ESPN.com's preseason bowl projections for the 2011 college football season are out, and they have the Florida Gators ... staying in Florida at the Gator. Both Mark Schlabach and ESPN BCS analyst Brad Edwards put the Gators in Jacksonville's Gator Bowl, which would make Florida the SEC's No. 6 team at season's end.
The Gator Bowl matches SEC No. 6 against Big Ten No. 4, though, and while Schlabach thinks that means the Gators will meet frequent bowl foe Iowa in Jacksonville, Edwards projects a rematch with Ron Zook, as he slots Illinois into the Gator.
Florida has the second-most Gator Bowl appearances with eight, and is tied with Florida State for most wins with six, but hasn't played in the Gator Bowl since 1992, when the game was still a pre-New Year's affair. Those Gators topped North Carolina State, 27-10, to win the first bowl game of Steve Spurrier's Florida career.
And back then, Zook was Spurrier's defensive coordinator.
Would you be satisfied with a trip to the Gator Bowl? More importantly, would you buy tickets for a second game in Jacksonville this season?