Jan. 1, 2001
By MARK LONG
AP Sports Writer
NEW ORLEANS – On a rain-soaked afternoon at Florida Field in 1972,two fans stood on the sideline holding an old, wooden canoe.
Barely visible through the haze, they waited for the Gators to claim theprize after beating Miami 17-6.
No one ever came to get it.
Nobody remembers seeing the canoe after that and the little boat, whichhadbeen the traditional reward for the winner, was soon forgotten. The rivalryfollowed the same path several years later.
After a 13-year hiatus, the Gators and Hurricanes will renew the seriesTuesday night at the Sugar Bowl. Though few current players are old enoughtoremember the rivalry, several former Gators and Hurricanes vividly recallthefeelings stirred up when these teams used to meet annually.
“It was as big as it could be,” said former Miami center Don Bailey,whoplayed from 1979-82 and is now part of the team’s radio broadcast team. “Itwas bigger than anything the Hurricanes are experiencing now. As big asthereis. No matter what the records were.”
Although the series began in 1938, the rivalry didn’t seem to take on afaceuntil the 1950s, when they started playing for the canoe. Things really gothotafter the infamous “Florida Flop” in 1971.
Quarterback John Reaves needed 345 yards to break Jim Plunkett’s NCAApassing record. It was the last game of the season, Reaves’ final chance tomake history. But with the Gators leading 45-8 and time running out, Reaveswasstill 14 yards short of the mark.
With the ‘Canes down to Florida’s 8-yard line and just 1:20 on theclock,Florida’s Harvan Clark called timeout. He convinced coach Doug Dickey to letthe Gators allow Miami to score.
“Dickey said ‘OK, just don’t make it look too bad,”‘ Florida historianNorm Carlson said.
There was nothing subtle about it.
Miami’s John Hornibrook took the snap, and all the Gators except safetyJohnClifford flopped face down. Hornibrook rolled left, and Clifford had achanceto tackle him but pulled up just as the quarterback neared the goal line.
With another chance on offense, Reaves threw a 15-yard pass to CarlosAlvarez and broke Plunkett’s record.
Hurricanes coach Fran Curci refused to shake hands with Dickey afterthegame. Making matters worse, several Gators, including Reaves, headed to theEast end zone of the Orange Bowl and jumped into a pool that housed MiamiDolphins mascot Flipper during NFL games.
“It was a nice gesture by my teammates,” Reaves said of the Flop. “Idon’t believe the guys were trying to humiliate Miami. It’s just somethingthathappened.”
Still, it fired up the Hurricanes for years.
For Florida, however, the game never hit the heights of otherSoutheasternConference rivalries like Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee – or reached thecrescendo of the rivalry with Florida State.
“We can only hate or despise so many teams,” said coach Steve Spurrier,Florida’s starting quarterback from 1964-66.
No other team has played Miami as often as Florida (49). No other teamhasbeaten Miami as many times, either (25). For whatever reason – respect,recruiting, bragging rights or maybe the canoe – beating the Gators alwaysseemed to mean more to the Hurricanes.
“Respect is the whole word,” Bailey said. “They’ve never given anybodyany respect. The perfect example is their leader right now. Does SteveSpurriergive anybody any respect? So there’s no respect given back.”
Miami won the last meeting 31-4 in 1987. It was memorable mainlybecause ofa pair of wild snaps on punts by Willie Peguese that sailed through the endzone and accounted for Florida’s only points.
“It’s a rivalry that has really faded, particularly for the Floridapeople,” said Trace Armstrong, a Gators defensive lineman in the late 1980s.”From Florida’s standpoint, they have so many big games on their scheduleevery year that it’s the kind of rivalry they really don’t miss. But it’sneat.”
Florida dropped Miami in 1988 because it wanted to play a “morenationalschedule.” Hurricanes fans accused the Gators of pulling out because Miamiwasdominating both the Gators and the national scene.
Spurrier wanted to put the Hurricanes back on when he became coach in1990but, with the SEC expanding, there was no room on the schedule.
That changed recently, when the schools got room for an extra game in2002and 2003. They immediately called each other to schedule a home-and-homeseries.
Fate has hastened their reunion, with no canoe at stake.
“Rivalries come and rivalries go,” Miami receiver Santana Moss said.”Wehave so many. After Tuesday night, we can say what it’s going to be like.Butright now, it’s just a game. It’s the Sugar Bowl.”