Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. listens during an event hosted by the Foreign Policy Initiative, Friday Aug. 14, 2015, in New York. AP Florida State University president John Thrasher slugged back at Republican presidential candidate and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), who had dissed the university in a radio interview.

"Look, I don't have anything against Florida State. I think there has to be a school where people who can't get into Florida can go to college," Rubio told Iowa's KXNO 1460 AM in a recent interview. "And that's why we have Florida State."

Rubio graduated from the University of Florida and the University of Miami's law school. Florida, though, is perhaps Florida State's chief rival, as the two schools typically square off annually in the last game of the college-football season.

Thrasher, who served with Rubio in the legislature, apparently did not take kindly to the smack talk, following in the footsteps of a number of Seminoles fans. He took a dig at Rubio's poll numbers in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. He he took a jab at the University of Florida, too.

"He’s a nice kid," said Thrasher, who last week was one of eight former Florida House Speakers to endorse Rubio's presidential rival, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R).

"I’m sure he’s frustrated by his low standing in the polls, which I believe could be a reflection of where he got his education," Thrasher added.

Rubio's numbers have mostly remained stagnant over the past month. He's currently in fifth place in the race for the Republican nomination, according to a Real Clear Politics average of recent national polls.

For his part, Rubio said Tuesday morning that he was only providing a little "trash talk on sports radio" — not a "serious statement" on "Meet the Press."

You can listen to Rubio's full radio interview below: