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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Gators' one-two punch too much
By Marc Connolly
ABC Sports Online
MIAMI -- Rex Grossman's punishment was officially 23:53 worth of playing time. From that point on, the sophomore quarterback was the one doing the punishing, with the Maryland Terrapin defense serving as his personal rag doll.
A missed curfew by 30 minutes earlier in the week forced the confident QB from his usual set-in-stone role as the commander of the explosive Florida offense to that of spark plug off the bench.
Though starter Brock Berlin was efficient in throwing for 196 yards and a touchdown on 11-of-19 passing, it's scary to wonder what type of numbers the nation's leading passer could have amassed on Maryland's below-average secondary if he'd played the whole game.
|  | | The Gators put the game away with a 21-0 third quarter. |
As it was, Grossman torched the Terps for 248 yards and four touchdowns on 20-for-28 passing in a statement-making 56-23 victory over the Terrapins in the FedEx Orange Bowl at Pro Player Stadium on Wednesday night.
"He's sharp every night," said Reche Caldwell, who caught four balls for 47 yards. "We just have come to expect it. Even if it was off the bench."
Berlin showed flashes of brilliance through six series leading the Gators offense, but he was not in the game due to his talent, or to keep him from bolting further south to the University of Miami to be the incumbent to Ken Dorsey's QB spot once he moves on after next season.
This was also no Terry Dean-Danny Wuerffel or Doug Johnson-Jesse Palmer deal, in which Steve Spurrier fell in and out of love with different signal callers. As BC's Tom O'Brien did with stalwart running back Willie Green to a larger extent before the Miami game, it was simply the case of a head coach having to prove a point to his star player -- and the rest of the team, in the process -- that breaking team rules has consequences to be paid. For everybody.
It left his best player wondering what his role would be right up until he entered the Florida huddle.
"I didn't know when I was going to get in," said Grossman, "or if I was going to get in at all."
Even his biggest critics would have to agree, Spurrier looked smart for his actions.
Berlin got his team going from the get-go by orchestrating a 10-play, 83-yard drive that included throws of 21, 23 and 34 yards to put Florida up 7-0 on its first series. Even with Grossman, the Gators had only got the ball in the end zone three times on their first possession this fall.
And then, once Berline -- a sophomore from Shreveport, La. -- cooled off a bit and threw his second interception of the night in the second quarter, it was Grossman, who had been furiously pacing the sidelines, who gave one of his closest friends on the team an impromptu pep talk.
"I told him, 'You know you're a good player and you know you can score points on these guys,'" said the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Eric Crouch. "That's right about when I went in."
Ah yes, what it is to be Steve Spurrier and have the unique luxury of bringing a player who threw for 3,896 yards and 34 TDs and led the nation in pass efficiency (170.8) into a 14-10 game with 6:03 left in the first half.
"I knew I had to make the best of my opportunity when I got in," said Grossman, who admitted he felt extra motivation because of the benching. "I thought we were doing fine and then Maryland made a little run and then Coach gave me the nod. I just wanted to get in and put points up on the board as quickly as possible."
He couldn't have any quicker.
All Grossman did was go six-of-eight for 61 yards on his first drive, culminating with a 15-yard TD strike to Taylor Jacobs, one of 10 catches for the junior receiver who had a career night (10 catches for 191 yards and two TDs).
Grossman was only given 1:24 to work with on his second drive at the end of the half. Again, no problem.
With surgeon-like precision, Grossman completed four of five passes and perfectly worked the clock in setting up Jabar Gaffney's 4-yard touchdown reception on a tight-spiraled fling to the back of the end zone just over cornerback Curome Cox's hands to his All-American wideout with just three ticks left.
"Rex gave us a nice lift," said Spurrier. "Rex played his best game of the year."
With a 28-10 lead at the half, Grossman and the Gators cruised after the intermission, adding another four touchdowns, including two via the air. No matter what Maryland did, it was never quite enough.
"It was frustrating," said All-American linebacker E.J. Henderson, who finished with eight tackles, a forced fumble and a sack. "Just when I'd be about to get him, he'd get rid of the ball."
Grossman did it by utilizing his full assortment of backs and wideouts, often for short dump-offs when Maryland blitzed him. And when he had to zip it through traffic, he did it without flaw, leaving the Terps' D stunned.
"The things he can do are unbelievable," said Dennard Wilson, who moved from cornerback to strong safety for this game. "He can throw from one hash to the other side of the field. You don't see many quarterbacks do that at all."
When the final numbers were tallied, Grossman was able to spring two of his receivers over the 100-yard mark for the night, with Gaffney catching seven balls for 118 yards and two TDs to go along with Jacobs' lofty totals.
"I think Rex Grossman is the best quarterback in the country," said Jacobs.
Joey Harrington, Ken Dorsey and the Nebraska senior with the bronzed statue might have something to say about that. But then again, none of those gunslingers came off the bench without a real warm-up this year. If they did, it's hard to imagine any one of them doing the damage that Grossman did.
Maybe missing curfew isn't such a bad thing.
Marc Connolly is a senior writer for ABC Sports Online. He can be reached at marc.connolly@abc.com.
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