In Dan Mullen's last trip to Tallahassee, the Gators won 45-15. (Photo: File/UAA Communications)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – One of the time-honored dogmas of college football is that if you beat your in-state rival, you have an edge in recruiting.Common sense tells you it can't hurt, but the code is not as exact as 60 years ago when Florida and Florida State first met on a Saturday afternoon at Florida Field.Back then, nearly every player on the field originated from places like Tampa or Tallahassee, Miami or Mount Dora, Gainesville or Gulfport. When the Gators and Seminoles tangle for the 63rd time on Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium, each team's roster remains predominantly homegrown. However, that remains true to a lesser degree today. Of the 118 players currently listed on UF's roster (walk-ons included for both programs), 69.4 percent played at Florida high schools (82 of 118). For the Seminoles, 62 of 102 (60.7 percent) are from Florida.The math helps explain why when both first-year head coaches were asked this week about the importance of winning their first matchup in the in-state rivalry game Saturday, neither vowed that it's a must-win game to make National Signing Day a success next month."I haven't noticed it really have a whole lot of effect [in my career],'' said Gators head coach, drawing on his nine years in the Mississippi State-Ole Miss rivalry. "Now, we'll see. It might be different here than it was in the state of Mississippi for me when I was there. I guess we'll find out where that sways people."But I think a lot of times, programs are different. I imagine they run their program very differently than we run our program. It's in a different location and very different academics. I think where people look at it, they look, 'I want to go to that school with that academic reputation, major in this major and be a part of the program and how this coach runs the program. And that fits my personality.' And so I think that has a lot more to do with it in recruiting than who wins the rivalry game."Both Mullen and Florida State head coach Willie Taggart took over after last year's matchup and sped into action on the recruiting trail to sign their first classes. According to ESPN.com's recruiting database, each school signed 21 players (including transfers such as UF receiversand). The Gators signed 11 players who played at Florida high schools, FSU signed nine. Overall, the Gators signed players from six states other than Florida, the Seminoles tapped into five other states, topped by seven players from Georgia.A closer look at Mullen's nine seasons at Mississippi State reveal that the Bulldogs didn't come calling on Sunshine State players as much as you might expect. In those nine recruiting classes at Mississippi State (2009-17), the Bulldogs signed only eight players out of 222 (3.6 percent) who spent their prep careers in Florida.No surprise, the majority of Mullen's signees at Mississippi State (126 or 56.8 percent) came from Mississippi high schools – or transfers who played at Mississippi high schools. He signed more players from Alabama (27), Georgia (19), Louisiana (15) and Tennessee (10) than Florida. Overall, the Bulldogs signed players from 17 states and one from Canada during Mullen's tenure.Of course, as proof of his new surroundings, in his first signing class at UF, Mullen and his staff signed three more players from Florida than during nine years in Starkville.Taggart had already recruited the state of Florida as a head coach during four seasons at USF from 2013-16. However, after one season at Oregon, he replaced Jimbo Fisher and is 5-6 in his first season in Tallahassee, needing a victory Saturday to avoid the program's first losing season since 1976.Taggart echoed Mullen's view of the annual rivalry game. Yes, it matters, but it's usually not the major deciding factor for many recruits."Winning any game helps with recruiting,'' Taggart said. "It's big. Not necessarily because it's Florida or anything. I know the perception, 'Oh, you win a game then you get all the recruits.' I wish it was that easy, then we should have them all if that was the case. But recruiting is about building relationships and I know for us it's about getting the right fit for what we want for us and how we're going to build it."So I don't think all that has to do with just with winning. Winning helps big time, I mean, I think every recruit wants to go to somewhere where you can win, but a lot of recruits have things they want too out of a program, what they're looking for too. So we're trying to find the right fit what we're looking for and what they're looking for and hopefully it's a great match."Based on ESPN.com's database, both Florida and Florida State currently have 15 players committed in the 2019 recruiting class. The Gators have seven players from Florida high schools, FSU has nine. Among the out-of-state commitments, Georgia is a primary hotbed for both programs. The Gators have three commitments from Georgia players, FSU has four.The Gators (8-3), 11th in the College Football Playoff rankings, seek to snap a five-game losing streak against the Seminoles on Saturday. They also have an opportunity to play in a New Year's Six bowl game with a victory.Both can only help in recruiting homegrown players. Perhaps more importantly, though, is the impact the outcome has on the fan bases."Well [winning] always helps, because rivalry games make the program feel very successful because that's what all your fans and everybody wants to win,'' Mullen said. "You feel pretty good about yourself when you win the rivalry games. I think that leaves a different feeling for them, your fanbase, about where the program is and how successful the program is."