GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Florida coach Urban Meyer believes Florida International will be in a bowl game in the next two years.
It might help if the Golden Panthers stopped playing powerhouse programs like Alabama and Florida.
The top-ranked Gators (10-0) take a break from the rugged Southeastern Conference on Saturday to play fledgling FIU (3-7), a 45-point underdog still looking for a signature win.
Meyer insists his players won't overlook FIU, even though they have rival Florida State next Saturday and a potential national championship elimination game looming against No. 2 Crimson Tide a week later in the SEC title game.
``I probably have a little more respect for the Florida athletes and South Florida athletes than (others),'' Meyer said. ``I think it's going to be a good football game. I think this is going to be a team that's going to be a bowl team in the next couple years.
``We have great respect for them and we're going to give the very best we can and try to get 11 wins.''
The Golden Panthers joined the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2005, but are winless in 16 games against teams from the Bowl Championship Series conferences. Most of those games haven't even been close, including a 40-14 loss at Alabama to open the season.
This one could get ugly, too.
The defending national champions have the nation's longest winning streak at 20 games, rank 14th in scoring offense, eighth in rushing offense, second in total defense and first in scoring defense. The Gators also are playing at The Swamp, where they are 30-2 under Meyer.
Florida went unbeaten in the SEC regular season for the first time since 1996, clinching it with a 24-14 victory at South Carolina last week.
``The bottom line is we're 10-0, we've won 20 straight and our guys know that and they feel very honored right now,'' receivers coach Billy Gonzales said. ``They deserve it. They've done a heck of a job. It's a tough deal to go through the SEC conference and win every game. That's tough, and a lot people sometimes take it for granted.
``We preach to our players every time, 'Don't ever take it for granted. Take every snap and understand how precious it is.'''
The Gators have gotten the message.
``We're playing FIU, but believe it or not, we've been practicing hard like we practiced for previous games - South Carolina, Georgia,'' linebacker Ryan Stamper said. ``The players are probably like, 'Man, we're still out here practicing hard for FIU?' But that's what it takes for us to come out there and be productive like we have been in the past.''
Stamper and his teammates know what's ahead, and with the finish line and maybe a shot at another national title in sight, they insist there's no chance of a letdown now.
``We know what's on the line,'' Stamper said. ``We pretty much know what it takes to win and we're going hard.''
FIU hardly looks primed to pull an upset.
The Golden Panthers are giving up nearly 500 yards and 34 points a game this season. And their best player, receiver/return man T.Y. Hilton, has been slowed by injuries.
Coach Mario Cristobal even said this week he might consider using two quarterbacks against the Gators, sharing snaps between starter Paul McCall and backup Wayne Younger.
``Each quarterback does good things,'' Cristobal said. ``We'll see how Florida comes out and plays us, but they're both ready to play and both capable of playing.''
Although the Gators declined to talk about plans for playing backups, there's little doubt they would like to get quarterback Tim Tebow, linebacker Brandon Spikes and other starters out of the game early and turn things over to the backups.
``Never breathe easy,'' safety Ahmad Black said. ``You never know. Anything can happen.''
