GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Florida 1, Notre Dame 0.

The Gators beat Notre Dame to Utah coach Urban Meyer Friday, luring him away from his "dream job" with the Fighting Irish.

Meyer snubbed Notre Dame, where he spent five seasons as an assistant, and agreed to coach the Gators, according to his sister.

Asked whether her younger brother had taken the Florida job, Gigi Escoe said, "Yes. It was a tough choice for him, but he's happy with his decision. He had two wonderful choices. He couldn't go wrong."

Meyer signed a seven-year deal worth $14 million, according to The Gainesville Sun.

His wide-open offense should be welcomed at Florida, where Ron Zook never could satisfy fans who became accustomed to Steve Spurrier's innovative system that was fun to watch and tough to stop. The Gators settled for Zook three years ago after Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan spurned their offers.

Meyer will quadruple his $500,000 salary and inherit a program with plenty of talent; the Gators finished 7-4, with three losses coming in the waning minutes.

But exactly why he chose Florida over Notre Dame was unknown.

"He didn't question his decision at all," Escoe said.

Meyer and Foley didn't return messages, and officials at both schools refused to confirm the hiring.

But Meyer's father, Bud, said his son had accepted the job.

"All the reports that are out there are correct," he said.

Meyer called a team meeting for Saturday morning, but Utah players felt like they knew what was coming.

"We kind of feel like he's leaving," offensive lineman Chris Kemoeatu said Friday. "It's not bad that he's leaving. If it was you, you'd probably leave too."

The Utes are 11-0 in their second season under Meyer, and are in line for a spot in the Bowl Championship Series.

Meyer, who also had success at Bowling Green before moving to Utah, has said he planned to coach the Utes in a bowl game even if he took another job.

Most figured it would be Notre Dame, but the prospect of rebuilding the Irish amid high expectations and tough academic standards might have been daunting. The Fighting Irish fired Tyrone Willingham on Tuesday after three seasons, and immediately targeted Meyer - whose contract included a clause allowing to leave for jobs at Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan.

He met with Notre Dame officials in Salt Lake City on Thursday. But Foley also was in town trying to work out a deal with the most wanted coach in the country.

Meyer will face equally high expectations with the Gators, but replacing Zook shouldn't be as difficult as following Spurrier.

Spurrier, who won the Heisman Trophy at his alma mater, won six Southeastern Conference championships and the 1996 national title during 12 seasons at Florida.

Zook was 20-13 when Foley and school president Bernie Machen fired him two days after an embarrassing 38-31 loss to Mississippi State in late October.

Machen said then that Meyer would be a candidate, mostly because of their previous relationship; Machen hired Meyer at Utah.

Meyer seemed like an obvious choice, but then Spurrier showed interest in returning to Gainesville. However, the ol' ball coach withdrew from consideration when Machen and Florida officials said he would be interviewed along with others after the season.

Spurrier signed a seven-year deal worth $1.25 million a season last week at South Carolina, vowing to turn the Gamecocks into the consistent champion he built at Florida.