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? 

   

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?

   

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? 

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?

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?

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?

   

        

   

Alabama-Florida: Start The Drumroll

   Let me be the first (or maybe the second or third) to say Florida will flummox Alabama in the SEC title game at the Georgia Dome.

   A standing O to the Crimson Tide for an amazing win at LSU under immense pressure. (Didn't Nick Saban have more state troopers protecting him from the LSU loonies than the quarterbacks had linemen surrounding them?) Credit to the stout Tide defense and to resourceful quarterback John Parker Wilson.

   Still, Bama won in large part because of an LSU hole at quarterback. Freshman Jared Lee ain't ready for SEC prime time, yet the Tide still had to go into OT for the win.

   In Nashville, Florida led Vandy 35-0 after 18 minutes. The Gators have beaten their last four SEC foes by 30-points-plus each. Tim Tebow is playing like the Heisman Trophy winner he was last season.

   Nick Saban has a young squad that has exceeded expectations by a country mile. Urban Meyer has a championship-ready team that is ripping through the SEC like a tornado.

   Go (to the national title game), Gators.

   Who's your pick?

   

Take Me Out To The Brawl-Game?

   So the schools in the Athens (Ga.) area shut down Friday in deference to the Georgia-Florida game.

   The next day.

   In another state.

   This is big, and we're not just talking school administrators' overreaction to a few absentees. Can you remember the last time an SEC game not involving an unbeaten team has generated such a build-up?

   Both have potent offenses, with the league's premier quarterbacks -- Tim Tebow and Matthew Stafford -- at the helm. (Which one would you prefer on your team?)

   Florida's defense is rated tops in the SEC despite starting no seniors, Georgia's not far behind.

   If that's not enough, there's the carryover from last year's controversial end zone dance by the Bulldogs after a touchdown. (Coach Mark Richt says he green-lighted it, but only for the 11 players on the field, not the entire roster.) Florida has not forgotten.

   By the way, these are the heaviest penalized teams in the league. Given the emotions, expect flags to fly about all day in Jacksonville.

   Do you anticipate "extracurricular activity," as the announcers say?

   It's tough to confidently pick a winner. (The gamblers are clear, supporting Florida as a 6 1/2-point favorite, which seems a bit high.)

   From our perspective, too close to call. Who's your winner?

   

    

    

What We Learned, No. 2: Two Big QBs Give Teams Big Edge

   In a league with a dearth of quarterbacks (see No. 5), Tim Tebow and Matthew Stafford stand out. Not because of their prodigious height, but their high football IQs.

   Tebow, who was so geeked up before the LSU game that he seemed to need a tranquilizer, helmed a masterful team effort by Florida in a 51-21 win. The Gators doused growing skepticism about their worth with a performance that returns them to the national title discussion.

  And when Percy Harvin's ankle heals, they might have to outlaw Florida's fleet receiver. Nobody will be able to cover him.

   How do you rate the Gators' chances to reach the BCS Championship game?

   Stafford, whose statistics rarely reflect his achievements, enjoyed his first 300-yard passing game in a worse-than-it-looks 26-14 win over Tennessee. The Bulldogs had red-zone problems' otherwise, they looked golden.

   Tebow or Stafford: Who's your favorite?

   Florida vs. Georgia is around the corner. Who do you like?

   

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Rumors floating that Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is playing hurt apparently made their way to Baton Rouge.
LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois was quoted as saying, "If we get a good shot on [Tebow], we're going to try our best to take him out of the game,. With his size and his heart, it's hard to get a clean shot. I think every lineman wants to get a good hit on a Heisman Trophy winner."
The comments surely made their way straight to the bulletin board in the Gators' locker room. Just a little extra spice for a game that hardly needs it, Florida and LSU being the past two national champs.
Usually, college players popping off have no ramification. Still, let's see if a Gator slips in a chop block Saturday on an unsuspecting Jean-Francois. Whatever happens, Ricky, c'est la vie!

What We Learned, No. 4: Something Amiss In The Swamp

   Yes, Florida gutted Arkansas 38-7, but the Gators figured to put the Razor-hacks away sooner than the fourth quarter after their debacle a week earlier against Ole Miss.

   Tim Tebow, suffering from Heisman hangover, was so subdued late in the game that coach Urban Meyer coaxed him into a mid-air chest bump. Amazing to say that a quarterback guilty of one pick all season has declined, but it's true for Tebow.

   Do you see the same thing I'm seeing with Florida?

   Next up: LSU, which kicked back over the weekend and watched things unfold in its favor (a s0-so Florida, a so-so Alabama, a so-long to Auburn). I don't the Reptiles' chances against the Tigers.

   What's your take on the game? 

2nd Weekend Lesson: What Was Meyer Thinking?

   Here's what I saw of Urban Meyer on Florida's last possession in their 31-30 loss to Ole Miss, if the TV guys calling the game were correct on their details:

   --Needing only to pick up about 20 yards for a winning field goal, he calls for home-run passes on first and second downs that fall incomplete, putting the Gators in an unenviable third-and-long;

   --After a 9-yard run, with the ball placed inches from the first-down marker by the officials, Meyer appeals the spot -- which, after video review, got the ball placed back a yard;

   --With a third-stringer at left guard and no running back behind him, Meyer calls the blatantly obvious play -- a Tim Tebow keeper to the right side. Because there was no disguising it, Tebow is stuffed.

   And Meyer coaches the Gators out of a possible win.

   Am I being unfair here? Did you agree with the play-calling?

   AP poll voters demoted the Gators to No. 12, USA Today's to No. 13. Obviously, Florida is superior to teams ranked higher, but the punishment fits the crime of losing to the Rebels.

   Where do you rate the Gators?

     

   

Another Urban Legend Story?

   No hard feelings, says Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead, even though Urban Meyer allegedly lied to him during the recruiting process. Snead, who faces Florida, was quoted in a book about recruiting that Meyer told him the Gators were recruiting Tim Tebow as a linebacker, implying that he would not be competing with the future Heisman Trophy winner. Snead says he looked elsewhere after discovering the truth. Meyer denies the player's account.

   Who do you believe?

   Tebow's numbers this season aren't much better than a linebacker's, so I get the feeling the Gators offense is ready to detonate. Maybe this week.

   Gator fans: Worried about the offense yet?