Sports: Motivation differs for Spurrier, players

Motivation differs for Spurrier, players

UF's coach stresses history vs. Georgia; players want to unwrap the present - an SEC title.

By JOANNE KORTH

JACKSONVILLE -- Fourth-and-dumb. Herschel Walker. Buck Belue to Lindsay Scott. Those ghosts haunted Florida fans through years of frustration against border-rival Georgia.

They still do.

Each year, coach Steve Spurrier impresses upon a new crop of Gators just how badly Florida hates Georgia, and why. Not even nine victories in the past 10 years have eased the pain.

"We talk about how they used to beat us all the time and how we used to think they were tougher than us," said Spurrier, who saw his Southeastern Conference title dreams dashed by the Dawgs when he was UF's quarterback in 1966. "Hopefully, we won't have to return to those days."

No one seems too interested.

Not even by way of memory lane.

While the Florida-Georgia rivalry is fueled by bitter feelings from the past, the Gators and Bulldogs of 2000 are not nearly as interested in series history as they are current events.

"I know that this is a rivalry, but more importantly, it is a chance to go to the SEC championship," UF freshman quarterback Rex Grossman said. "That is all the motivation I need."

While the winner is not guaranteed a berth in the SEC championship Dec. 2 in Atlanta, the loser is virtually assured of a view from the couch.

South Carolina (5-1) holds a half-game lead over Florida (4-1) and Georgia (4-1) in the Eastern Division. The Gamecocks beat Georgia in September, so even if the Bulldogs win today, they would need South Carolina to lose to Tennessee today or Florida on Nov. 11.

With three SEC games left for each of the three contenders, nothing is certain except that Florida and Georgia stand squarely in one another's path to the SEC championship game, and both want to go.

Badly.

"To me, there is more on the line in this Florida game than any other since I have been here," said Georgia defensive end Marcus Stroud, a senior. "We want to have a chance to go and play in the SEC championship game in December and they are fighting for that same chance. This game has a whole lot at stake."

Like the old days.

Eleven times Georgia has knocked Florida out of the SEC race, dominating the series prior to Spurrier's arrival as Florida coach in 1990. The Bulldogs won 17 times from 1965-90.

In 1976, Florida led 27-13 in the third quarter when coach Doug Dickey elected to go for it on fourth and 1 at the Florida 29. The run failed, and Georgia went on to score 28 straight points.

In 1980, UF led 21-20 with 1:03 remaining when Georgia quarterback Belue hit Scott on a short pass that went for a 93-yard touchdown. The Bulldogs went on to win the national championship.

"I'm becoming more and more aware of the history," UF cornerback Keiwan Ratliff said. "About how we dominated the series in the 1990s and they dominated before that. It's a game everybody in Florida and Georgia loves to watch."

This season marks the fourth straight that Georgia is 6-1 entering the game against Florida. But this is the first time the Bulldogs, whose last SEC title was in 1982, were picked by experts in the preseason to win the Eastern Division.

Florida, which has won the East six times since the league split in 1992, took offense then. And it still does.

"I remember," UF defensive end Clint Mitchell said. "Everybody was saying how Georgia was going to be so dominant this year. Hopefully, we can go out there and we can prove them wrong and play our game."

Under Spurrier, the Gators are 9-1 against Georgia, prompting several players to wonder what all the fuss is about. To them, the Bulldogs are just another team -- not unlike South Carolina on Nov. 11 -- standing between them and the SEC championship game.

And that's enough.

"We've been thinking about it as a game that we have to win because us, Georgia and South Carolina all are tied for first place in the division," UF receiver Jabar Gaffney said. "So we have to win if we want to play in Atlanta in December."