Gators, Again; Does Another Title Await In '09?

Closing thoughts on another awesome SEC season that ended Thursday night on the highest of notes for the nation's best league, year in and year out:

--Yeah, it was ragged at times. Crept along because of the overly deliberative officiating crew. Lacking the anticipated offensive fireworks. But for football fanatics, it was a thing of beauty, prettied up by the defenses dealing admirably with Oklahoma's no-huddle and Florida's semi-spread. Urban Meyer may be the Gators boss man, but defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was the sideline star.

--Florida's wins over Oklahoma and Alabama were eerily similar: dead-even games for three quarters, then Gators dominate the fourth. It speaks to their will to win, and their coaching.

--Tim Tebow for MVP? Come on, give it to somebody on the Florida defense, which was superb. Me, I'd find a lineman, seeing as how the Gators' front often crushed the mighty Sooners line.

--Maybe the voters were swayed by Fox announcer Thom Brennaman, a solid play-caller except when he was campaigning for Tebow for sainthood. A little too much, Thom.

--Sam Bradford's rare misjudgment at the end of the first half may have cost the Okies the game. With 10 seconds left, he passed to a receiver shy of the goal line. The ball was picked by Florida. Had it been caught by the red shirts, the clock may have expired. Bradford knows better to throw it in the end zone or the seats, giving him (or his kicker) another snap.

--Percy Harvin can flat freakin' fly -- and is tough, to boot. What a threat.

--Only three seniors started for the Gators, meaning they'll be ranked No. 1 next preseason if the other 19 return. That won't happen, given all the NFL prospects in their junior class, but Florida could withstand the loss of a few and still open 2009 in the same spot where they finished '08. The biggest if is Tebow, still with a year of eligibility. Of course, to listen to Brennaman, he might just forego football and pledge to a life of missionary work.

Selah.

Sooners Than Later, Gator: Liking Florida Less And Less

Florida still looks like a winner to me in the BCS Championship showdown. Maybe it's the absurdly long building between the SEC/Big 12 title games 33 days ago, but I am wavering slightly in my belief that this game belongs lock, stock and barrel to the Gators.

Doesn't Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen working after-hours as the new head coach at Mississippi State affect game preparation?

Can Florida, even with a month of practice, adequately prepare for the Sooners' phenomenal no-huddle offense?

Isn't Oklahoma's defense, which allowed 25 percent of its touchdowns in mop-up time, better than the numbers show?

Didn't the pass-happy offense carve out the most mind-boggling statistic of this era: 11 sacks allowed all season?

For all of Tim Tebow's achievements, isn't Sam Bradford the quarterback you'd choose to win one big game?

I see that the point spread has crept up to four and beyond. I'm headed in the other direction. Put a BB-gun to my head, and I'll pick Florida. But I no longer will be surprised if the Okies are doing the celebratory hokey-pokey.

You?

Plenty Of Gator Goings-On

   Sounds as if Mississippi State got their man. New coach Dan Mullen is young (36), energetic and an eight-year protege of Urban Meyer. Florida's offense, under coordinator Mullen, is the nation's best outside the Big 12.

   Good for Mullen, maybe bad for the Gators. While no decision has been made on whether he will work the BCS Championship game, most assistants hired elsewhere as head coaches bow out before a bowl. If he stays, you have to wonder how focused Mullen will be.

   Should Mullen leave now or stay through the bowl?

   You also have to wonder if Tim Tebow is tight with Mullen, whose departure could prompt the quarterback to turn pro before his senior year.

   Tebow can weigh his decision on flights to and from New York this weekend. He is one of three finalists for the Heisman Trophy, the others being Colt McKoy and Sam Bradford.

   Surprised that Graham Harrell did not get an invite? The short list indicates that Tebow placed in the top three, ahead of Harrell, who was considered the favorite at one point in the season.

  OK, with the number of candidates whittled down, who gets your vote? 

   

'Tis The Season For Coaching Craziness

   It's the time of year when most SEC news is generated by the old guys wearing headphones on the sidelines.

   --Auburn's insistence that its head coach resigned -- and was not fired -- was denied by Tuberville. Not Tommy, but Olive -- his mother. 

   She claims to have it on good authority that her son was forced out. Tommy has not commented, a wise move given his intent to continue working for the university. Still, somebody needs to clear this up.

   Which account do you believe?

   This just in: Georgia assistant Rodney Garner interviewed Monday for the Auburn gig. 

