Online Gator fan Marvin S. Jones lays out the path to Paradise like this: "Florida beats FSU. USC beats Notre Dame. Alabama beats Georgia. Florida and Alabama in the national championship game!"
Meanwhile, Jimmy Shea, his Seminole counterpart, posts another kind of comment. "My big thrill is going to be knocking the Gators clear back to the Swamp where they can watch Florida State on TV, playing in the BCS."
The hype is ramping up.
And why not? It's been 12 years since Florida State and Florida met with so much on the line. Not since 2000 have the Gators and Seminoles each had one loss at the time of their end-of-the-year clash, but that will be the case Saturday when No. 4 UF visits No. 10 FSU. It's a game both teams hope can catapult them back into the national championship conversation.
After No. 1 Kansas State and No. 2 Oregon were upset last weekend, possibilities opened up for UF and FSU again. It's given the annual rivalry, this year in Tallahassee, an even greater sense of posterity.
"That's why you come to Florida State, to play in a game against a school with the history and tradition of Florida," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. "Those are the rivalry games that you take pride in."
Said UF Coach Will Muscamp on his Sunday television show, "We've had an outstanding year and they've got a good football team. It's getting back kind of to the old days ofthe '90s era of two nationally ranked football teams, two top-10 teams. It ought to bea lot of fun.
It could be more than fun for the winner. Trouble is, in order to make the BCS Championship game, both of these teams are going to need a lot of help:
For Florida to get in, USC has to beat No. 1 Notre Dame. That will take a small miracle, say the commentators. No. 2 Alabama also has to beat No. 3 Georgia in the SEC Championship game. That scenario, coupled with a Florida win over Florida State, would bump up Alabama to No. 1 and most likely, Florida to No. 2 -- an all-SEC championship game.
For Florida State to get in, it first has to beat Florida. It too would need USC to beat Notre Dame and Alabama to beat Georgia, along with No. 5 Oregon to lose to Oregon State this Saturday (or lose in the Pac-12 Championship game).
The game will be broadcast live on most ABC television affiliates across the nation starting at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
