2009 Preview: No. 1 Florida Gators
SportingNews.com
Sep 02, 2009
With the ammunition returning to Gainesville this fall, Florida could roll out of bed an hour before kickoffs and go 10-2 in the regular season. Quarterback Tim Tebow has mastered the spread offense, the defense returns every starter from last year and most victories could be a yawn away.
Ho-hum. Another BCS Bowl. No big deal.
"We know we're good," said senior linebacker Brandon Spikes.
Yet "good" would be a colossal disappointment for these Gators.
Good isn't Pasadena. And the Gators want more. They want to be remembered and celebrated as the first undefeated team in Florida history and the first program since Nebraska in 1994-95 to repeat as consensus national champions.
Anything less will feel like unfinished work and, yes, a failure. Tebow didn't return for his senior season to go to the Outback Bowl. A second Heisman Trophy would pale in comparison to culminating his career with a title-game masterpiece in the BCS championship at the Rose Bowl.
Spikes didn't shun the NFL to lose to Georgia as a senior. He returned to captain a defense that created 34 turnovers last season.
Title hopes hinge on Florida's ability to control expectations.
"I'm a Gator fan, I wouldn't (be happy) either," Tebow said about anything less than a title in 2009. "That's why we're out here working."
Repeating is easy to talk about but can take months of preparation to make a reality. The title is Florida's to lose when its powerhouse lineup collides with a schedule it can barrel through. Translation: Don't blow it.
The nonconference schedule, outside a home game against respectable Florida State, is laughable.
SEC West favorite Ole Miss? Not on the schedule.
SEC West defending champ Alabama? Not on the schedule.
LSU is the only SEC West power Florida faces, though the Tigers have won two straight over the Gators at Death Valley. Breaking that streak will be tricky in Florida's run.
But the Sept. 19 home game against Tennessee could hand Lane Kiffin his first career 50-point loss after his verbal assault on the Gators this offseason.
Now couple that winnable schedule with a defense that held Oklahoma's prolific offense to 14 points last season and an offense that has averaged more than 42 points per game in each of the last two years.
Domination could already be in the books.
Still, assistant coach Dan McCarney can't help but consider the logic that even the best thoroughbred teams failed to repeat as champions in the past.
"College football, basketball, NFL, NBA, pro baseball, pro hockey, you name it—it's tough to repeat," said McCarney, who coaches the defensive line. "There's something that's missing through the decades where teams have such trouble repeating as world champions. Will they keep the hunger? Will they keep the intensity? Will our staff be as unified and hungry and as tough and as demanding? Time will tell. We think we will. Working for Urban Meyer, that's what we expect."
No factor could hinder Florida's championship run more than an unsuccessful attempt to replace Percy Harvin, arguably the most dynamic playmaker in Gators history with 1,304 all-purpose yards last season.
The returning wide receivers showed promise in spots but never exploded behind Harvin. Speedy running backs Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey are the favorites to fill the wide receiver/running back hybrid, and Brandon James also could be the answer in that role.
"It's going to take a bunch of people stepping up to replace someone like (Harvin)," Demps said. "I'm just one of those guys."
Meanwhile, Tebow wouldn't mind proving to scouts that he can run NFL-style plays with ease, but expect this plan to be shredded halfway through the season in favor of the old, reliable Tebow.
Any other criticisms would be a stretch for the Gators. Even the backups on this team could be stars elsewhere. The only enemies looming larger than LSU or Georgia might be themselves.
Florida facts
2008 record: 13-1 overall, 7-1 SEC
Bowl: BCS championship, beat Oklahoma 24-14
Coach: Urban Meyer
Schedule (ET)
Sept. 5: Charleston Southern 7 p.m.
Sept. 12: Troy 12:21 p.m.
Sept. 19: Tennessee 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 26: at Kentucky TBA
Oct. 10: at No. 11 LSU 8 p.m.
Oct. 17: Arkansas TBA
Oct. 24: at Mississippi State TBA
Oct. 31: at No. 13 Georgia 3:30 p.m.
Nov. 7: Vanderbilt TBA
Nov. 14: at South Carolina TBA
Nov. 21: Florida International TBA
Nov. 28: No. 18 Florida State TBA
Three to watch
Tim Tebow, QB, Sr. Two national titles, one Heisman Trophy and an engraved speech. How does Tebow cap his career in Year 4?
Brandon Spikes, LB, Sr. All-American made 239 total tackles (142 solo) and 25 for losses in his three seasons.
Joe Haden, DB, Jr. First true freshman to start at cornerback on opening day for Florida now has 26 starts, 150 tackles and four interceptions in two years.
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