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| Friday, November 17 Spurrier-Bowden matchup too good to miss By Chris Fowler Special to ESPN.com | |||||
Please watch Florida State versus Florida. Unless you are going to watch Miami versus Syracuse. I guess I shouldn't advise you NOT to watch ESPN. Better yet, set up two TVs and take in both.
But if you're not fortunate enough to be able to witness the Gators and Seminoles in person (and I'm not trying to rub it in), then tune in and savor it. Florida versus Florida State is the best rivalry we have these days. It is unmatched for talent level, national title significance, story lines, and the coaching matchup.
. . .of this rivalry packs as much intrigue as any in recent years. Spurrier has the quarterback yo-yo in mind, he claims. I'm not buying. He's got to go with Jesse Palmer, whose experience Steve leaned on in road games before. True, the Ball Coach yanked the third-rated passer in the current stats, but Rex Grossman has "looked lost" at times recently, Steve says. Doak Campbell at night is not a good place for visitors to get lost. By the way, the QB shuffle used in the '97 and '99 games is a little tougher to pull off in Tally, where the Gators are winless since '86. Heck, all visitors are winless there since '91. If Florida has the yo-yoing QB's, FSU has the yeoman. Chris Weinke is playing at such a high level, it's silly. For weeks, I've wondered if the folks who vote on the Heisman and the All-American teams will harbor some bias against him because 1) he's 28, 2) he's a former pro in baseball and 3) it's taken for granted that the FSU quarterback will have great stats. I think all three factors might be in play, although it's hard to get anybody to admit it. With a win and a great performance Saturday night, Weinke may make himself impossible to overlook. To my thinking, the first two shouldn't matter and the third is flat wrong. Just remember the Fiesta fiasco, when Weinke was recovering from his nearly career-ending neck injury. Give him his due. At least one Heisman voter is praising him: Steve Spurrier. This will be a great test for a Gators' defense that says it's packing a heavy load of confidence these days. In five games since the Woodshed pounding in Starkville (when they made each Bulldog back look like Terrell Davis), the Gators' defense has given up just 66 points (we're not counting blocked punts for TDs). If they can continue their takeaway trend (tops in the nation with 34), stop the Noles' running game (which is now hampered by season-ending injuries to Jeff Cheney and Davy Ford), who knows? I can't wait for the scene down there. I've been lucky enough to see a few of these FSU-Florida games, but it's been more than a decade since I've seen one at night. It makes a difference. I'll never forget the scene from last year, with anti-Warrick signs overrunning Gainesville and seemingly every fan carrying a Dillard's bag. A half dozen Seminoles streamed right from the tunnel to the ground facing the Florida students' section. They stood there, facing the booing masses, imitated the "Gator Chop" a few times, then abruptly turned it into a throat slash gesture. These were probably bench gumbies who barely got in the game, so for them this might have been the highlight of the afternoon. I know I'm supposed to scold that kind of nonsense, but I just had to laugh. I love a good, healthy, hatred-based rivalry game anytime. If I couldn't be in Tally I'd want to attend the biggest "Civil War" battle since Bull Run. Oregon goes to the Rose Bowl with a win. Oregon State is just a spoiler, unless you think Wazoo can fashion a vintage Palouse ambush of Washington, sending the Beavers to Pasadena with a win. Doesn't matter, really. Oregon State has a lot to play for, too. The Beavers are probably the best team in the conference, it's just that a pesky clock management snafu and a missed field goal undid them last month in Seattle. Vegas is no longer doubting OSU, making them the favorite over the last Pac-10 unbeaten. Watch this game, too, if you can. Oregon State has terrific talent. So does Oregon. There are no cute "Cinderellas" in this game. Just two really good football teams. How long has it been since this matchup carries much more weight than the USC-UCLA, Cal-Stanford, and Apple Cup games combined? This is the first time. It seems like a long time ago that these two played maybe the worst college game ever: a scoreless tie in the rain in Eugene to cap the '83 season. It featured teams that were 6-14 combined and was dubbed "The Toilet Bowl." "Biggest" Trophy game That, friends, would be Stephen F. Austin versus Northwestern State. They are border rivals from tongue -- twisting towns in Texas and Louisiana. SFA is in Nacogdoches and State is in Natchitoches. The play each fall for the right to take home mighty Chief Caddo. He's Gheorghe Muresan-big -- seven-six, 320 pounds -- and this year he celebrates his 40th birthday. Chief Caddo's likeness was created to honor the Indian tribe that protected early settlers from less hospitable warriors to the west. Our source du jour for the would-be line on this game is the heralded Dunkel Index, which gives SFA about a field goal edge. Just FYI. Top five No. 1 -- Oklahoma. There are two coaches not voting the Sooners first. Hmmm. But OU