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Role reversal for Florida-Miami
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| Tim Tebow (15) carries the ball for the Florida Gators against the Hawaii Warriors in their 56-10 seaon opening win. JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter |
Gators favored for ‘Showdown in the Swamp.’
By MARK LONG
Associated Press
GAINESVILLE, — The last time Miami visited Florida Field, then-Gators coach Ron Zook watched the defending national champion Hurricanes go through pregame warmups, then turned to one of his assistants and said, “We’re going to look like them in four or five years.”
Zook’s vision was impeccable. He just didn’t expect Miami to look so different, too.
But when the two
programs meet Saturday night in Gainesville for the first time since Miami’s
41-16 victory in 2002, they will be in reversed roles.
The No. 5 Gators (1-0) are the highly ranked
program with a recent national championship, not to mention their Heisman Trophy
winner at quarterback and
talented running backs and
receivers all around him.
The Hurricanes (1-0), meanwhile, are a little more than a year removed from a coaching change,
coming off a disappointing 5-7 season — their worst in 30 years — and trying to get back into the national spotlight.
Florida looks much
different than it did six years ago.
Not only has Urban Meyer replaced Zook, but Florida has traded in all those bubble screens for the high-scoring spread offense and has
playmakers everywhere.
There’s Heisman winner Tim Tebow, and running backs Kestahn Moore, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. There’s receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, linebacker Brandon Spikes, hard-hitting safety Major Wright and a slew of defensive linemen itching to rush the quarterback.
Last time Miami rolled into The Swamp ranked No. 1 and looked every bit the part, manhandling Florida on both sides of the line of scrimmage and handing the Gators their worst home defeat since 1979. The 41 points were the most Florida had given up at home since 1970, a 63-14 loss to Auburn that came a full two decades before Steve Spurrier took over the program and led it to greatness.
But not even Spurrier could have saved the Gators against Miami. They were too overmatched.
The Hurricanes ran for 306 yards and finished with 508 total yards, easily
overcoming three turnovers and 14 penalties for 134 yards.
They were just as good on defense, badgering Rex Grossman into two
interceptions, no TD passes and just 19 completions in 45 attempts.
“We want to have the same kind of players they’ve got,” Zook said after the game. “And we will. We will do the recruiting job. We need to raise the talent level.”
Six years later, the Hurricanes are the ones talking about closing the gap.
“You want to get to that level,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “Florida’s been one of the premier teams in the country for probably the last four or five years. You always want to get back to that level.
“We really need a game like this. This is a big-time game, big-time atmosphere, on the road. ... We need to know where we’re at as a staff and as a football team at this point. Playing Florida is a great opportunity.”
The Hurricanes opened with a 52-7 victory against Charleston Southern, a Championship Subdivision school that was overmatched at every position. It was a nice confidence builder for the Miami.
“There’s a lot of emotions on this team right now,” ’Canes left tackle Jason Fox said. “On the outside, those who aren’t involved with this organization, not a lot of people are giving us a chance right now and that kind of fires everybody up.”
The Gators have plenty of motivation, too, having lost the last six games in the series. Their last victory came in 1985, before most of the current players were even born.
Zook’s vision was impeccable. He just didn’t expect Miami to look so different, too.
But when the two
programs meet Saturday night in Gainesville for the first time since Miami’s
41-16 victory in 2002, they will be in reversed roles.
The No. 5 Gators (1-0) are the highly ranked
program with a recent national championship, not to mention their Heisman Trophy
winner at quarterback and
talented running backs and
receivers all around him.
The Hurricanes (1-0), meanwhile, are a little more than a year removed from a coaching change,
coming off a disappointing 5-7 season — their worst in 30 years — and trying to get back into the national spotlight.
Florida looks much
different than it did six years ago.
Not only has Urban Meyer replaced Zook, but Florida has traded in all those bubble screens for the high-scoring spread offense and has
playmakers everywhere.
There’s Heisman winner Tim Tebow, and running backs Kestahn Moore, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. There’s receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, linebacker Brandon Spikes, hard-hitting safety Major Wright and a slew of defensive linemen itching to rush the quarterback.
Last time Miami rolled into The Swamp ranked No. 1 and looked every bit the part, manhandling Florida on both sides of the line of scrimmage and handing the Gators their worst home defeat since 1979. The 41 points were the most Florida had given up at home since 1970, a 63-14 loss to Auburn that came a full two decades before Steve Spurrier took over the program and led it to greatness.
But not even Spurrier could have saved the Gators against Miami. They were too overmatched.
The Hurricanes ran for 306 yards and finished with 508 total yards, easily
overcoming three turnovers and 14 penalties for 134 yards.
They were just as good on defense, badgering Rex Grossman into two
interceptions, no TD passes and just 19 completions in 45 attempts.
“We want to have the same kind of players they’ve got,” Zook said after the game. “And we will. We will do the recruiting job. We need to raise the talent level.”
Six years later, the Hurricanes are the ones talking about closing the gap.
“You want to get to that level,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “Florida’s been one of the premier teams in the country for probably the last four or five years. You always want to get back to that level.
“We really need a game like this. This is a big-time game, big-time atmosphere, on the road. ... We need to know where we’re at as a staff and as a football team at this point. Playing Florida is a great opportunity.”
The Hurricanes opened with a 52-7 victory against Charleston Southern, a Championship Subdivision school that was overmatched at every position. It was a nice confidence builder for the Miami.
“There’s a lot of emotions on this team right now,” ’Canes left tackle Jason Fox said. “On the outside, those who aren’t involved with this organization, not a lot of people are giving us a chance right now and that kind of fires everybody up.”
The Gators have plenty of motivation, too, having lost the last six games in the series. Their last victory came in 1985, before most of the current players were even born.
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