Game Thread BCS Championship Game, tOSU vs. Florida - Jan 8th

[kentuckybuckeye]

kick blocking?

Florida's has been prolific in blocking punts and field goals this season. The blocked punt against Vanderbilt decided the outcome of the game as UF scored a TD off the turnover, winning 25-19. Also, the field goal that was blocked against south carolina determined the outcome of that game as UF won 17-16. Without these blocks, UF would have probably ended the season 9-3 and wouldn't have played in the SEC championship. Of course, that means the Buckeyes wouldn't have being playing them in Glendale.

Considering UF was able to block kicks against practically everybody, any thoughts on UF's kick blocking ability in the matchup against tOSU.

With tOSU's offence I doubt we will have to worry about a punt being blocked. If we can score over 40 points against scUM then why worry about UF? I'd be more worried about the Heisman jinx. I personally don't think it will happen, but it would be the only way for UF to make it a game.

 

[DaddyBigBucks]

Florida's has been prolific in blocking punts and field goals this season. The blocked punt against Vanderbilt decided the outcome of the game as UF scored a TD off the turnover, winning 25-19. Also, the field goal that was blocked against south carolina determined the outcome of that game as UF won 17-16. Without these blocks, UF would have probably ended the season 9-3 and wouldn't have played in the SEC championship. Of course, that means the Buckeyes wouldn't have being playing them in Glendale.

Considering UF was able to block kicks against practically everybody, any thoughts on UF's kick blocking ability in the matchup against tOSU.

In practice, our coaches time how long it takes to get kicks off. I don't know what their numbers are, but I know that they have specific goals and work at it until snapper, holder (if applicable) and kicker (punter) all do their jobs quickly enough to get the ball away in the right amount of time.

Against Florida, they may shorten the time that they give the punter to get the ball away. With this much time to prepare, it's doable. I recall on one occasion this year, I think it was the Illinois game, when the opponent came after a punt. Trapasso executed a one step punt flawlessly and got the ball away long before anyone got there.

Of course, this was a situation when the other team rushed 11. If they have even one person back to field the punt, you're giving them an awful big head start when you execute a one step punt.

So whether we work on blocking schemes or change snap-kick timing, you can bet that our coaches will be working to combat Florida's ability to block kicks. Nevertheless, I will be watching our first punt intently.

Hopefully, Mr. Trapasso gets as many chances to execute the one step punt as he had against Minnesota.

 

[BuckeyePride]

With tOSU's offence I doubt we will have to worry about a punt being blocked. If we can score over 40 points against scUM then why worry about UF? I'd be more worried about the Heisman jinx. I personally don't think it will happen, but it would be the only way for UF to make it a game.

UF don't need any jinx to stay in the game. This is a championship game...and they'll come to play.

 

[osugrad21]

DDN

Florida's Meyer believes Gators have credentials

Ohio native says his team can match the speed of the Buckeyes.

By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Tuesday, December 12, 2006
COLUMBUS ? Florida coach Urban Meyer found a common thread in the winners of the BCS bowl games last season ? Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and West Virginia ? all of them having placed an emphasis in recruiting on speed and then putting their play-makers in open spaces and letting them dazzle.
The Buckeyes, of course, are just as swift this season, but Meyer doesn't believe his squad will be overmatched in the national title clash.
Asked during a teleconference Monday whether he's ever seen a team with such a collection of fleet-footed receivers, Meyer scoffed: "Yeah, I can think of a team ? the Gators. We're not bad at wide receiver, either."
While candid and seemingly self-assured during the interview, Meyer admitted he's going to be less outspoken in the future after the controversy he generated by blasting the BCS system while lobbying for a spot in the championship game.
"You're going to see a big change in that," he said. "What happens is the focus gets put on the coach and not on the players, and I've always believed this was about our players.
"You're going to hear very little from me about those types of opinions. First of all, my opinions don't matter. And second of all, if it takes the focus away from the players, I think it's wrong."

