If there's a football game, one of the two teams in it almost assuredly will be playing with a chip on its shoulder. The lack of respect card is played all the time, and Florida has embraced that identity here in Arizona.
Yesterday, it was Brandon Siler and the defensive players talking about how they wanted to prove to the nation they were one of the best defenses in college football, respect they believe they have not gotten all year.
Today, it was wide receivers Andre Caldwell and Dallas Baker saying no one was giving Florida any chance to beat Ohio State next Monday.
Baker said he even heard the lack of respect in his hometown. When he went home to New Smyrna Beach for Christmas, he went to the mall and put a hood on so that everyone would not recognize him. He heard a couple of seventh graders talking, and one of them said he couldn't wait for Florida and Ohio State to play because he knew Ohio State was going to kill Florida.
Did that conversation really happen? Maybe, maybe not. Baker has admitted in the past he likes to tell a good story, and this one sent a swarm of reporters in his direction as word spread that even people in Florida thought the Gators were going to lose.
Ohio State is playing for history on Monday, trying to become the first Buckeye team to start the year at No. 1 and stay there until the end. Florida's players want to clear of any mystery of why they are here. They believe everyone in the world expects Ohio State to win easily, and they know the only way to change that opinion is to win Monday.
As usual, they are exaggerating the negativity a bit. The media liked the Gators enough to move them ahead of Michigan in the final poll, so it's not like they get zero respect. They are single-digit underdogs to Ohio State, so it's not like the oddsmakers expect a rout. But there definitely is a feeling these two teams are on different planes. We'll find out Monday if all that anger building up with the Gator players helps them upset the Buckeyes.
Yesterday, it was Brandon Siler and the defensive players talking about how they wanted to prove to the nation they were one of the best defenses in college football, respect they believe they have not gotten all year.
Today, it was wide receivers Andre Caldwell and Dallas Baker saying no one was giving Florida any chance to beat Ohio State next Monday.
Baker said he even heard the lack of respect in his hometown. When he went home to New Smyrna Beach for Christmas, he went to the mall and put a hood on so that everyone would not recognize him. He heard a couple of seventh graders talking, and one of them said he couldn't wait for Florida and Ohio State to play because he knew Ohio State was going to kill Florida.
Did that conversation really happen? Maybe, maybe not. Baker has admitted in the past he likes to tell a good story, and this one sent a swarm of reporters in his direction as word spread that even people in Florida thought the Gators were going to lose.
Ohio State is playing for history on Monday, trying to become the first Buckeye team to start the year at No. 1 and stay there until the end. Florida's players want to clear of any mystery of why they are here. They believe everyone in the world expects Ohio State to win easily, and they know the only way to change that opinion is to win Monday.
As usual, they are exaggerating the negativity a bit. The media liked the Gators enough to move them ahead of Michigan in the final poll, so it's not like they get zero respect. They are single-digit underdogs to Ohio State, so it's not like the oddsmakers expect a rout. But there definitely is a feeling these two teams are on different planes. We'll find out Monday if all that anger building up with the Gator players helps them upset the Buckeyes.
