| | GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators aren't so mighty anymore.
Florida coach Steve Spurrier has spouted that theory all season,
even though nobody really seemed to believe it.
After a big flop in the biggest game of the season Saturday, it
may be time to stop doubting him.
No team that makes as many mistakes as No. 3 Florida did in its
30-23 loss to top-ranked Florida State can stay in the national
title picture come December.
The Gators are out of there. And they leave the scene feeling
they may have handed away their chance.
"To put it in the nicest way I can, we shot ourselves in the
foot," said quarterback Jesse Palmer. "When you're a Florida
Gator and you play the Seminoles at home and lose, it hurts. This
game hurts more because we beat ourselves."
Among the mistakes that will sit hard with the Gators for the
next year were 15 penalties for 93 yards, none more crucial than
the three that kept Florida State's first touchdown drive going and
set the tone for the game.
There was a blocked punt that led to Florida State's go-ahead
touchdown and obliterated the momentum gained minutes earlier on
Bennie Alexander's interception return for a score and a 16-13
Florida lead.
There were the two easy interceptions the Gators dropped,
including one by Marquand Manuel, who added another disheartening
bobble to the one he had last year in Tallahassee.
Maybe most importantly, there were two trips inside the Florida
State 10-yard line that produced a meager three points.
"We get inside the 20 and we can't get it in," said freshman
tight end Kirk Wells. "It seems like no matter how good it's going
when we get there, we can't get it in."
That left placekicker Jeff Chandler to bail out the Gators.
He hit kicks of 50, 45 and 22 yards to keep Florida within a
touchdown through the middle of the third quarter. Of course,
everyone knows field goals are little more than hollow victories at
Florida.
"I wish I could go 0-for-10 on field goals and we still figure
out a way to beat Florida State," Chandler said. "This is the
worst feeling in the world."
Trying to stir an offense that hadn't surpassed 300 yards in the
previous two games, Spurrier went to the rotating quarterback
system he sprung on the Seminoles in 1997 for a surprising 32-29
victory.
Nobody was shocked this time. Palmer and Doug Johnson combined for 380 yards passing but couldn't lead the offense to a touchdown until the Seminoles led by 14 and desperation set in.
"We got the plays in, they did not steal our signals,"
Spurrier said. "But you still have to pitch and catch and block
and hit the right guy. We get the ball at the middle of the field
and throw an interception on the first down. We are bad about
first-down turnovers. And then they make third-and-20s and
third-and-10s and things. We are not smart enough to be great."
While Florida State prepares for the Sugar Bowl, the Gators
still have a chance to salvage their season, two weeks from now in
the SEC title game.
But greatness is out of the question.
With each year and every loss, memories of the 1996
national-title team with Danny Wuerffel, Fred Taylor and Reidel
Anthony seem to fade even further into memory.
This year's failure was difficult for the Gators because they
left believing the Seminoles were no better than they were.
"FSU is not as good as they used to be," Spurrier said. "They
are pretty good, but they are not the teams they have had in the
past."
If that sounded familiar, it was. It's the same thing he's been
saying about his own team all year.
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