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TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Ticker) -- There may have been no more important rivalry in the 1990s than Florida State and Florida, and the new decade promises more of the same. Five times in the last seven years, the winner of the November meeting between the schools has gone on to play for the national title. And that does not take into account the mutual dislike that extends from players to coaches to alumni. "You don't need anything added to this game," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said. As usual, the stakes will be high at Doak Campbell Stadium as both teams again enter with national title hopes. Miami and Florida State rank second and third, respectively, in both major polls and have the same positions in the latest Bowl Championship Series rankings. Florida holds a 26-16-2 lead in the overall series, but the Gators are just 4-7-1 against the Seminoles under Steve Spurrier, who owns an overall record of 111-23-1 at the school. The one tie in that span was in 1994, when the Seminoles scored 28 points in the fourth quarter for a 31-31 deadlock. Depending on your allegiance, that game is known as "The Choke at Doak" or "The Rally at Tallahassee." Spurrier has yet to defeat Florida State on the road (0-4-1) and the Tallahassee struggles of the outspoken Spurrier must make Bowden smile, if not publicly. "I have a lot of respect for his coaching ability," Bowden said. "I don't think there's a feud going on between he and I. It's just that I would like to whip him and he would like to whip me." Bowden's chances for a third straight win over the Gators depend on the right arm of Chris Weinke, who needs just 129 yards to pass Ben Bennett as the all-time leading passer in the ACC. Tonight is also the final opportunity for Weinke to impress the voters for the Heisman Trophy. Weinke leads the nation in passing effeciency and has thrown 30 TD passes this season. One of his favorite targets is Marvin Minnis, who has 1,513 receiving yards. The Seminoles could be a bit thin at running back after back-up tailbacks Jeff Chaney and Davy Ford suffered season-ending injuries last week. Florida has struggled at times on defense this season, and any lapses could prove deadly against the Seminoles. The Gators' defense looked good in a 41-21 win over South Carolina, but there were some major problems on special teams last week when the Gamecocks returned a pair of blocked punts for scores. Scoring has not been a problem for the Gators, no matter who is at quarterback. Jesse Palmer replaced ineffective freshman Rex Grossman and threw three TD passes last week. Palmer began the season as the starter, but lost the job after a loss to Mississippi State. After first leaning toward Palmer, Spurrier said he will use both quarterbacks this week and has yet to decide on a starter. The series has often featured a war of words and one of the first shots this year was fired by Seminoles defensive end Alonzo Jackson on Spurrier's choice at quarterback. "Whoever he puts back there can be put on the ground and that's what we're going to try to do," Jackson said. The Gators' answer to Minnis is freshman Jabar Gaffney, who caught seven passes for 168 yards last week, his sixth straight game with 100 yards or more. The Seminoles appear to have the edge defensively, where end Jamal Reynolds, a Lombardi Award finalist, heads a unit that is second nationally in scoring defense (11.0 ppg). Reynolds has 12 sacks. Bowden has 314 wins and can pass Amos Alonzo Stagg and move into sole possession of fourth place on the all-time Division I-A list with a triumph this week. Florida State owns the nation's longest home-winning streak at 34 games and is unbeaten in its last 51 games at Doak Campbell Stadium. The only tie in that span was against Florida in 1994.
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