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 Friday, December 13, 2002
Florida-Florida State is must-watch TV
By Brent Musburger
Special to BCSfootball.com
Each Tuesday throughout the season, ABC's Brent Musburger provides his five things to watch for the coming weekend.
Here are five reasons why Florida-Florida State on Saturday night (ABC, 8 p.m. ET) is must-see sports television.
1. High stakes
|  | | Jamal Reynolds is a candidate for the Nagurski Award as the nation's most outstanding defensive player. |
The highest imaginable -- a probable spot in the FedEx Orange Bowl for the winner. We have been told, although it certainly has not been confirmed because you can't trust who's counting the votes these days, that the winner in all likelihood will vault past Miami into second place in the BCS standings behind Oklahoma. It seems almost a certainty for Florida State, if the Seminoles win. If Florida wins, the Gators might also need a win in the SEC Championship Game against the Western division winner of that league.
2. Bragging rights
Everyone in Florida brags for an entire year about the Gator-'Nole game. Steve Spurrier is 0-4-1 in Tallahassee as a head coach. As a Gator quarterback in the '60s, he won once and lost once. And the 'Noles are still convinced that his victory was a fluke, because of a bad call in the end zone at the end of the game. Regardless, Spurrier wants to get off the shnide as the Gator coach. He's as surprised as anybody that the Gators are a double-digit underdog in Tallahassee.
He knows why: FSU is virtually unbeatable. The 'Noles have a 51-game unbeaten streak at home, the longest in the country. The only blemish on that record is a 31-31 tie against Florida in 1994.
Bobby Bowden has built a college football dynasty at Florida State. Remember, it wasn't so long ago that this was an all-girls school, and now it has become the most dominant program in college football. As of late, it is the 'Noles who have been doing most of the bragging in the Sunshine State.
3. The Heisman Trophy
This is Chris Weinke's final chance to impress the voters. Yes, the Florida State quarterback is 28 years old, but why is anybody holding that against him? I looked at my Heisman ballot this week and I couldn't find an age restriction anywhere. If he is the best player in college football this season, so be it. But he'll have to win at home against Florida to prove it to me, because I've got Oklahoma QB Josh Heupel at the top of my list right now. Winning, especially in big games, is what a Heisman Trophy is all about.
|  | | Jabar Gaffney has scored 13 touchdowns for the Gators this season and will test Florida State's secondary. |
4. Jabar Gaffney
Jabar Gaffney is the best freshman wide receiver in college football. This young man is a remarkable story. He has caught 13 TD passes for Spurrier this year, an NCAA freshman record. He is the fifth Gaffney to play for the Gators. His father, Derrick, went on to play eight years with the New York Jets. His uncle Don was the first black quarterback in the history of Florida. Two other uncles played briefly, but that isn't the best part of Jabar's story.
Spurrier kicked him off the team last December because of petty theft. Steve told him he'd be better off playing somewhere else. Gaffney told Steve he bled Gator blue and orange and begged for a second chance. Spurrier told him he'd have to pay his own way as a freshman.
Technically, the young man is a walk-on this year. He has become the team's go-to receiver. He also has also been a model citizen off the field.
5. Jamal Reynolds
The best defensive end in college football. It should come as no surprise that an outstanding defensive end plays for the Seminoles. He has 12 sacks this year, to bring his career total at Florida State to 23.5. Unfortunately for Reynolds, statistics in bowl games don't count. Remember, this is the young man who sacked Michael Vick three times as the Seminoles wrapped up the national championship at the Nokia Sugar Bowl last year.
The Gators are already planning on "chipping" Reynolds and sometimes keeping a fullback at home to help block him. He'll be that big of a factor Saturday night.
To sum it up: If you like your college football with a large dose of intensity, speed and the best talent in the United States, this is the game for you. To win a national championship, you must go through the state of Florida. Oklahoma knows it better than most, because that's where coach Bob Stoops was the defensive coordinator and where one of his first hires came from in a young offensive coach by the name Steve Spurrier Jr. Now wouldn't it be something if Oklahoma and Florida played for the national title in the Orange Bowl? But, believe me, Florida State will have something to say about it Saturday night.
Brent Musburger is a play-by-play announcer for ABC's coverage of college football, and is a regular contributor to BCSfootball.com.
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