Carlos Alvarez to Serve as Mr. Two Bits for #UFvsFSU
Wednesday, November 27, 2013 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The cartoon in The St. Petersburg Evening Independent of Oct. 15, 1971 illustrated the state of the Gators heading into their annual clash with Florida State.
A towering female figure in an FSU sweater loomed over a small UF player. Both figures wore team sweaters with their records on the front: FSU 5-0, UF 0-5.
The caption read: "You Remember Me ... Your Little Sister?"
It was former Gators receiver Carlos Alvarez's senior season.
Alvarez had never lost to FSU in his All-American career. However, the host Gators entered the matchup as a two-touchdown underdog to the Seminoles, led by quarterback Gary Huff and whose linebackers coach that season was a guy named Bill Parcells.
Dating back to the final game of the 1970 season -- a 14-13 home loss to Miami -- the Gators had lost six consecutive games.
"Morale was devastated,'' Alvarez said.
The night before the game the Gators held a players-only meeting at Florida Field. The tone was urgent and the message clear.
"We decided to really put everything behind us and think forward,'' Alvarez said.
The next afternoon before a then-record crowd of 65,109, the Gators pulled a surprise: instead of relying on the arm of quarterback John Reaves to outduel Huff, Reaves spent most of the day handing off to running backs Tommy Durrance and Mike Richbroke.
The final score: Florida 17, Florida State 15.
"What I learned from that game, that in college football, really anybody can beat anybody,'' Alvarez said. "Georgia Southern proved it. Any team can beat any team on the right day. The odds are incredibly high in certain cases, but it can happen because the game is an emotional game and it's a team game.
"I know the odds don't look good here for Florida, but I have no doubts we can beat them."
Alvarez plans to do his part on Saturday when the 4-7 Gators, who have lost six consecutive games and will finish with a losing record for the first time in 34 years, host undefeated and No. 2-ranked Florida State.
Alvarez will be at Florida Field as UF's honorary "Mr. Two Bits."
Alvarez lives in Tallahassee and is well aware of the mood surrounding Saturday's 58th meeting between the schools.
Few are giving the injury-ravaged Gators, coming off a 26-20 loss to FCS-opponent Georgia Southern, a chance against FSU quarterback Jameis Winston and the Seminoles, who have scored 40 or more points in all 11 games this season.
Alvarez has drawn inspiration this week from that 1971 game, his final one against FSU. The Gators never lost to the Seminoles during Alvarez's career (1969-71). He caught two touchdowns from Reaves in a 21-6 win over the Seminoles in 1969.
His role Saturday is to get the crowd excited and offer support to a team that is looking at FSU as its bowl game.
"It's a great message that [Mr. Two Bits] sent over the years,'' Alvarez said. "It's quite a tradition that he started on his own. I was hoping one day I'd get a chance to go out there.
"I love it happening against FSU, because for me when I played, that was always the biggest game no matter what,'' Alvarez said. "It still is since I live in Tallahassee."
