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Hall has payback on mind

TAMPA - Not only will Cincinnati have to stop the Big East's leading rusher on Saturday, but the Bearcats will find a very motivated Andre Hall waiting for them.

The senior running back remembers last year's stinging 45-23 loss at Cincinnati, and he especially remembers the Bearcats throwing for a touchdown when up by 21 with 6:33 left.

"The way Cincinnati ran the score up on us last year, I just don't like Cincinnati," Hall said. "I have never disliked a team, but last year, they put a lot of anger in my heart."

Hall leads the Big East with 988 yards and has rewritten USF's career rushing records, but he'll have incentive for a big game Saturday, when a win would make the Bulls bowl-eligible.

"I've been waiting for this game the whole season," Hall said. "I don't care what the coaches say about it. It's just the way I feel. I know I'm not supposed to say it, but I don't like Cincinnati, period."

WATSON BACK SOON: Left tackle Thed Watson attended Tuesday's practice with a boot on his injured right ankle, but coach Jim Leavitt remained optimistic the junior would resume practicing today. - GREG AUMAN, Times staff writer, and GREG CAMUNAS, Times correspondent

GAINESVILLE - Jamar Hornsby, a five-star wide receiver, verbally committed to the Gators on Tuesday, according to Scout.com.

Hornsby of Jacksonville Sandalwood was listed by Scout as the third best receiver in the country and also has played at safety.

"I think Florida is the one school that wanted me the most," Hornsby told Scout.com, adding that he got text messages from coach Urban Meyer, Billy Gonzales and Gregg Mattison every day.

BIGGER HURT: Adding to the sting of Saturday's loss to South Carolina, UF defensive end Jeremy Mincey watched the whole Georgia-Auburn game that night.

Had UF won, the Gators would have gone to the SEC Championship Game because Auburn defeated Georgia.

"I watched every snap," Mincey said. "When they won, I was kind of irked because that could have been us in the championship."

But Mincey said if Georgia saw the Gators win, they might have played harder.

INJURY UPDATES: Receiver Dallas Baker will be noncontact in practice for a while, Meyer said.

Baker's punctured lung is fine, but his broken rib is still bothering him, Meyer said.

Running back DeShawn Wynn has minor shoulder and groin injuries but is expected to be okay.

Reserve safety Nick Brooks, who had arthroscopic knee surgery Sept.29, could play on special teams against FSU on Nov. 26.

ET CETERA: Chad Jackson was the only SEC player named a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation's best receiver by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation. The others: Calvin Johnson, Georgia Institute of Technology; Charles Sharon, Bowling Green; Demetrius Williams, Oregon; Derek Hagan, Arizona State; Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith, Southern Cal; Greg Jennings, Western Michigan; Hank Baskett, New Mexico; Jason Avant, Michigan; Jason Hill, Washington State; Jeff Samardzija, Notre Dame; Jovon Bouknight, Wyoming; Martin Nance, Miami (Ohio); Mike Hass, Oregon State.

- IAN FISHER, Times correspondent

With so many injuries, Florida State coach Bobby Bowden canceled practice to give players another day to recover and rehabilitate.

"We just felt like with our health like it is, we would be better off doing this than going out there and pushing it," he said.

The Seminoles will return to practice today and Thursday and plan to take the weekend off.

-BRIAN LANDMAN, Times staff writer