College football: Troupe ends on high note

Troupe is the one who could do the scoffing now, but unlike the oustspoken Winslow, it's not in his personality to do so.

On Saturday afternoon in front of a record crowd of 90,407 inside The Swamp, Troupe put on a show in the final game of his Florida career, but it came in a losing effort as the Gators lost to No. 9 FSU, 38-34.

The 6-foot-4, 262-pounder caught four passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns, both of them 25-yarders. His second came with 2:50 left in the game in the back of the end zone and sent the fans into a frenzy as Florida took a 34-31 lead.

"Ben's made plays all year long. He's a great player and I'm going to miss him a lot," Gators head coach Ron Zook said. "I'm really proud of the type of player he is, but most importantly the type of person he is. He's going to have a great career in this game."

Troupe was Florida's leading receiver this season, finishing with 39 catches for 638 yards and five touchdowns. His combination of size and speed was on display all afternoon, as he broke tackles on his first catch, a 31-yarder, and got behind the coverage on both touchdowns.

His last one also showed his fancy footwork as he reeled in quarterback Chris Leak's pass in the back of the end zone and dragged one foot in bounds. Although it seemed to fire up his team and the crowd, Troupe saw how much time was left on the clock.

"Anytime you lose it hurts, but this one hurts bad because we know we could have pulled it off but we didn't," Troupe said. "It came down to the wire and that's why they play 60 minutes because you can't let your guard down."

One person who is glad Troupe won't be back in uniform for the Gators is Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden.

"He's good. But you guys already knew that," Bowden said. "We got two great tight ends in this state, both him and Winslow. And Troupe has to come out, and I'm voting for Winslow to come out. We need them both gone."

DEM'S FIGHTING WORDS: The Gators didn't take too kindly to the Seminoles players celebrating at midfield and dancing on top of the big 'F' painted on the grass. The police on hand didn't take too kindly to the melee taking place, so they broke out the pepper spray.

During the confusion, players from both sides were swinging helmets and throwing punches. Florida assistant strength and conditioning coach Matt Delancey caught a helmet in his head and had to be helped off.

"I was standing about 15 yards in front of it," Zook said. "I learned in 1981 you don't get involved in them. What happened to Matt, that's why you don't get involved in them."

Both teams tried to downplay the incident, but, at the same time, pointed out how bitter the rivalry still is. As the Seminoles trotted off with a Gator head held high, some of the Gators players stared them down until they exited the tunnel.

Just wait until next year in Tallahassee.

BAG OF TRICKS: Zook opted to go to a trick play to start the second half, hoping it would give his team a spark. It worked, as Leak pitched the ball to freshman wideout Andre Caldwell, who sprinted left and threw a pass back to Leak along the right sideline. The speedy quarterback raced 30 yards to the FSU 25, setting up his 25-yard scoring pass to Troupe.

"I was real excited when they called that play because I knew it was my time to make a play and my time to shine," Caldwell said. "So I just reared back, threw the ball and saw him open and it worked. We practice that play about three times a week."

EVERYTHING'S PEACHY: Representatives of the Peach Bowl and Outback Bowl were present at the game scouting the Gators. FSU is guaranteed a BCS bowl by virtue of winning the ACC, but Florida lost out on the SEC championship when Tennessee beat Kentucky earlier in the day.

With the loss, the Gators now likely are headed to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Jan. 2.

ETC.: Saturday's game was the last one in a Gator uniform for 22 seniors. The class of 2003 posted a record of 36-14 and are 26-6 in the SEC. ... By facing No. 9 FSU, the 2003 Florida squad tied a school record for most ranked teams played in one season (No. 3 Miami, No. 4 Georgia, No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Arkansas and No. 12 Tennessee). ... Florida is the only school in the BCS rankings (as of Nov. 24) to own wins over two of the top seven teams in the BCS poll. Including the FSU game, Florida has faced three of the top eight teams in the BCS and five in the top 10.