Any bitterness from the loss two weeks ago to Steve Spurrier and South Carolina, which ended their Sugar Bowl hopes, was gone on Saturday amid the jubilant fans in the Swamp. Their mood was lifted by a rollicking rout of rival Florida State.
The 90,669 fans -- most of them in Florida orange and blue -- watched the Gators crush Florida State, 34-7. Florida had started the season with high expectations only to stumble two weeks ago against Spurrier, its former coach.
The Gators (8-3) aren't going to Atlanta for the Sugar Bowl -- though they may be going to Atlanta to play in the Peach Bowl for the second straight year. But that did not seem to matter as they dismantled a disjointed, out-of-sync FSU.
PHOTO: AP
The junior quarterback Chris Leak, who seemed to have regressed in his first season with the Gators' new coach, Urban Meyer, looked fine on Saturday in a hybrid version of the spread offense. Leak completed 19 of 30 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.
Florida State will limp into the inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in Jacksonville, Florida, next week with a 7-4 record after losing three in a row. The Seminoles will try to save a season in which they soared to No. 4 in the national rankings in early October with a 5-0 record.
But, hampered by injuries this season, they may have a hard time recouping after Saturday's jarring loss. They committed flagrant fouls, turned the ball over four times and seemed to lose all discipline in the second half.
PHOTO: AP
Down by 27-0 with 12 minutes 2 seconds left, FSU coach Bobby Bowden called his team around him at the 35-yard line during a timeout after a turnover. Perhaps he was imploring the players not to lose their cool.
Florida State had lost control of the game because the offense was ineffective although the defense had played well early.
The freshman quarterback Drew Weatherford had no zip on his passes, and he finished 24 of 42 passing with one touchdown pass and two interceptions.
The Seminoles recognized the problems Weatherford was having, so they tried to outmuscle Florida with an inside running game, handing the ball to the veteran backs Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker and the freshman Antone Smith.
When Florida shut that down, FSU was in trouble. Midway through the third quarter, the Seminoles had just 82 yards on 37 plays and six first downs.
The Gators' offense also sputtered in the first quarter. Florida State, which leads the ACC in sacks, dumped Leak for losses on each of Florida's first two possessions.
But when Leak started to get protection, he made a difference. On the Gators' third possession, he completed 4 of 4 passes for 55 yards on a nine-play, 71-yard drive.
He passed eight yards to the junior Chad Jackson for a touchdown.
The Gators made the score 14-0 in the second quarter, when Marcus Thomas blocked a Florida State field-goal attempt and Reggie Lewis returned it 46 yards for a touchdown. Chris Hetland's extra-point kick made the score 14-0 with 9:52 remaining in the second quarter.
Florida State contributed to its demise early in the third period. Florida faced third-and-six from its 24 when FSU had only 10 men on the field. As a defender ran onto the field, Leak completed an eight-yard pass to Chad Jackson to keep the drive alive.
The Gators, on the same series, looked as if they had been stopped on a third-and-10 from their 32. But a late hit by Florida State and personal foul gave Florida a first down at its 47.
Hetland gave the Gators a 17-0 lead with a 44-yard field goal with 7:27 left in the third period.
FSU continued to hurt itself with undisciplined plays.
On the Gators' next possession, a third-and-10 from the Florida 49, Leak's pass down the right sideline was incomplete, but he was hit late by Seminoles linebacker Ernie Sims and a flag was thrown.
The 15-yard penalty kept the drive moving, and the Gators ended up with a 34-yard field goal from Hetland on the first play of the fourth quarter. Florida led, 20-0.
It only got worse for the Seminoles.
On the possession after Hetland's field goal, Washington fumbled and Gators middle linebacker Brandon Siler recovered at the FSU 15.
On first down, Leak passed 15 yards to Dallas Baker for a touchdown. The extra point made the score 27-0, and the memories of the Gators' loss to Spurrier and a chance to play for an SEC title went dim.
No. 6 Notre Dame 38, Stanford 31
In Stanford, California, No. 6 Notre Dame became eligible for the Bowl Championship Series with a 38-31 victory over Stanford.
Darius Walker ran 6 yards for the winning touchdown with 55 seconds remaining and took a direct snap to run in for the 2-point conversion. Brady Quinn passed for 432 yards and three touchdowns but also threw two interceptions, and Notre Dame (9-2) survived a wild final few minutes for its fifth straight victory since a 34-31 loss to No. 1 USC on Oct. 15. Walker ran for 191 yards on 37 carries.
