Florida, Miami embrace spotlight

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida and Miami have the college football stage to themselves for 3½ hours Saturday — a new chapter in their once-heated and storied rivalry.

The eighth-ranked Gators and the rebuilding Hurricanes will usher in the 2019 season inside a packed stadium in Orlando, surrounded by sideline celebrities and in front of a coast-tocoast television audience.

“Everybody’s watching,” Florida receiver Freddie Swain said. “Who doesn’t like attention?”

The winner surely will revel in the spotlight, and both teams have embraced the opportunity to set the tone for the season.

“What are they going to see?” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “What’s our stamp? When every college person in the country turns on their TV, what’s their thought when they see the Florida Gators? We have to go out there and live up to that on the field. What do you want them to think about you?”

The Gators certainly think highly of themselves, especially after notching 10 victories in Mullen’s first season and closing out that inaugural campaign with resounding victories against Florida State (41-14) and Michigan (41-15).

Miami coach Manny Diaz, who spent two years working for Mullen at Mississippi State, can only hope for something similar in his first season as a head coach. The team’s former defensive coordinator inherited a team mixed with holdovers and holes.

“I want to find out can we handle adversity,” he said.