   --It's par for the course that colleges will try to cherry-pick the coaching staff of a BCS finalist, which is happening at Florida. Mississippi State has shown interest in offensive coordinator Dan Mullen. Another Dan, assistant head coach McCarney, was linked to New Mexico, but it filled the position Monday with someone else.

   Shouldn't defensive coordinator Charlie Strong be generating interest? Not only does he have an impressive resume, but colleges inspired to do the right thing would get bonus points by hiring Strong and reversing the decline in black head coaches, now at three nationwide.

   Is Strong ready to serve as head coach?

   --Two former Gators coaches kept Florida from a No. 1 ranking in the USA Today coaches poll. Steve Spurrier and Ron Zook listed UF second behind Oklahoma. Had either reversed his vote, the Gators would have wound up on top.

   Spurrier's affection for Florida is well-established. Should he have helped out the ol' alma mater?

  --Phil Fulmer will answer the next two months to Tennessee's university president as a special assistant. His salary: $12,500 per month, plus benefits.

   His duties will include assisting the college planning for $48 million in budget cuts. Fulmer may be the right guy, but is anybody cringing at a guy getting paid $6 million not to coach by the school's athletics department advising them on saving money?

   Anyone bothered by this?   

Be Careful What You Wish For? Nah

   Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, in what amounts to trash talk for this model of modesty, said some weeks ago that he would relish the opportunity to attack a Big 12 defense, where basketball-type scores became common this season.

   Wish granted. The Gators draw Oklahoma for the BCS marbles. Who knows? Maybe the super-charged offenses will produce a defensive-minded NBA game count.

   The Sooners have eclipsed 60 points in five straight games. Not to be outdone, Florida has averaged 49 points over the last nine games in the nation's best defensive league, by far.

   Thank goodness we have more than a month to decompress from the compelling game at the Georgia Dome. Sure, the other one-loss defeats can gripe, but this match-up would be the people's choice.

   Florida wound up No. 2 in the BCS ratings, No. 1 in the Associated Press. Oklahoma was the opposite. So both coaches can use the lack-of-respect angle to pump up their teams.

   We'll analyze this later -- after our decompression is done. 

No. 1 vs. No. 2, Part II: Title Game Featuring Top Heisman Candidates?

   Tim Tebow did nothing to hurt his Heisman Trophy redux chances at the Georgia Dome. Without Percy Harvin, he shouldered a larger burden than normal and generated 31 points for Florida against a mighty defense. He completed three third-down passes for touchdowns and scored the other himself.

   I suspect he moved up in the Heisman race . . . to No. 2. I think it still goes to Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, who completed a masterful season himself with a 61-point avalanche against Missouri, all with a broken non-throwing hand that was operated on Sunday.

   Which one would get your vote? Or do you like Graham Harrell or Colt McKoy?

   Too bad the ballots are due before the BCS championship. Otherwise, the Heisman could be settled on the field, head-to-head, same as the national team title.

   Still, Tebow vs. Bradford provides a juicy angle to the game that is chock-ful of them.

   Should bowl games be played before Heisman votes are due?

   

Ten Observations From The Georgia Dome

   1. Did you anticipate a blowout after the first possession by each team? Three-and-out for Alabama, an eye-blink touchdown drive by Florida.

   2. What was more unlikely than a long, two-play scoring march by plodding Alabama?

   3. What on earth was the Bama special teams coach thinking on the fake field goal without its real kicker on the field?

   4. Was there ever a more crucial bonehead play than Javier Arenas catching the kickoff and stepping out at the four-yard line, which allowed the Gators to break a tie before halftime?

   5. Why did Urban Meyer go to the locker room with three timeouts in his pocket? Couldn't the quick-strike Gators have gotten into field-goal range?

   6. How many shifts of momentum did you count? At least six, right?

   7. Did those who gamble on Alabama (plus 10 points) kiss Meyer on the TV screen when his sideline infraction could have turned the last Gator touchdown drive into a field goal, which would have put Florida up by seven instead of 11?

   8. Can you now appreciate the value of Percy Harvin to Florida -- by his absence, seeing as how the Gators offense got little out of their running backs?

   9. Are Florida's reliable receivers the most underappreciated part of the team?

   10. Did you notice how the scouting report on John Parker Wilson proved true: Put him in passing situations and he cannot beat you.

   And this bonus observation:

   10. Didn't this game achieve the impossible by nearly living up to its billing?  

  

And Your SEC Champion Is . . .

