Ohio State Football: Are Buckeye Fans Even Thinking Much About the Gator Bowl?

Usually at this time of year, college football fans are focused on their bowl game and how they plan on ending their season on a high note.

But around Ohio State, there doesn't seem to be too much buzz about the Gator Bowl game coming up against the Florida Gators.

And who could blame them with the hype of the Urban Meyer hire?

The team has gone through so much turmoil in the past 12 months and have had three different head coaches since Memorial Day.

Frankly, Buckeye fans, for the most part, are just ready to forget all about 2011 and all memory of one of the toughest years in program history.

That is not meant to offend Florida fans in any way, shape or form, but that's just the attitude most Buckeye fans have had.

They just want to forget almost everything about this past year and just move on.

And although there will be no postseason game next season, the future is by far the most exciting thing around the program at the time.

With a recruiting class full of strong defensive athletes and plenty of underrated offensive players to go with a strong coaching staff, the future of OSU football looks to be in good hands.

Maybe it's because the BCS is the norm, or maybe because Buckeye apathy is very high, but there is very little excitement about Monday's bowl game.

Ohio State has yet another chance to win their first bowl game over an SEC opponent after the Sugar Bowl win against Arkansas was vacated by the school.

There hasn't really been much talk about the Gator Bowl, mostly because of how disappointing the two teams have been this season.

The Buckeyes have never been as bad as they were this season in quite a long time, and the Gators have been struggling in their transition from Urban Meyer to Will Muschamp.

Talent-wise, these two teams are a far cry from the ones that faced each other in the 2007 BCS National Championship game.

That's not to say that this Gator Bowl won't be a good game. These two teams do have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball that have yet to reach their potential.

But in terms of name recognition and popularity, the Gator Bowl has surprisingly been a quiet topic around Columbus and most of college football.

It's weird for Buckeye fans to not think about a January bowl game, but this year is very different.

With all that has gone on and what's yet to come, it's so hard to think about the Gator Bowl, which is probably why not too many Buckeye fans are paying attention to the game.

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