Gator Bowl 2012, Ohio State Vs. Florida: The Urban Bowl Is Here

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In what could be one of the more intriguing matchups of this bowl slate, the Florida Gators take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2012 Gator Bowl from EverBank Field in Jacksonville, FL.

The intrigue of course surrounds the recent hire by Ohio State of former Florida head coach Urban Meyer. In 10 years as a head coach, Meyer owns an impressive record of 104-23, and his .814 winning percentage is the 10th- best in the history of major college football. Meyer, of course, led Florida to a pair of national titles during his six years in Gainesville.

Meyer has said he won’t attend the game, but having recruited the majority of Florida’s current roster, and knowing that he has probably had some input in Ohio State’s game plan, it will be hard not to see the impact he has on both teams.

Additional drama for Ohio State comes in the form of the recent announcement from the NCAA that the Buckeyes are banned from bowl consideration next year, meaning Meyer’s first foray with his new team into the postseason won’t occur until at least 2013.

Florida is currently coached by Meyer’s successor, Will Muschamp, and he guided the Gators to a 6-6 mark this season, which included a disappointing 3-5 finish in the SEC. UF opened the season at 4-0, but a winless October (0-4), had the team at .500 coming down the stretch. The Gators alternated wins and losses during a four-week stretch in November, with the finale being a 21-7 setback at home to non-conference rival Florida Stat

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/2012/1/1/2672738/florida-vs-ohio-state-2012-gator-bowl-game-preview/in/2377108

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