is a BCS rarity, ranked first in both polls and all eight of the computer rankings used. I billed their game at A&M as the largest test yet of their mettle -- and they rallied to pass it. They overcame their own miscues, a spirited, roaring crowd, an inspired Aggie team, and a ten-point fourth quarter deficit. Enough said. At first glance, you might think the Sooners won another victory Saturday night when Kansas State knocked Nebraska out of the Big 12 title game. The Huskers would have been a tougher team to beat twice, right? "Not so fast," says my friend Corso. He said up front, K-State would be a tougher out in K.C. than Big Red. I disagreed. At first. Then, after watching the astoundingly inept Husker excuse for a passing game once again fail, I began to see his point. The Wildcats have more balance, more of a big-play threat. It will be anything but a walkover in Arrowhead. No 2 -- Miami. The Canes will stay here unless they flop. It's in their hands in the polls. Syracuse has enough defense to make this interesting, but a freshman QB (R.J. Anderson) is a bad thing against the Canes' excellent front seven. Miami leads the nation with 30 takeaways while the 'Cuse is dead last in Big East turnover margin. That has to be dramatically reversed to have any chance. If Miami brings the "A" game, it's not much of a contest. If not, hold on. No. 3 -- Florida State. The Noles are talking about needing to beat Florida big to move up. Really, the BCS gap between Miami and FSU is about schedule strength, though. Read Brad Edwards' BCS Analysis in the college football section of this site for more on the ever-changing decimal duel. No. 4 -- Florida. No. 5 -- Oregon. The Ducks, Beavers, and Huskies are so evenly matched, it's hard to separate them. I've got Washington 6th and Oregon State 7th. "Bottom five" No. 21 -- Texas A&M. I moved the Aggies up after the close call with top-ranked Oklahoma. Junior Robert Ferguson is a big-time receiver. Assuming he stays for next season, the Aggies are a team to watch. They get Notre Dame at home early next year. The down side: they have to visit Oklahoma, Colorado, and Kansas State, plus Texas Tech. No. 22 -- Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles have really struggled, losing big to Louisville, then surviving a visit to UAB in overtime. They need to beware Saturday's trip to Cincinnati, quietly 6-4 and coming off an OT win. No. 23 -- Tennessee. The Vols are another team to fear in 2001. I have them ranked ahead of LSU, despite a loss there. No. 24 -- Northwestern. The Wildcats have done enough this season to be allowed one stink-up-the-place conference loss (to Iowa). Beating Illinois at home, denying their rivals a bowl shot, would be a fitting climax to 2000. No. 25 -- LSU. Nick Saban has done a good job in year one. Since Arkansas appears to have quit, the Tigers must hope that Bama has not. A Tide win over Auburn is all the help LSU needs to win the SEC West, after four straight conference victories. LSU has won three shootouts, two shutouts, and the grind it out triumph Saturday night in Oxford was something to be proud of. Aggie thanks Gameday's first trip to College Station will truly rank among our favorite road trips. Witnessing Midnight Yell Practice, with 25,000 plus going through the time-honored roster of yells, the great band belting out the Aggie anthem. . .well, I agree with Kirk, it was amazing. The game was a classic, with the Aggies crowd showing why it might be the best anywhere. The fans know when to cheer, and not to. When defensive star Jason Glenn went down with an injury, you could hear a whisper from across the stadium. When OU had the ball, they got loud (OU wasn't at all fazed, but that's a tribute to Heupel and company, not a knock on the fans' effort.) They tried to will a victory for the Aggies, but Oklahoma showed its grit. Finally, the hospitality was overwhelming. To the students who camped out? from Wednesday to Saturday morning for the spots closest to our set, well, I hope it was worth it! It's flattering for us to see that level of enthusiasm for Gameday. We question your sanity, but we enjoy it, never take it for granted, and won't ever forget it. The classy audience was refreshing (and much appreciated) after our experiences the week before in Miami, where a small minority of fans sunk to new lows of asinine behavior. Thank you, Aggies! Gig 'em. Chris Fowler is the host of College Gameday and his column appears every Thursday. | ALSO SEE College Football ... On Campus with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit BCS picture gets clearer this weekend Heisman Poll: It's down to Heupel and Weinke AUDIO/VIDEO  ESPN's Chris Fowler on college football's biggest rivalry, Florida/Florida State.wav: 696 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Is Saturday's Florida/Florida State game a winner-take-all game? ABC's Brent Musburger answers.wav: 1525 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 ABC's Brent Musburger on coach Steve Spurrier's QB dilemma at Florida.wav: 1258 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 Gary Long of the Miami Herald on the relationship between Steve Spurrier and Bobby Bowden.wav: 847 k RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6 | ||||
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