COLLEGE FOOTBALL / BOWL REPORT : SUGAR: FLORIDA vs. FLORIDA STATE, Monday : Seminoles May Need Shotgun

Florida State abandoned its preferred I-formation for a shotgun, hurry-up attack in scoring 28 points to overcome a 31-3 Florida lead in the Nov. 26 game that ended in a 31-31 tie.

“It makes it a little easier for the line to protect the quarterback and for the quarterback to see the field,” said quarterback Danny Kanell, who struggled against Florida, then righted himself and completed 18 of 22 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown in the fourth.

The I-formation is favored at Florida State, but when tackle Juan Laurenano injured his knee on Dec. 9, the first day of practice for the Sugar Bowl, the Seminoles found themselves short an important lineman. Then Todd Fordham suffered a leg injury on Wednesday that has slowly responded to treatment.

That leaves Jesus Hernandez as the lone tackle with appreciable game experience and could send the Seminoles into the shotgun more often, which is to Kanell’s liking--”every quarterback wants to throw the ball,” he said--and to the consternation of Florida, which has memories of the nightmare in Tallahassee, Fla.

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Florida State receiver Kez McCorvey is bored with Bourbon Street.

“I keep looking for a good fight and I can’t find one,” he said, referring to the civility of the Florida and Florida State fans thus far, going into New Year’s Eve. “I’ve been looking for a couple of necks broke, a couple of heads chopped off, but nothing. What’s wrong with New Orleans?”