MIAMI -- Earnest Graham thinks his knee is fine.

	Earnest Graham should be at full strength for the Gators against Maryland in the Orange Bowl.

His feelings? Those will take a little longer to heal.

Back at nearly full strength after recovering from the much-debated knee injury he suffered at the hands of Florida State's Darnell Dockett, the Florida tailback should start next Wednesday when the No. 5 Gators play No. 6 Maryland in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

Yes, he's happy to be playing again. But in the back of his mind, Graham can't help but wonder whether the knee injury might have been the difference between the trip to Miami the Gators are trying to enjoy this week and the trip to Pasadena they expected all season.

Due to the injury, Graham missed Florida's 34-32 defeat against Tennessee on Dec. 1, and the Gators (9-2) saw their hopes for the Southeastern Conference and national titles disappear.

Florida rushed for 36 yards that night, while its leading rusher this season watched from the bench.

"Maybe we could have been there," Graham says of the Rose Bowl. "I love being here, but maybe we could have been there. I just would have liked to have participated in that game."

That's why the saga -- in Florida, it's known as The Battle of Twisted Knee -- has lasted five weeks, and could very well drag into the offseason. Graham is strongly considering filing a lawsuit against Dockett and Florida State. He feels he has the evidence to prove Dockett intentionally tried to hurt him.

Earlier this month, coach Steve Spurrier showed reporters the school's copy of the tape of the play, in which Dockett is seen writhing on top of Graham's knee after the tackle during Florida's 37-13 victory Nov. 24.

After making an initial statement about the injury, Graham has tried to steer away from the subject. But this topic will not die. Spurrier is angry at Florida State coach Bobby Bowden -- several times accusing him of teaching players to play dirty -- and the Seminoles are accusing Spurrier and Graham of acting like crybabies.

"People say I should drop it," said Graham, a junior. "But I probably missed the most important game I'll ever play in my life. I don't know if I'm going to play in the NFL.

"This was the most important game I've ever had a chance to play in. So for me to miss that and to miss it the way I did, and for them to handle it the way they did, I hate to have to do it, but ..."

The most immediate question is what kind of runner Graham will be when he plays in a game for the first time since twisting his right knee against the Seminoles.

If he's at full strength, the Gators have a strong, powerful, north-south runner who can give them a legitimate running game to complement Spurrier's passing attack. Graham rushed for 650 yards this season and averaged 5.2 yards a carry.

If not, it will be another big dose of Robert Gillespie, a talented runner indeed, but not the inside-the-tackles guy in the mode of Graham.

"I'd say the running styles may change, but their productivity doesn't change," Maryland defensive coordinator Gary Blackney said.

When it comes to overall yardage, Blackney might be close to correct, but when it comes to victories and defeats, he's dead wrong. The Gators are 0-2 this season in the games Graham has missed, 9-0 in games he's played.

"That's something he's always going to probably think about," said Gillespie, a close friend of Graham's. "It's knowing if he'd had a chance to play in that game, that he definitely could have helped the offense and opened things up."

It puts Graham in a strange situation for the Orange Bowl.

If he plays well and the Gators win, everybody's happy. Then again, that can only add another layer of questions about what might have been if he had been healthy for Tennessee.

Clearly, it's an issue that will not go away once the season ends.

"I have to talk to the lawyers, and wherever it goes, it goes," Graham said. "I just want something to be done. I don't have to get into the money thing. An apology would be fine, but it's kind of too late for that."