I know, I know, we should focus on this year before we worry about next year. Especially when we’re chasing a national title. But there is one small piece of news that’s worth putting out.
Florida and Wake Forest will play in next year’s Orange Bowl Classic on December 20, 2014 in Sunrise, FL. The other game is Florida State and South Florida.
The Gators are perennial competitors in this event, but they typically don’t play anybody too strong in this game. In years past, Florida has played (from December 2013 going backwards) Fresno State, Air Force, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Richmond, Winthrop, Temple, and UAB, with only Richmond coming away with the victory.
It’s always the game right before Christmas break, and the reason the Gators always participate in the event is because the ridiculous NCAA rules do not allow the school to pay for student-athletes’ transportation home from the campus. But several schools found a loophole- nothing prevents the school from paying for players’ transportation home straight from a game. So the Gators travel to South Florida every year to play this one game and afterwards, the players go straight home.
In any case, it’s nice to see Florida schedule a relatively difficult opponent. Next year’s team is going to be younger than this one, and they could use the adversity test.
