Florida Gators Secure "Sunshine Showdown" Trifecta

The Florida Gators have a good time routing their arch rival in multiple sports as of late

It's been all Gators lately in their rivalry with Florida State / Melina Myers-Imagn Images

On Tuesday night, the Florida Gators baseball team's 7-2 victory over the Florida State Seminoles completed the trifecta.

The Sunshine Showdown meter maxes out on the Florida Gators, who reigned triumphantly over the Florida State Seminoles in basketball, baseball, and football during the 2024/2025 athletic season.

The team's upward trek toward trumping the Seminoles in the Big Three athletic competitions started with a contest on the court.

Clayton-mania in Tallahassee

Most Florida fans–rightfully so—heaved a sigh of relief and breathed in the air with joy when Walter Clayton Jr. announced that he would stay in Gainesville for his senior season.

The transfer from Iona almost single-handedly pulled a sinking Gators squad out from underneath the jaws of defeat in last year's first-round March Madness match-up against Colorado. The heart-breaking defeat left much to desire on the court, but it showcased just how talented the point guard is.

This season, things are looking exciting. 

With an entertaining and successful squad led by Clayton, who recently became the first-ever Florida Gators basketball player to be selected First Team All-America, the ceiling for this team's accomplishments is limitless.

Before that powerful hype train began to chug out of Gainesville, the Gators were a 3-0 basketball unit ranked 20th in the country, pinned up against the Seminoles.

The Gators scored 44 points to the Seminoles' 31 in the first half, which was the deciding factor. Both teams scored 43 points in the second, but the Gators left Tallahassee with a smile and an 87-74 win.

Clayton proved his worth, playing 35 minutes on the court and retaining a perfect 5-5 stat from the free-throw line. He went 8-15 for 25 points in the game, outscoring every other player and solidifying his spot as the team’s bonafide leader.

Todd Golden's boys have had a bombastic season, defeating five ranked SEC teams (including two No. 1 ranked opponents) on their way to a 27-4 season. Some might say a first seed is a lock for March, but who knows?

Like football, Florida and Florida State had varying basketball seasons–while the Gators are vouching for a first-seed slot, the Seminoles are introducing a new head coach.

As the Gators basketball team awaits their fate in March and their opponent in the upcoming SEC Tournament, we move on to Doak, where a beleaguered Seminoles football squad took on a rejuvenated Gators team desperate for a win over their noisy neighbors.

Dominance at the Doak

The Florida Gators entered the season finale in Doak Campbell Stadium on a two-game losing streak to the Seminoles. But things were noticeably shaping up to be slightly different than the last couple of outings.

Following an undefeated regular season in 2023, Mike Norvell's squad dipped drastically in 2024. It was almost inconceivable at one point to think the Seminoles weren't the favorites to win the ACC–nearly as unthinkable as what happened next. 

The team floundered on a colossal level, entering the season's final game with a 2-9 record. You could blame the team's lackluster secondary or the ferocious bust that was transfer quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei. In reality, the entire machine was malfunctioning. It started with that loss to Georgia Tech in Week 0 and boiled over with a 52-3 blowout to Notre Dame ten weeks later.

On the other hand, the Gators smelled blood. In a season that started with a nightmare blowout to Miami in the Swamp, it didn't look like there was much to feed excitement into a Gators football team struggling to find their identity. 

But then, for one reason or another, things just started to click. 

We saw a resurgence of energy, a sense of power, purpose, and belief that we hadn't seen since the Kyle Trask days. There was a buzz every time freshman phenom D.J. Lagway went under center, and for the first time in a long time, it wasn't negative murmurs but genuine excitement for what the kid could do.

After home upset victories over LSU and Ole Miss, the Gators were stampeding towards the finish line--it just so happened that FSU was in the way.

The Gators were considered heavy favorites against the Seminoles. The freshman Lagway and most of the team played rather lackluster in the season finale but performed when it mattered, defeating FSU 31-11 and finishing the regular season at 7-5.

On Robert Griffin III's podcast, Lagway said Doak Campbell was "silent when we got there." You just have to marvel in the confidence of this guy.

The duo of wins on the court and gridiron bring us to Tuesday, when the Florida Gators baseball team graciously handed the Seminoles their first loss.

Perfect no more

The Gators' trip to Howser on Tuesday evening provoked intrigue.

The No. 7 Gators visited the No. 5 Seminoles, who had a red-hot start to the season. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Seminoles allowed only four or more runs three times.

More prevalent, however, was their perfect 15-0 record.

The Seminoles swept the Gators in the season series a year ago, meaning a win boosted post-season aspirations and confidence levels for those still feeling the sting of defeat.

The game began with FSU right-hander Evan Chrest on the mound, who started strong, striking out Gators' Brody Donay to close the inning.

Gators pitcher Billy Barlow then stepped up to the mound and saw his first pitch whistle back at him, and up the middle. It looked early on as if the Seminoles would finally have their way.

This brief belief period lasted until the next inning when FSU coach Link Jennings pulled Chrest due to injury. FSU then utilized eight pitchers for the remainder of the game, starting with junior Maison Martinez, who gave up a run following a Luke Heyman single up the middle of the park.

After gaining the lead in the second inning, the Gators refused to give it up.

Florida State averaged nine runs a game heading into this contest, but the Gators limited them to less than a third of that in a 7-2 victory.

The Gators were solid at the plate, but the real heroes of the night were on the mound: Barlow, freshman Jackson Barberi, and sophomores Luke McNeillie and Alex Philpott were consistently hitting mid 90's with their fastballs, and the Florida relievers gave up only six hits all game.

Did I mention all three of these victories came on the road? No matter how you flip it, it’s fair to say the Sunshine State has a new king–and it doesn’t reside in the capital. 

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