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Hurricane Floyd was nothing compared to this

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Bryan Rosenbaum

The state of Florida has officially survived Hurricane Floyd; now they must be able to make it through three key college football games tomorrow.

Not that Florida, Florida State and Miami fans will pull together and enjoy seeing each other to win, though.

No. 1 Florida State travels to North Carolina State with revenge on its mind. Last season, Seminole quarterback Chris Weinke threw six interceptions in a humiliating loss to the Wolfpack.

Although FSU bounced back to play in the national championship, showing it's better to lose early in the season than later, they never forgot what happened. It was, after all, only their second Atlantic Coast Conference loss in history and the first one they suffered at home.

The team that defeated the Seminoles in last season's Fiesta Bowl, Tennessee, enters "The Swamp" to play Florida, a team they haven't beaten in Gainesville since 1971.

Screaming for attention and respect, the Volunteers return with virtually their entire team intact, yet many people aren't giving them a chance against No. 4 Florida simply because the crowd will be too loud.

There never are many questions regarding Steve Spurrier's offense, but the Gator defense has been a cause for concern - they have given up a combined 53 points and nearly 800 yards passing against Central Florida and Western Michigan.

Never mind the fact that they scored 113 points against those teams, the Gators are going to need to halt Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin and running back Jamal Lewis, something no team has been able to do since Nebraska clocked them in the 1998 Orange Bowl. Like always, expect fireworks and the occasional halfback pass.

Down in the Orange Bowl, Miami hosts Penn State in a No. 9 vs. No. 3 matchup.

In last week's nail-biter against Pittsburgh, linebacker Lavar Arrington's stupid 'roid-rage antics on the Panthers' punter cost his team two 15-yard penalties and nearly cost his team the game. Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, Arrington's penalties were overshadowed by him blocking a last-second field goal.

Penn State showed that they are vulnerable, even just two weeks after playing a near-perfect game against Arizona. If Penn State shows anywhere near the same focus they did in that game against Miami, they should roll.

Not that you should count out the Hurricanes. Miami did look impressive against Ohio State in the Kickoff Classic, but without Edgerrin James, Miami will have a difficult time running against the nation's best defense.

Some of the best games of the season involve Florida teams this weekend. Familiar sight? Get used to it, because they'll be around for a while.