Gators Won’t be Rose Bowl Watchers

You might expect Florida players to gather today in front of television sets to cheer on Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

A victory by No. 4 Ohio State (10-1) over No. 2 Arizona State (11-0), coupled with a Florida victory over Florida State in Thursday night’s Sugar Bowl, would likely give the Gators their first national championship.

So why is Florida pretending it is so disinterested in the Rose Bowl?

“We’ve got plenty of reasons regardless of the outcome of that game,” Florida Coach Steve Spurrier said.

The Gators’ schedule, in fact, will all but preclude the players from even watching the Rose Bowl. While they’re kicking off in Pasadena, Florida players will be checking into another hotel outside of New Orleans. Players will then attend meetings and go to a movie.

“I’m not playing in it, so it doesn’t make a difference,” Florida receiver Reidel Anthony said of the Rose Bowl.

If Ohio State doesn’t win?

“We’ll be as motivated, it’s Florida State,” Anthony said. “It’s our arch-rivals. It’s a money game. It doesn’t matter what happens in Pasadena.”

Florida guard Donnie Young said denying Florida State a national title is enough to play for.

“People don’t realize,” Young said, “we have to go back to the state of Florida and live with it the rest of the year.”

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How important has Coach Bobby Bowden been to Florida State? Since he arrived in 1976, the Seminoles are 14-2-1 in bowl games. Before Bowden, Florida State was 2-5-1.

The Seminoles’ first bowl appearance came in 1950, a 19-6 victory over Wofford in the . . . Cigar Bowl.

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It’s no secret Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel has taken a beating this year. The reason? The Gators will be starting their seventh different offensive line combination in Thursday’s game. Because of injuries and tackle Mo Collins’ six-game suspension for taking money from an agent, the Gators have used four different tackles, two centers and three guards.

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After igniting a controversy with his own comments about Florida State this week, Spurrier said: “Sometimes I try to figure out what exactly I did say that upset people. I’ve never been accused of being dishonest, though.”