Associated PressGAINESVILLE, Fla. ó Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow is too young to have witnessed much of the history of the Miami-Florida rivalry, and the teams don’t play often enough for him to hear about it, either.
What he does know ó maybe all he needs to know ó is that the Gators haven’t beaten the Hurricanes since 1985, a six-game losing streak in an on-again, off-again series that has Florida’s star quarterback and his teammates eager to turn things around today at The Swamp.
“We need to win because I don’t know when’s the next time we’ll get an opportunity at them,” Tebow said.
This could be Tebow’s only shot. The fifth-ranked Gators (1-0) and the Hurricanes (1-0) aren’t scheduled to play again until 2013, another long break in a rivalry.
It certainly was one of the most heated, from the “Florida Flop” in 1971, to the “Peach Pelting” in 1980, to the “Bourbon Street Brawl” in 2001.
But the next chapter in the storied series started with players exchanging barbs this week. Florida receiver Louis Murphy took the first jab, saying Miami shouldn’t be referred to as the “The U” anymore. He said Florida should be called “The U” because the program is winning more right now.