KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Maybe it's coincidence or maybe the Knox County grand jury has a wicked sense of humor.

A Florida Gator fan accused of biting off part of the ear of a University of Tennessee devotee in a 1998 bar fight was indicted three days before the rivals' annual clash. Grand jurors returned the aggravated assault indictment Wednesday.

For months, the case lay dormant before the grand jury. Robert L. Shaw, 32, is alleged to have bitten off most of Jeff McCarty's left ear the night of Sept. 19, 1998, in a West Knoxville bar, moments after the Big Orange beat the University of Florida by a score of 20-17 in an overtime thriller in Knoxville.

A General Sessions Court judge heard testimony last November. At the time, McCarty and Shaw lived in the Knoxville area, although McCarty since has moved, ironically enough, to Florida, documents show.

Doctors reattached McCarty's ear. Shaw claims that at the time of the fight he recently had undergone serious neck surgery and was trying to protect himself from an aggressive McCarty.

Prosecutors typically offer cases to the grand jury for review within a couple months after they're sent on from Sessions Court. John Gill, special counsel in the district attorney general's office, said Thursday he had no idea why the case lingered.

Defense lawyer Jeff Whitt, however, can't help but wonder about a charge that lingered nearly a year only to surface 72 hours before the big Florida game.

"It plays well to the citizens of Knoxville. That's for sure," said Whitt, who was in the process Thursday of notifying his client.

The UT-Florida kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET Saturday in Gainesville.

Gill suggested the indictment could have been delayed because prosecutors couldn't find a witness.

"I promise you this is not just because they're playing Florida this weekend," Gill said. "But when you think about it, it is appropriate."

(John North writes for The Knoxville News-Sentinel in Tennessee.)