Florida and Florida Atlantic don’t have much in common.
The Gators sit at 9-1 with a Southeastern Conference Championship game and potentially a shot at the College Football Playoff ahead.
The Owls are 2-8 on the year, with double-digit losses to the likes of Buffalo and UTEP.
But when the two teams take the field on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, they will share one similarity.
Actually, it’s 53 similarities.
That’s the combined number of players on both rosters who played together in high school, and it’s the motivation coach Jim McElwain is using for an otherwise dismissible game.
His players seem to have bought the message, at least publicly.
"All of those guys would love to be in our shoes so they’re going to come out and give us their best shot," defensive back Jalen Tabor said.
"Those guys would love to be Gators and they’re going to play their hardest," defensive back Quincy Wilson said.
"There’s a lot of rivalry between Florida guys and the way they competed growing up and continue to go," tight end Jake McGee said, who doesn’t know anyone on the FAU roster, having grown up in Virginia.
"I think everybody from down here has a friend on that team so they’re all excited to play them."
McElwain is a good salesman.
The mind games started early for the UF coach, who as soon as the final whistle blew in Columbia, South Carolina, turned his focus toward building up the importance of the high school rivalries between the two different sets of players.
"We got a team coming in that’s full of a bunch of Florida guys that wishes they were Gators," McElwain said in his TV interview after Florida’s win over South Carolina.
Throughout the week, he has continued his buildup of FAU and the motivation factor for Saturday, as well as the danger of getting complacent against an underdog opponent.
"There’s 53 people intertwined in this game from both sides that went to the same schools," McElwain said.
"There’s a ton to prove for guys and they know how hard these guys will play and they’ve got some weapons."
It’s a motivational tactic straight out of the book of Alabama coach Nick Saban, who just this week went on an epic rant because he deemed reporters were dismissing the Crimson Tide’s upcoming FCS opponent Charleston Southern.
Nevertheless, the message isn’t completely unfounded from McElwain, who is well aware of UF's recent history of close games against inferior opponents.
In 2013, Florida fell at home to FCS school Georgia Southern 26-20 in one of the most embarrassing losses in program history.
A year earlier, the Gators needed a last-minute punt block against Louisiana-Lafayette to edge out a victory on homecoming, winning 27-20 during what would ultimately be an 11-2 season.
McElwain even referenced that game in his warning to never overlook anyone, saying, "that should prove something to everybody."
His point remains: Complacency happens, and it’s even more likely to pop its head up and bite a team that has championship aspirations, both within the conference and nationally.
The UF coach is guarding against looking ahead, whether that is to Florida State, the Southeastern Conference Championship game or beyond, and he’s taking every precaution to prevent a letdown.
"This will be an interesting week because we have so much work to do about who we are and the standard in which we choose to perform with," McElwain said.
"Once you think you’ve arrived and you just sit there and don’t continually strive to get better and discover, that’s when things kind of start to fall apart."
Follow Graham Hack on Twitter @graham_hack24
UF defensive end Jalen Tabor intercepts a pass during Florida's 24-14 win against South Carolina on Nov. 14, 2015, in Columbia, South Carolina.