   I've seen Florida's offense treat defenses like they were paper mache. I've seen the college quarterback of the decade in blue and orange. I've seen a bright -- and, just as important, flexible -- shape and mold an offense to match his players' abilities.

   I cannot pick against the Gators and Urban Meyer. They have more weapons than Alabama. And Crimson Tide quarterback John Parker Wilson, who is effective when defenses are stacked against the run, will face pressure like he's never seen.

   Now, for the point spread, which has climbed a half-point back to 10: I've seen too many spectacular teams expected to run roughshod over unflashy foes get dragged into a scrum. Romps happen to squads without stellar athletes and play-makers. Bama has both.

   Yard-eaters Percy Harvin and Chris Rainey probably will play for Florida, but injuries will keep them from reaching high gear. Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy sequel has equaled the original, though not without their help.

   Admittedly, I've witnessed many games that have turned from anticipated classics into actual duds.  In this, the most titillating SEC Championship ever and a virtual national title semifinal game to boot, I see the Crimson Tide keeping it close but not lighting a cigar.

   Gators 24, Tide 17.

   Am I close to your prediction?

   As for Tebow's Heisman chances, I think he can overcome Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, but it will take some heroics or huge numbers. I don't envision the latter, but a game-winning drive capped by him bulling across the end zone would send a second trophy back to Gainesville.

   How do you evaluate Tebow and the Heisman? 

Will the 'Dog Have Its Day?

   As Percy Harvin's chances of playing Saturday rise and fall daily like the Dow Jones average, here is more on the eye-opening 10-point favoritism bestowed by oddsmakers on Florida against Alabama.

   There is recent precedent for a No. 1 team to enter a game as a double-digit underdog. In the 2001 Orange Bowl, top-ranked Oklahoma was a 10-point 'dog to No. 2 Florida State. In a good omen for Bama, the Sooners triumphed 13-2.

   A story in the Palm Beach Post quoted one oddsmaker as saying he and four colleagues agreed Sunday that the Gators deserved the status of 10-point faves. This doesn't mean they believe Florida is superior by that amount, only that equal amounts of money will be wagered at that number on each team.

   If you were a betting man, who would you side with?

   As far Harvin, I wouldn't put it past Urban Meyer to be playing games with the media on his condition. Any crafty coach would do the same.

   Harvin, indeed, is the X factor -- with the game itself and for those who bet on it.

   Do you believe Harvin will play? And, if so, be effective?

Gators Favored By 10? Here Is Why

   The nation's No. 1 team is a 10-point underdog to the No. 4 team. Huh?

   Yes, those who invest on the outcomes of college football and side with Florida in the SEC championship game are counting on a Gators' win by at least 11 points.

   And those who support Alabama with their hard-earned bucks can collect if the Tide loses by up to nine points.

   What do you think about the betting line?

   At first blush, it's hard to believe, especially with Florida's Percy Harvin ailing.

   But, all season long, oddsmakers have gradually elevated the spread on Gator games to head-scratching level -- and Florida keeps covering. UF went 9-2 against the line, a shocking record given how most teams hover around .500 in this category.

   Another factor is that coach Urban Meyer never calls off the dogs when victory is sealed. He plays to the final horn, so the Gators often score garbage points against a deflated or second-string defense.

   So, if Florida leads by a touchdown late in Saturday's game, Meyer will keep trying to make it two TDs.

   It's an approach beloved by Florida betting backers.

   If you were wagering, which team would you favor?

   Anybody think Bama will win straight up?

   

Heisman? No, But Tebow Belongs In The Picture

   Tim Tebow was pissed when some Florida State fans celebrated an injury to teammate Percy Harvin. He asked Florida coach Urban Meyer to call his number on the next few running plays. Meyer obliged, and an angry Tebow bulled across the goal line.

   That's what a Heisman Trophy winner is made of.

   Yet, a few hours later, Oklahoma's Sam Bradford, with a much slighter build than Tebow, scrambled toward the end zone and went airborne, putting his body at great risk. Bradford was nearly knocked into the first row, but he dusted himself off and led the Sooners over Oklahoma State.

   Bradford gets my vote. With two other blanks on the ballot, I'm unsure among Tebow, Texas' Colt McKoy and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell. I'm sleeping on it.

   Does Tebow belong in the top three? If so, where?

You Couldn't Draw This Up Any Better

   Ultimately, it doesn't matter if Florida is ranked only fourth in the BCS while getting No. 2 recognition by the Associated Press poll.

   The winner of the SEC title face-off Saturday is surely headed to the national championship game.