 

[osugrad21]

Canton

Meyer: Facing Smith rallies ?D?
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER

When Troy Smith leaves New York today, the Heisman Trophy winner will return to Columbus with a trophy weighing more than 20 pounds.
He also will have a bull?s-eye big enough to be seen in Gainesville, Fla. The Ohio State quarterback won?t just be the focus of second-ranked Florida on Jan. 8. He will be the Gators? motivation in the Tostitos BCS National Championship game.
?That will rally the defense,? Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer said Monday during a conference call. ?They?re going to be challenged by a great player. The guy?s the best player in the country. We faced the runner-up the week before (Arkansas running back Darren McFadden).
?That was a great rallying point. That motivates a defense. A great player such as Troy Smith ... to contain him will be difficult.?
Meyer said Smith?s Heisman Trophy is a greater motivation than the controversy over who was No. 2.
Florida leap-frogged Michigan in the final week for the right to play Ohio State for the national title.
Smith will take a 25-2 record as a starter and the country?s longest win streak into Arizona. But he will be going against the country?s 10th-ranked defense, sixth in pass efficiency and against the run.
The OSU senior will carry more than the Heisman weight into the game. He?ll try to reverse recent history: Five of the last six Heisman winners didn?t win the national title.
Florida?s pass defense allows less than 200 yards a game.
?Me saying Troy Smith is a great football player doesn?t mean that much because the whole country just named him the Heisman Trophy winner,? Gator co-Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison said. ?... He has the ability to make something out of nothing.?
The Gators handled themselves well against McFadden, holding him to just 75 yards in the SEC Championship game.
The Buckeyes are no stranger to Meyer. He was born in Ashtabula. He and Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel come from Earle Bruce?s coaching tree. In fact, Bruce remains a friend of Meyer and attends Florida practices.
Bruce hired Meyer as a graduate assistant in 1986 and ?87. That was three years after Meyer ended his minor-league baseball career after being a 13th-round pick in the 1982 major-league draft.
?He?s a great football coach with a great mind,? Bruce said. ?... He?s a great teacher of the game and an excellent recruiter. Plus, he?s a very hard worker. You put all that together and what does that mean? Generally that means great success.?
Meyer doesn?t think his friendship with Bruce will compromise the former OSU?s coach?s loyalty.
?Oh, he?s a Buckeye,? Meyer said. ?That?s one thing you know about Coach Bruce, and I wouldn?t have it any other way. ... I?m sure he?ll have scarlet and gray on that day.?
When Meyer accepted the Florida position, Bruce was the second person the 42-year-old coach talked to. The first was Meyer?s father.
?Other than my father, he?s been the guy who most involved in my life,? Meyer said of Bruce. ?Every career decision ... every year I try to have him evaluate our program. ... Other than my father, he?s the person I talk to more than anybody else.?

 

[osugrad21]

Link

TROY: LAYOFF NO PROB


By DAN MARTIN



December 12, 2006 -- By the time Ohio State plays Florida in the BCS Championship Game on Jan. 8, it will have been 51 days since the Buckeyes played a game.
And while many are concerned that the top-ranked team will have trouble with the long layoff, Heisman-winner Troy Smith isn't among them.
"I'm the only one who has had time off while I'm in New York this weekend," said the quarterback, who addressed dozens of high-school football players and coaches at the MSG Heisman High School All-Star Breakfast at the Hilton in midtown yesterday. "The rest of the team is back in Columbus, working hard. That's what we've been doing, so it's not going to be a problem."
That remains to be seen, since no team has ever had to wait so long to play in a championship game, and regardless of how much coach Jim Tressel is making his team work, it's not the same.

 

[osugrad21]

The year of Shoddy Field Conditions continues...even across the country

Link

Will stadium grass be pretty enough for Fiesta Bowl?


Scott Wong
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 11, 2006 07:59 PM It was hard not to notice this weekend. After enduring a recent cold snap and back-to-back weekends of high school state championship games, patches of turf at the Cardinals' home field looked a little beat up.

Now, some fans are wondering if the Bermuda- and Rye-grass field at University of Phoenix Stadium will be presentable for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day, when the country affixes its eye on Glendale.

Season ticket holder Bill Davis, who attended Sunday's Cardinals game, said today's fan watching the game from a posh corporate suite or on high-definition TV has higher standards when it comes to professional sports fields.

So do athletes.

"In the 1960s and 70s, players would be playing in the mud and it was no big deal, but today we expect perfect turf conditions," said Davis, a Tucson resident and former golf course greens keeper. "It's the same with golf. When Tiger Woods plays, he expects the course to be immaculate."

In late November, nighttime temperatures hovered just above the freezing mark. Those temperatures likely browned some of the grass, which sits outdoors on a retractable tray during non-game days.

The field has also seen more use in recent days.

High school championship games for Class 4A and 5A Division II were played at the stadium on Dec. 2. And on Saturday, the 4-month-old facility hosted the Class 4A and 5A Division I title games.

The Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks the very next day. The red birds play their last home game of the season against the Denver Broncos this coming Sunday.

