the majority of the year. With weapons such as Trey Benson, Johnny Wilson, and Keon Coleman still in the fold, it's an opportunity for the fourth-year backup to lead Florida State after sticking with the program rather than transferring somewhere else.

"And it feels like the boys are using it as a rally, like 'hey listen, for our guy Jordan Travis, who has kind of laid it all out there for us.' You think about the new NIL and transfer portal and everything like this," McAfee said. "Stanford Steve and I were talking about this earlier, how about Rodemaker getting an opportunity here after waiting around a long time? Obviously, he's played a little bit but the way that the entire organization and program is on his shoulders today."

"He's got weapons - Johnny Wilson, Keon Coleman - they're still the same dogs that they were one week ago and this Florida defense, I don't want to say they stink because everybody has an opportunity to be great, they have not been good at football so far," McAfee added. "They've lost the last four, I don't know what's going on with Napier's culture down there but this is the perfect game almost for Rodemaker to come in and step up. We'll see what he's able to do and we'll see how the College Football Playoff Committee will view it as well."

It's worth noting that Howard and McAfee, along with Lee Corso and guest picker Aidan Hutchinson, picked Florida State to take down the Gators. Herbstreit wasn't able to provide a pick since he's calling the game along with Chris Fowler and Holly Rowe.

Florida State and Florida will kick off at 7:00 p.m. and the contest will be televised on ESPN.

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READ MORE: NoleGameday Staff Score Predictions For Florida State At Florida

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