   It's essentially a BCS semifinal at the Georgia Dome, with the winner playing Oklahoma, Texas or Southern Cal for all the marbles. Alabama is in with a win, of course, and Florida's computer ranking jumps up with a victory over No. 1.

    Now that the BCS ratings have settled that much, we're left to wonder on the point spread for Saturday (Gators by a touchdown over Bama?) and the status of Percy Harvin (will an ankle injury sideline the scary receiver/running back?).

   And ask ourselves: Is this the most anticipated league title showdown ever? (It is to me.)

   One loss between them, Florida against Ole Miss. Two sky-high rankings. Two brilliant coaches, Nick Saban and Urban Meyer. A delicious contrast in styles, Bama's traditional offense and the Gators' spread.

   Both did their part with wins by 30 points or more Saturday. Alabama flat-out crushed Auburn 36-0. Florida overcame adverse weather conditions and a hatin' crowd by smacking Florida State 45-15.

   Six days to kickoff. Counting down the seconds already.

   What's your key to the outcome?

   Would Harvin's absence make a big difference?

   How much would you pay for a seat in the Georgia Dome?

    

Rain May Make Saturday Predictions All Wet

   Predicted rain across the Southeast on the final Saturday of the regular season could impact games to different degrees.

   --For No. 1, Alabama, its power running game should not be thrown off against Auburn. The Tigers' only winning scenario is a 17-14 type of game, but they would have trouble hitting that total under sunny skies. Weather edge to Alabama.

   Worried, Crimson Tide fans?

   --For Tennessee, showers could put a damper on Philip Fulmer Appreciation Day and help Kentucky, which can get off the bowl fence with a victory.

   Now, for the three intrastate rival games:

   --Georgia Tech, which hardly ever passes, could benefit the most. The Yellow Jackets, who employ a post-modern wishbone offense, would welcome a slippery field against Georgia, which throws the 'skin extremely well.

   --Multi-faceted Florida is unlikely to be affected by any inclement weather, short of a blizzard. That won't happen in Tallahassee against Florida State.

  --With South Carolina, who knows? Steve Spurrier will X-and-O to the death to beat Clemson, but the Tigers have greater incentive assuming they want to remove the interim tag from coach Dabo Swinney.

    Which of the three SEC teams is most likely to stumble against their stately neighbors?

   Then there is the SEC-ACC brain bowl, Vanderbilt vs. Wake Forest. These are smart people, right? So they'll figure out how to cope with rainy conditions.

   One more thing: Can Florida climb higher than No. 2 with a butt-whipping of the Seminoles?

    

    

A Lawrence Welk Championship: A-One and A-Two?

   Thank you for trying, Associated Press voters. You elevated Florida to No. 2 behind top-ranked Alabama in your latest poll, potentially setting up the most scrumptious SEC championship game in league annals.

   Pending the outcome of this week's games -- the Crimson Tide versus Auburn, the Gators against Florida State -- the ballots move the SEC closer to locking up a BCS championship game berth. If the Atlanta-bound pair avoid upsets on Saturday, your favorite league will be represented in the BCS title game.

   What are the chances of Bama and Florida stumbling Saturday?

   The Harris (coaches') poll did not agree with AP, situating Florida third behind Texas. And the computer-heavy BCS placed the Gators fourth behind the Longhorns and Oklahoma. Their opponent last Saturday, The Citadel, did them no strength-of-scheduling favors.

   In the long run, it won't matter where the Gators are today. Win, and they're in the Big One.

   Despite the Gators' recent pillaging and plundering, they may be the more vulnerable SEC finalist this week. Their starting defensive tackles may sit out with injuries, and FSU just hammered Maryland. Auburn can salvage something out of a joyless season by beating the Tide, but its offense is unlikely to bruise Bama's formidable defense.

   Who do you think the SEC champion would play in The Big One?

     

Percy-vering: Florida's Harvins Muddling Heisman Race?

Florida's offensive numbers with Tim Tebow at the helm have been so mind-boggling that 512 yards -- in the first half -- Saturday barely turned heads. Of course, the fall guy was The Citadel. The Gators' 70 points moved the needle hardly at all for Tebow in the Heisman Trophy chase.
The Texas Tech-Oklahoma game was widely viewed as a winner-take-all Heisman duel between Graham Harrell and Sam Bradford. If so, give the hardware to the Sooners' Bradford.
That's a short-sighted way to evaluate a season-long process. Here's hoping voters factor in other elements.
Does one of the Big 12 boys deserve the trophy?
Also wondering, with so much made of Midwesters splitting their votes among the Big 12 quarterbacks (also Colt McCoy of Texas), would southeast ballots have enough Percy Harvins on them to cut into Tebow's chances? After all, Harvin is the nation's premier multi-purpose player, leading a team in line for a national title shot in rushing AND receiving.
Which of the two Gators would get your vote?

