GameDay: Florida

Less than two hours! Excitement!

Jason Kaneshiro writes about the long trip to Florida, and previews the game.

On the field, the Warriors - who ended last season in the Sugar Bowl but enter today's game as 35-point underdogs - went through their final preparations yesterday and McMackin confirmed that junior Greg Alexander would start at quarterback against the Gators.

...McMackin said he will seek out the 3,000 or so Hawaii fans expected to attend the game, including those who made the trip from the islands and mainland supporters.

"I think it's awesome that they made the trip here to show their support and it'll mean a lot to the players and coaches," Donovan said.

Stephen Tsai writes about UH's preparations for the game.

After training for two days in Atlanta, they arrived in Ocala, Fla., Thursday afternoon.

McMackin wanted a walk-through practice in The Swamp, but knew there would be distractions. UH's road practices are open to the Hawai'i media, family members and close friends.

As a compromise, the Warriors worked out for an hour on the lawn next to the hotel pool.

After that, they boarded two buses. A sheriff and several police officers on motorcycles led the buses on the 40-mile drive to the Gators' campus.

In The Swamp, the Warriors went through their usual scoring drill. After that, they practiced their new ha'a. They will perform it at the end of pre-game warmups today.

Ferd Lewis is already preparing us for a loss. No, Ferd! No!

And Dave Reardon reminisces about his time working in Florida and how he misses the fun Steve Spurrier brought to the Florida program.