Posts tagged “Rose Bowl”

12/26/2001 — As the college football bowl season winds up with the four Bowl Championship Series games, a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll of college football fans shows most would prefer to use a playoff tournament to decide the national champion. Only one in five prefer to keep the current BCS system as it is. Only a third of football fans agree with the BCS process that has Nebraska playing in the championship Rose Bowl game against #1 Miami this year, with another third choosing Colorado, about 21% preferring Oregon, and the rest undecided.

I get this question about once a day, whether it’s from a Florida fan or during a radio interview:
How did Florida lose to Auburn?
This week, the response is different. Instead of analyzing what happened to the Gators, I ask a question right back.

Does it really matter?

Think about it. If Florida had beaten Auburn, would the Gators be in any better shape?

Florida would still need to beat Tennessee to win the SEC East and a trip to Atlanta. Florida would still need to win these last two games to go to the Rose Bowl. If Florida was 10-0 right now and lost to Tennessee, the Gators would be out of the mix for Pasadena. If they beat the Vols and lost next week, the Gators would likely have been jumped in the BCS standings by Texas or Oregon or Nebraska.

So, in retrospect, the Auburn game may turn out to be the most meaningless game of the season.

And yet, the most meaningful.

There’s no question the loss was a wake-up call for Florida and put the team on edge for the rest of the season. If Florida was 10-0 right now, this would look like a set-up game.

Instead, it looks a lot like 1996.

Florida loses by three points on the road, but gets help to make it to the national championship game. Sound familiar?

All that’s left is to win twice. Despite the 18-point spread, it won’t be easy.

I mean, Tennessee has to win in Gainesville some time. Doesn’t it?

Vols fans are confident. According to some online chat rooms, they are planning to tear down the goalposts at The Swamp after they beat the Gators.

There’s not enough Jack Daniels in the world.
Pat Dooley