This Scenario Sucks: One SEC Team In BCS?

    You wouldn't be a college football fan if you are not losing sleep these days about your team or league getting screwed by the whack-job BCS system. A CBS Sportsline columnist has come up with a plausible chain of events that could leave Florida out of the big picture.

    Frankly, any two-loss team should not have any complaints. On the other hand, should the Gators win out in the regular season and lose on a buzzer-beating field goal to Alabama, they would no doubt be considered among the nation's elite eight.

   Would that be unfair to the Gators?

   Another less than farfetched outcome is one-loss Southern Cal getting left out in the cold. That's a problem to be discussed on a Pac-10 blog but is included here to point out that the system does not pretend to be fair.

   It does strive to assure a legitimate title game, and here's hoping one emerges.

   Should the NCAA and ESPN have waited until a discussion driven by the president-elect played out before signing a deal through 2014 that effectively shuts out a playoff?  

Hide Your Eyes, Unless You're A Gator?

   With some trepidation, I looked at The Citadel's scores for this season, fearing evidence of a tissue defense that might allow Florida to slap a hundred on it. Urban Meyer's twisted concept of playing a game full-out, regardless of the score, is well-documented.

   Well, The Citadel has been roughed up thrice, allowing 44, 45 and 47. Once was to Clemson, the other two to reputable smaller colleges Appalachian State and Georgia Southern.

   So, any carnage Saturday at The Swamp could be bearable to neutral obversers. Unless . . 

   Of specific interest (to me, anyway) is how long Tim Tebow plays now that he's back in the Heisman Trophy chatter. With Tebow looking every bit as good as last year, when he won the thing, and the other top candidates likely to split votes in the Midwest, their stomping grounds, Tebow could get a bookend trophy.

    How many points will Florida ring up?

   Should/Will Meyer keep him in the game late?

   Where is Tebow on your Heisman ballot?

   

        

   

Oh, Meyer: Gators Playing Like a No. 1

   Let's be honest. If you were a college football pollster ranking teams based on how good they are now, is there any doubt?

   Florida, baby.

   The Gators are destroying teams, most recently South Carolina in Steve Spurrier's worst defeat ever. Urban Meyer says this team is superior to '06, which happened to win a national title.

   How do you compare the two?

   The numbers defy belief. My favorite: In the first quarters of the past six games: Florida 101, Foes 0.

   The Gators whipped the Gamecocks and their No. 1 defense (in the SEC)  by a half-hundred.

   Two AP ballots set aside the fact that Alabama and Texas Tech are unbeaten and had the Gators on top.

   Tough to argue with them. Right? 

The Greater Gators

   You read it here first. Well, maybe not first, but pretty damn early: Florida over Alabama in the Georgia Dome.

   The soon-to-be betting public apparently agrees. ESPN checked with oddsmakers, who say the Crimson Tide would be at least a touchdown underdog to other BCS championship game contenders.

   As for Florida, it would be favored against everybody but the one most likely to be left out in the cold: Southern Cal. USC would be punished by its weak Pac-10 schedule, over which it has no control.

   Do you think Florida or Alabama would get lanced by the Trojans?

   It can be cruel, this BCS system. (Am I right, people?) Speaking of which . . . 

A Playoff System? Fahgeddaboutit

   The pending deal between ESPN and the BCS to carry the big bowl games through 2014 forestalls a college playoff deep into the next decade. Here is why that's slightly bad news for the SEC:

   A plus-one system, favored by league commissioner Mike Slive, or a straight four-team mini-tournament almost surely would include an SEC member. The conference is too strong to be excluded from a final four, which means it would have a shot at the title each year.

   The current system, confined to a one-off championship game, is dicier for the league. Its own title game can just as easily eliminate a BCS contender as affirm one.

   The stars aligned for the SEC this year in that, barring a late-season collapse by Alabama and Florida, whoever wins in Atlanta is BCS-bound. Not so in other seasons.

   Your thoughts on an expanded playoff as it relates to the SEC?

   And why wait for SEC title talk? Who do you like in the Georgia Dome?