D.J. Fitzpatrick missed a 29-yard field goal wide left with 2:15 to play after his earlier extra point missed off the left upright and then his 42-yard field goal attempt in Notre Dame's next possession went wide left.
Stanford took advantage. The Cardinal went ahead 31-30 with 1:46 left after backup quarterback T.C. Ostrander's 4-yard touchdown pass to Matt Traverso.
Jeff Samardzija caught two touchdown passes for Notre Dame and increased his school-record single-season touchdown receptions mark to 15 and finished with nine catches for a career-high 216 yards.
The Cardinal finished 5-6 against the second-toughest schedule in the nation and missed a chance at the school's first trip to the postseason since 2001.
No. 5 Virginia Tech 30,
North Carolina 3
At Blacksburg, Virginia, Cedric Humes ran for a career-high 134 yards and two touchdowns and Virginia Tech advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a victory.
The Hokies (10-1, 7-1) led only 6-3 at halftime, but Humes scored on runs of 1 and 3 yards and Branden Ore added a TD run -- all in the third quarter -- as Virginia Tech made certain it didn't squander a second chance to win the ACC's Coastal Division.
While the Hokies move on to the inaugural championship game next Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida against Florida State, the loss deprived the Tar Heels (5-6, 4-4) of becoming the ninth conference team to have the six wins needed for a bowl berth.
No. 10 Miami 25, Virginia 17
At Miami, Kyle Wright threw for 248 yards and the go-ahead score, then scampered a career-long 31 yards to set up the final touchdown as Miami beat Virginia.
Charlie Jones ran for 88 yards and two touchdowns for Miami, which was eliminated from contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division title when Virginia Tech beat North Carolina.
Wright completed 23 of 30 passes, including a 17-yard touchdown to Sinorice Moss that put the Hurricanes (9-2, 6-2) ahead for good. And his long run on third-and-2 with 1:58 left set up Jones' 1-yard run that sealed Miami's fifth regular season with at least nine wins in the past six years.
Deyon Williams had a pair of touchdown catches for Virginia (6-5, 3-5). Williams also caught a 90-yard scoring pass from wide receiver Emmanuel Byers in the first quarter -- the longest pass allowed in Miami history.
No. 13 Georgia 14, Georgia Tech 7
At Atlanta, D.J. Shockley threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Bryan McClendon with 3:18 remaining and Tim Jennings clinched the victory with an interception at the goal line, giving Georgia a victory over Georgia Tech (7-4).
Georgia (9-2) defeated its state rival for the fifth year in a row.
Georgia will return to Atlanta next Saturday to face LSU in the Southeastern Conference title game, trying to earn a third straight trip to the state capital. The SEC champion will play in the Jan. 2 Sugar Bowl, being held at the Georgia Dome this year.
Nevada 38, No. 16 Fresno St. 35
At Reno, Nevada, Robert Hubbard ran for 146 yards and three touchdowns and Jeff Rowe hit Nichiren Flowers with a 12-yard scoring pass with 1:29 remaining as Nevada upset Fresno State to claim at least a share of the Western Athletic Conference title.
Paul Pinegar threw a 3-yard TD pass to Matt Rivera and then a 2-point pass to Joe Fernandez to make it 38-35 with 31 seconds left, but Nevada's Anthony Pudewell recovered an onside kick to secure the victory in a crazy finish played without the stadium clock the final 6 minutes.
Pinegar completed 30-of-45 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns. The Bulldogs have already accepted an invitation to play in the Liberty Bowl.
Nevada (8-3, 7-1) got a pair of turnovers in the final 7 minutes to overcome 17 straight points in the second half by Fresno State (8-3, 6-1).
No. 17 Louisville 41, Syracuse 17
At Louisville, Kentucky, Montrell Jones caught six passes for a career-high 118 yards and two touchdowns, and Brandon Johnson had a key third-quarter interception to help Louisville overcome a sloppy performance and win a school-record 12th straight home game.
The Cardinals (8-2, 4-2 Big East) held off a late rally by the Orange (1-10, 0-7), who finished with the first 10-loss season in the program's 110-year history.
The Cardinals bolstered their quest for a Jan. 2 bowl bid thanks to a defense that tightened up after Louisville starting quarterback Brian Brohm went down with a sprained right knee in the third quarter.
Brohm threw for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
Perry Patterson threw for 259 yards and a TD for Syracuse.
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