Florida Is Well-Armed in Victory

If Steve Spurrier figured he had room against Maryland to tinker with his quarterbacks--well, he was right.

The Florida coach benched Heisman Trophy runner-up Rex Grossman at the outset of the Orange Bowl for missing curfew five days before the game, and held him out until 6:03 remained in the first half.

That final score: No. 5 Florida 56, No. 6 Maryland 23.

Grossman came in with a 14-10 lead and turned the game into a blowout in front of 73,640 at Pro Player Stadium, finishing with 248 yards passing and four touchdown passes.

Against a Maryland defense that was no match for the Gators’ speed--especially their track team of receivers--Florida set Orange Bowl records with 659 yards of total offense and 456 passing yards.

A bit of intrigue remains.

Benching Grossman allowed Spurrier to give fellow sophomore Brock Berlin his first start, precisely at the moment Berlin is weighing transferring to Miami. (The Hurricanes, by the way, are on the Gator schedule beginning next season in a renewal of the series.)

Berlin was good and bad, completing 11 of 19 passes for 196 yards and leading Florida to two touchdowns, but he also had two passes intercepted.

As for his future: It’s undecided.

“I’m actually going to wait a few days, be with my family,” Berlin said. “I haven’t made up my mind. We’ll just wait and see.

“Rex came in and did an excellent job. He’s done a great job all year.”

As Berlin played deep into the second quarter, Grossman stood on the sideline, his helmet on, waiting.

“I was pacing up and down, to tell you the truth,” said Grossman, unsure if he’d play at all.

When Spurrier finally sent Grossman in--one possession after Berlin’s second interception--Florida’s lead was still four because Maryland failed to capitalize fully on the turnovers.

That lead would grow. Quickly.

Grossman missed a receiver deep on the first play, then completed six of eight passes for 61 yards on a drive that ended with a 15-yard pass to Taylor Jacobs in the back of the end zone. (Jacobs finished with 10 receptions for 170 yards and two touchdowns.)

Florida’s lead was 21-10.

The Gators got the ball back with 1:24 left in the half.

Plenty of time.

Florida went 64 yards in six plays and Grossman found Jabar Gaffney in the end zone with a four-yard pass--with three seconds remaining in the half.

After two possessions, he had completed 11 of 14 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and Florida led, 28-10.

Grossman completed 20 of 28 passes in the game and led Florida to touchdowns on six consecutive possessions after entering the game.

“I think he might have a little more experience,” Maryland Coach Ralph Friedgen said. “I think the other kid has a real good arm and a real good release. I think Grossman sees better, and his timing is a little better.”

Spurrier, who has been accused of playing mind games with quarterbacks before--Grossman isn’t the first Heisman contender he has benched--had only praise afterward.

“Rex gave us a nice lift. Brock was struggling a little bit. I just felt it was time Rex got into the game. Rex was really sharp. He might have had his best game of the year.”

The Gators (10-2) had one of their better ones too.

“They’ve got some great athletes,” said Friedgen, whose team finished 10-2 in his first season as coach.

“I was in the NFL for five years, and the only team that was better was the Oakland Raiders. They’ve got great team speed and an overall great unit. Our offense tried to hang in and battle the whole way, but they just have more players.”

Florida had the services of running back Earnest Graham, who missed the Gators’ loss to Tennessee because of a sprained knee.

He ran for 149 yards and two touchdowns in 16 carries.

Jacobs was one of two 100-yard receivers for Florida. Gaffney had 118 and two touchdowns on seven catches.

Maryland couldn’t keep up, and Florida could only lament losses to Auburn and Tennessee that took the Gators out of the national championship hunt as well as the Southeastern Conference title.

“We didn’t win much this year,” Spurrier said. “We did win the Orange Bowl and go 10-2 and finish in the top five of the country. We’d still rather be ordering rings.”

They can look to next year, perhaps.

Grossman said he is recruiting teammates not to leave for the NFL.

As for Berlin: “I hope he stays,” Grossman said. “He’s a great quarterback. It’s just too bad we’re in the same class. If something were to happen to me, our team would be better off if he’s here. But we shouldn’t be greedy.”

Grossman knows this: Sometimes you have to wait your turn.

“I didn’t have any extra motivation or bitterness,” he said. “I just tried to win the game.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Rolling Big Numbers

(tabular data not included)