By ANTONYA ENGLISH and BRIAN LANDMAN
Published November 25, 2005
On the field, it is the fiercest of rivalries. But like most big rivalries, what makes the game special is the unique relationships between the players on both sides.
Florida State middle linebacker Buster Davis and Florida receiver Dallas Baker are prime examples.
The two went to rival high schools but met playing Pop Warner football and became close friends at age 16. They lived 15 minutes apart and remain close friends. Last weekend, they took in a high school football game together then attended the Florida Classic.
"When you don't see your best friend for so long, you always reminisce about what you did in high school, what you're doing in college now," Davis said of their weekend. "What you think, what I'm thinking.
"I don't talk to Dallas too much during the season because we kind of let each other do our own thing. It was good to sit around and actually talk to him because he's really good people."
Ironically, they didn't talk Florida-Florida State.
But their friendship, like that of so many other players, translates into a strong desire to win. Saturday's game in Gainesville will be no different.
"It means a lot," Baker said. "To get a win and be able to go back and see your friend and be able to say we beat you, that's big."
The Gators and Seminoles enter with three losses, but Baker said that won't diminish the intensity of the rivalry.
"It still has the same intensity," he said. "Buster is a starter now, and I'm a starter. We're both making plays to try and help our team win. It means a lot to both of us."
FLASHBACK TO CONTROVERSY: Florida State senior tailback Leon Washington heard about his controversial play from the 2003 game - an apparent lost fumble near the goal line that was ruled FSU's - a little bit.
His grandmother in Jacksonville, surrounded by Gator fans at her job, was a different matter.
"Oh, man. In the hospital, they needed security for her," Washington said. "For me going home, (I'd get), "Oh, the referees blew the game."'
In that game, in which FSU rallied for a 38-34 win, a handful of calls that went the Seminoles' way drew the ire of Gator fans; especially because the officials came from the ACC.
The controversy prompted the schools to change their arrangement regarding officials. Beginning Saturday, the officiating crew will come from the league of the home team, the SEC for this game.
"You're just eliminating the perception, "You brought your officials,"' FSU athletic director Dave Hart said. "With replay, I think you'll see this far more commonplace because you assure yourself of consistency.
"If institutions aren't using identical means of instant replay, you've got a mess."
THE GOOD AND BAD: FSU senior nose guard Brodrick Bunkley, the former Chamberlain High star, likely will be a contender for ACC defensive player of the year.
He has 46 tackles, 61/2 sacks and a team-high 17 tackles for loss. The latter stat is tops among interior linemen in the nation and is five shy of the FSU season record set by Darnell Dockett.
But his breakout season is "bittersweet."
"You can't really enjoy a 10-tackle game against N.C. State with a heartbreaking loss," he said. "It's kind of tough. Guys were talking to me after the Clemson game, (saying), "You had another great game.' I was hurt that whole way home.
"I hate losing on the road because you've got that plane ride, that bus ride. It feels like it takes a millennium just to get home. The loss overshadows everything that you enjoy about the game and you love about the game. But you bounce back. That's what we plan to do."
INJURY UPDATE: Washington, who has missed the past two games (both losses) with a sprained left ankle, is expected to start. Defensive end Kamerion Wimbley, who has been out since halftime of the N.C. State game with a sprained left knee, remains questionable. Coach Bobby Bowden said he is optimistic his top pass-rushing end will be back for the Dec. 3 ACC championship game.
