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By JOANNE KORTH
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000
Player spotlight -- Jabar Gaffney
GAINESVILLE -- Florida is having trouble picking a trigger man for the Fun 'n' Gun offense this week, but the Gators do have a clear target.
Jabar Gaffney.
The freshman wide receiver has been Florida's most electrifying offensive player this season. His school-record tying streak of six consecutive 100-yard receiving games makes the extraordinary seem routine.
"Jabar Gaffney has developed into one of the best receivers in the country," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. "He's just an outstanding player who catches the ball, gets open, runs good routes. I'm really proud of him."
Every week, it seems, Gaffney breaks another record. He has more touchdown catches (13) than any freshman receiver in NCAA history. He holds UF freshman marks for receptions (59) and yards (1,005).
He needs six catches and 64 yards to become the SEC's all-time leading freshman receiver and break records for catches (63, LSU's Jerel Myers in 1999) and yards (1,068, Auburn's Ronney Daniels in 1999).
With two games left -- FSU and the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 2 -- it seems almost certain he will. But in his quest to post a UF-record seventh straight 100-yard game, Gaffney faces a tough FSU secondary.
"Florida State is always going to be one of the toughest challenges of the year because they're one of the best defenses in the nation," Gaffney said. "But we're going to be ready.
"They come up and play man coverage, so it's going to be tougher trying to see what the cornerback is going to do and getting around him. I'm looking forward to it."
One thing Gaffney does not look at is the record book. He is not concerned with statistics or his place in history. Not yet.
"I'll look at them after the season," Gaffney said. "Right now, I'm trying to do what I can to help the team beat Florida State."
Same difference.
Several Florida players are wearing T-shirts with "Focus and Finish" printed on them. The Gators were 9-1 last season before playing Florida State, but lost their final three games.
The Gators were surprised to open the newspaper Monday and see they were 11-point underdogs. By Wednesday, the spread was up to 12 points. "That's fine," defensive end Clint Mitchell said. "I don't care if we're underdogs or overdogs, we're going up there to play."
In Florida's seven losses to FSU since 1990, the Gators averaged 43.7 yards rushing. In four victories, they averaged 135.5 yards rushing. Hmmmm, looks like a pattern. The clincher? In the 1993 tie, UF split the difference with 85 yards rushing.
Florida coach Steve Spurrier, whose team had two punts blocked and returned for touchdowns last week against South Carolina, has a full array of fakes ready for FSU. "We've got some passes and some runs and double reverses, all that," he said. And he wouldn't lie about a thing like that, would he?
"We have to go and earn their respect. We haven't won at Doak Campbell Stadium since 1986. We don't deserve any respect until we go up there and beat them." -- Daryl Owens, UF senior linebacker.