MIAMI - Guss Scott, Cory Bailey and several other Florida defensive players stood near the Miami 20-yard line watching former teammate and Hurricanes' quarterback Brock Berlin standing before a throng of rabid Miami fans, doing the Gator chomp while making slashing movements across his throat.
Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong stood at the 40-yard line, his game plan card clutched tightly in his hand, his face in disbelief.
Scott turned toward his teammates with a look of disgust, shook his head, then headed toward the Florida locker room.
What else was there to do?
After arguably the most monumental collapse since the "Choke At Doak" - a 31-31 tie at Florida State in 1994, the Gators had no comeback for Berlin.
Not Saturday night.
Leading 33-10 with 6 minutes, 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the Florida defense simply collapsed, allowing Miami to score 28 unanswered points and rally for a 38-33 win at the Orange Bowl.
"I was just giving our fans a little something that (said) I was proud to be a Hurricane," Berlin said.
At that point he should have been.
After struggling for nearly three quarters, Berlin rallied to lead the Hurricanes to a come-from-behind win that'll be talked about for years to come.
At least five, to be exact, since the teams won't meet again until at least 2008.
Florida's defense was supposed to be its weak link heading into Saturday night's game, with a unit that lost eight starters, all from the defensive front and the linebacker positions.
But early on, it was the defense that set the tone for Florida's near-upset. The Gators held Miami to a total of 16 yards of offense in the first quarter, including zero rushing yards.
On the final possession of the first quarter, Berlin was sacked by Ray McDonald for a loss of 6 yards.
With 11:36 left in second quarter, Keiwan Ratliff recovered a Berlin fumble and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. On Miami's next possession, Daryl Dixon recovered a fumble by Frank Gore (he forced it) and returned it 33 yards to the Miami 22-yard line to set up another Gator score.
At halftime, Miami had 62 passing yards on 8-of-16 completions and 55 rushing yards on 15 carries.
With 8:53 remaining in the third quarter, Johnny Lamar intercepted a Berlin pass that led to a touchdown and the 33-10 lead with 2:43 left in the quarter.
Then things turned ugly.
Miami's maligned offensive line began to block better, giving Berlin more time to throw. The Hurricanes went to a no-huddle offense. And the Gators started rushing three men and dropping back six or seven.
They never blitzed and instead waited for Berlin to make more mistakes.
He didn't.
By the game's end, Miami had amassed 114 rushing yards but Berlin had 340 passing yards (27-of-41) and the victory.
"When they went to the no-huddle in the second half, it really clicked for them, that was a major difference," Florida linebacker Channing Crowder said.
