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Parity stains UF-FSU rivalry
© St. Petersburg Times So this is what parity looks like. Funny, it seems brighter on television. There the hues are sharper, the intrigue deeper and the characters more mysterious. But here, up close, it reminds you of something else. Something mundane, colorless. Wisconsin, perhaps. Or maybe Kansas State. Yes, the Florida-Florida State game has arrived, and we haven't the first clue how to feel about it. After all, who is more degraded in a battle of wounded? The victor or the vanquished? Time was, the world would stop for this game. You would wonder about the measure of FSU's depth. You would ponder the limit of Steve Spurrier's gall. More than anything, you would pay attention. Today, you have a Web site devoted to the slagging of Florida coach Ron Zook. Today, you have FSU quarterback Adrian McPherson being dismissed from the team in a shroud of secrecy two days after his fourth start. Today you have no indication either program has a handle on how to pull itself out of its respective mess. Today, regrettably, you have two teams no longer special. Perhaps the surprise is that it has taken this long for them to stumble. For more than a decade, they dominated their conferences in ways no other schools dared dream. They won Heismans and national titles. In all that time, others have risen and fallen and risen again. Notre Dame, for one. Oklahoma, for another. Schools like UCLA and Auburn still are trying to come back. Eventually, parity gets everyone. Scholarship limits, early NFL draft defections and TV cameras that can make stars out of players in the most remote locations conspire against the programs on top. "All of us have had our streak of glory," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "Miami is in another streak, but it looks like us and Florida have got work to do." Florida's decline is easier to measure. The loss of Spurrier to the NFL was bound to have an impact, and the gamble on Zook exacerbated the situation. Which makes FSU's situation even more stunning. You see, Florida appears the more stable of the programs. The Gators are having their worst season in more than a decade. They have a parking lot full of grumpy boosters in garish RVs and a quarterback who will not say whether he wants to return next season. And these people are laughing at FSU. The Seminoles have issues far greater than the eight losses they have accumulated in the past 22 games. At midseason, they had a locker room on the brink of mutiny because so many players wanted McPherson instead of Chris Rix at quarterback. There has been talk of philosophical differences between assistant coaches on offense. Recruiting has fallen off, and so has confidence in the staff. A year ago, it was easy to understand a less-than-typical FSU season. That team was ravaged by injuries and had new starters all over the lineup. Now, the reasons sound more like excuses. The talent is not overwhelming, and the coaching has not been good enough to compensate. The problem with Rix is the problem with the team. His hotshot demeanor should have been addressed two years ago before it drove a wedge between he and his teammates. His lack of discipline on the field should have been straightened out before it forced him to the bench. Now McPherson has brought more unwanted misery to the locker room. In a way, FSU made its most decisive move of the year by dismissing the sophomore for unspecified rules violations. But it's hard to applaud the dousing of a brush fire when you can't see for the smoke. A few weeks ago, Bowden all but admitted the program had lost some of its mystique. His own players, he said, were not as sure of themselves. And that may be the team's most crucial loss. In the end, there is little either team will gain from Saturday's showdown. FSU, by virtue of its ACC title, is probably headed to the Sugar Bowl no matter what happens. Florida's bowl future likely is not impacted either. Recruiting wars will not turn on this game, a Top 5 ranking will not be bestowed on the winner. It is merely the final game on the schedule. A regional rivalry without the importance or allure to make the rest of the world notice. Considering the shape of these teams, that may not be a bad thing. Nine times out of 10, this game had national championship implications. And we mean that literally. In nine of the past 10 seasons, at least one team was in the Top 5 when they met. In five of the 10, they both were in the Top 5. Today, neither Florida nor Florida State is in the Top 10. They have become ordinary teams in an inordinately quick manner.
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