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FLORIDA 56, MARYLAND 23: Rex Grossman, coming off bench after missing curfew, leads rout.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 3, 2002
MIAMI -- Say what you will, but Florida coach Steve Spurrier still can play the rotating quarterbacks game.
And he can do it successfully.
With starting quarterback Rex Grossman benched for a curfew violation, backup Brock Berlin got his first start, then Grossman got his job back and threw for four touchdowns, and Earnest Graham helped rejuvenate Florida's running game.
Oh, yeah, and the fifth-ranked Gators dominated sixth-ranked Maryland 56-23 in front of 73,640 Wednesday night in the Orange Bowl at Pro Player Stadium -- the highest scoring Orange Bowl in history.
The Terrapins (10-2) had hoped to capitalize on their Cinderella season and first bowl appearance in 10 years. Instead, things went exactly as Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen feared: No matter who was in at quarterback Florida would have too much talent to let the game slip away.
"They are very good, but I'm disappointed in my players," Friedgen said. "I thought we could play better than that."
Maryland gave up more points in the first half than it had all season as Florida (10-2) took a 28-10 lead at halftime. The Gators' 659 yards of offense eclipsed an Orange Bowl record of 596 by Alabama versus Syracuse in 1953. And UF's two quarterbacks combined to go 33-for-49 for 456 yards.
"Overall, it was really one of our best games of the year," Spurrier said. "We're really proud of the way the guys got ready to play this game. We were pretty sharp tonight. It wasn't a great year, but it was still a good year."
In his first collegiate start, Berlin was 11-for-19 for 196 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He went 4-for-6 for 83 yards on the Gators' opening drive.
His 34-yard pass to Taylor Jacobs, on third and 23, set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Graham and gave Florida a 7-0 lead with 9:51 remaining in the first quarter. His 46-yard pass to Jacobs with 12 seconds remaining in the first quarter made it 14-0.
But it wasn't until Grossman took over with 6:03 remaining in the second quarter that it was over for the Terrapins. The Heisman Trophy runner-up led the Gators to five scores in five possessions and a 49-10 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Grossman was 20-for-28 for 248 yards and four touchdowns, including a 15-yarder to Jacobs with 2:18 remaining in the half and a 4-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney with four seconds remaining -- to give Florida its 18-point halftime lead.
"I just wanted to get in as soon as possible and score some points," Grossman said. "I wanted to get us momentum going in the second half. I thought everyone started to play well, especially when I was in there."
Spurrier said: "Rex gave us a nice lift. Brock hadn't played much. We wanted to see what he could do. Then, it was time to get Rex in there. Rex was sharp. He may have played his best game of the year."
Jacobs stole the show from the other high-profile receivers, catching 10 passes for 170 yards and two touchdowns and earning Most Valuable Player honors.
"If somebody would have told me I was going to do this yesterday, I would have said no way," Jacobs said. "I have to admit I did stay in the bathroom and pray a little bit longer this morning, I'm sure that helped. But I never thought I'd be in this situation."
Graham made a triumphant return from a knee injury that sidelined him for more than a month, rushing for 149 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns in three quarters. He scored on a 6-yard run with 11:22 remaining in the third quarter to give the Gators a 35-10 lead.
Maryland got back into the game when quarterback Shaun Hill lofted a 64-yard pass to Jamar Williams to pull the Terrapins to within 14-7 as time expired in the first quarter. Berlin's second of two interceptions led to a 20-yard field goal by Nick Novak and Maryland trailed 14-10 with 12:20 remaining in the half.
The Terrapins scored two late touchdowns -- runs of 1 and 10 yards by Marc Riley.
Coming off its worst outing of the season against Tennessee, the Florida defense spent the week before the game talking of redemption. The Gators allowed 103 yards rushing on 40 carries and 257 passing yards.
Tailback Robert Gillespie, who was much-maligned after the Tennessee game, rushed for 63 yards and scored one touchdown. Gaffney, who is pondering turning pro at the end of the season, also had two touchdowns.
"We didn't win much this year, but by golly we are the 2002 Orange Bowl champions," Spurrier said. "We didn't have a very good outing the last time so hopefully this soothed a little wounds. I'm very proud of this team."