Keating, Florida governor working out bet on Orange Bowl game

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Gov. Frank Keating and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are working on a deal for the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3 between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 3 Florida State in the national championship game.

Keating said Thursday he is taking his time deciding what to bet, saying he wants to enjoy it, because, "of course, OU will win."

Keating was in Tallahassee, Fla., on Tuesday to speak with Bush at a banquet when the topic of the Orange Bowl surfaced.

He told the crowd he wasn't allowed to talk about the presidential election or partisan politics, but he was going to talk about something that mattered to Floridians -- OU football.

Keating has bet on the outcomes of the OU-University of Texas football games with Jeb's older brother, Texas Gov. George W. Bush.

George W. Bush paid off his latest bet of barbecued beef with Keating after the Sooners beat the Texas Longhorns, 63-14, in the Cotton Bowl.

The two Republican governors started the friendly rivalry before the 1995 OU-Texas game. That game ended in a tie.

Since then, Keating has won two of the five bets, including the biggest wager, barbecued ribs and chopped beef for more than 5,000 Oklahomans on the tab of the Texas governor.