It may be a little less than three weeks before Christmas, but the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl got its wish with a Jan. 2 game between the University of Florida and The Ohio State University, which is a rematch of the 2007 BCS National Championship game.
For weeks leading up to the selection of the teams that will play in the 67th annual TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl, both association members and staff had looked at the possible Gators vs. Buckeyes matchup as “intriguing,” but they had to wait to see which teams were available after nine other bowls chose before them.
“Two years ago when we thought about bringing back the Big 10 and SEC as our conferences, we envisioned having these types of big-named programs,” said Greg Smith, chairman of the Gator Bowl Association.
The Gator Bowl Selection Committee, led by Chairman Stephen Tremel, who is also immediate past chairman of the Gator Bowl Association, voted 12-0 in favor of the two teams.
Smith talked about the “three pillars” that contributed to the selection process: “heads in beds” or hotel room nights, ticket sales and television ratings.
“We want to make sure a team, and Ohio State is a great example, brings their fans and will support our wonderful city,” said Smith.
While Smith doesn’t expect to see as many Gator fans contributing to the number of hotel nights during the holiday, he did expect to see them help with ticket sales
“We all know the Florida Gators are right down the road in Gainesville and have a lot of fans here. We expect them to be out in big numbers and support ticket sales,” said Smith.
Smith pointed out that the Ohio State fans were doing their part to help ticket sales.
“I think they have sold most of their allotment through pre-sales. We are hoping they go over their allotment, so they have already showed some strong interest,” said Smith. “Tickets are available and they will be available above and beyond team allotments.”
The last pillar is television exposure and, along with the football game, television ratings could be helped by the added attention from Ohio State’s hiring of Urban Meyer, former head coach of the Florida Gators, as the new coach for the Buckeyes, as well as an appearance by NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the game. TaxSlayer.com is a major sponsor of Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports racing team and he will drive onto the field prior to the start of the game.
“It is really important to us and our title sponsor to have great TV ratings. These two teams bring a lot of excitement and have large fan bases throughout the country,” said Smith.
Neither Smith nor Buckeyes Head Coach Luke Fickell could confirm if Meyer planned to attend the game.
Fickell confirmed that he would bring the Buckeyes to the game and try to add some positive history for the university at the Gator Bowl.
Ohio State lost to Clemson 17-15 during the team’s last trip to Jacksonville in 1978. The score wasn’t as memorable as Head Coach Woody Hayes throwing a punch at Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman, who was run out of bounds on the Buckeye sideline after intercepting a pass during the final minutes of the game.
“My wife actually asked me that this afternoon, she said, ‘Someone told me that the last time Ohio State was at the Gator Bowl...’ I said, ‘I know,’” said Fickell. “I’ve done a pretty good job of controlling myself on the field. We’d like to definitely put a completely different spin on the Ohio State history in the Gator Bowl, I can assure you of that.”
Florida Coach Will Muschamp is also trying to change some history after the Gators finished the last two regular seasons with records of 7-5 and 6-6 respectively.
“Right now, at Florida, we are very disappointed with a 6-6 season. It’s not acceptable,” said Muschamp.
He will have to make changes without the help of Director of Strength and Conditioning Mickey Mariotti, who left Florida to join Meyer at Ohio State. Muschamp looks at the position as critical to the development of the program and will take some time to find a replacement.
“We need to get stronger. We need to get more physically and mentally tough, and it starts there in the weight room. That’s a critical hire for us,” said Muschamp.
Despite this season’s lackluster finish, the Gators will appear in their 21st consecutive bowl game. This is Florida’s ninth trip to the Gator Bowl with the last in 1992, a 27-10 win against N.C. State.
The game will be played at 1 p.m. Jan. 2 and it will be televised on ESPN2.
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