Cardinals spokesman Mark Dalton, whose team is responsible for maintaining the field during the NFL season, said while the center of the field looked "discolored," he hadn't heard any complaints from coaches or players about loose turf or footing issues.

"Having played three football games in 36 hours, there was some wear that affected it aesthetically," Dalton said. "But from a performance standpoint, it was as good as it's been."

Just three weeks before the Fiesta Bowl, spokesman Shawn Schoeffler said the organization would evaluate the condition of the field after the Cardinals' last home game, then decide where new sod is needed.

After Boise State and Oklahoma duel in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, ground crews will cover the field with a second layer of sod for the first-ever BCS national title game, Schoeffler said.

Ohio State takes on Florida in that Jan. 8 match.

"We want to make sure the field is in the best possible shape for the four teams playing in the two bowls," Schoeffler said.

Both Cardinals and Fiesta Bowl officials said they backed having the series of high school championship games at the $455million multi-use facility, saying the experience of playing in an NFL stadium gives students a lasting memory. But Davis, the Tucson fan, didn't share in that sentiment.

"Those high school games were a mistake," he said, adding that the grass was too young to handle so much activity. "Rye grass roots are not that deep and having all those games just tear it up."

 

[osugrad21]

Link


By ROBBIE ANDREU
Sun sports writer



DOUG FINGER/ The Gainesville Sun

The nation views them as big underdogs. The Florida Gators prefer a more flattering image.

Destiny's Darlings.

"It was destiny for us, I think," junior linebacker Brandon Siler said Monday. "I think it was destiny for us to get here.

"Our team fights and claws and won't lie down. I think that's what happens to teams like that."

Whatever it is, fate certainly has been kind to the Gators this season.

Down the stretch, all the defining moments have gone UF's way -- from Jarvis Moss' blocked field goal on the final play against South Carolina, to Wondy Pierre-Louis' touchdown on a muffed punt by Arkansas in the third quarter in the SEC title game, to Southern Cal losing to UCLA, to the Gators leap-frogging Michigan in the final BCS standings.

Not to mention a lot of good fortune going all the way back to September.

Like the former head ball coach said a week ago, this is starting to look like the year of the Gator.

"There are so many plays that helped us get here," Siler said. "There isn't one that stands out. We've had so many big moments. I've been thinking (we're destined to go all the way) since the beginning of the season. Some of the things that have happened. ... some people lost when they had to lose and some won when they had to win.

"(USC wide receiver Sidney) Rice goes offsides (on a pass reception inside the UF 15 in the closing seconds). How big is that?"

There were a lot plays like that and it's added up to the Gators getting a national title shot against No. 1 Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game.

"We've had so many close calls," sophomore tight end Cornelius Ingram said. "Things are pretty much meant to be for us."

So much has gone right that the Gators don't seem to mind if the rest of the nation perceives them to be big underdogs in the Jan. 8 game.

The Gators say they have felt like underdogs all season, anyway. So, why change now?

"We control our own destiny," senior cornerback Reggie Lewis said. "We've been the underdog throughout the season. People have been talking bad about us, saying we give up too many points and we can't put up points. As long as we find a way to win, that's all that matters.

"We're 12-1 now and we have to bring home the title. If we win, what can the nation say about the Florida Gators then? They've got us as underdogs. I think we're a top team in the nation, too.

"People think we're a team that Ohio State is going to blow out. That's not going to happen. We're a talented team, just like Ohio State. We can match up with them day in and day out on the field. Coach (Urban) Meyer always says don't pay attention to how the nation thinks. It's about the team. Our team believes we can beat anybody on any given day."

The Gators haven't always looked good this season, struggling with consistency on offense and letting teams stay in games deep into the fourth quarter.

But 12-1, SEC champs, certainly looks good.

So, it's OK to call them underdogs.

"That's fine with us," junior wide receiver Andre Caldwell said. "Whenever we're in a corner we come out fighting like dogs. So, we don't see a problem with that. We're going to go out there and fight and give them everything we've got. The best team wins that day."

Said Ingram: "We don't really care if we're the underdogs. We're going in knowing we can beat (Ohio State). If we take care of business and we prepare the right way, it doesn't matter if we're underdogs. We're going in knowing we can beat them. That's been our mind set since they accepted us in the national championship game."

Who knows? Maybe Florida is destined to play its best game of the season in Arizona.

"We're going to prepare to do that," Lewis said. "Hopefully we'll come out on top that night. They're going to crown a champion after the game is over."

 

[osugrad21]

Link


By ROBBIE ANDREU
Sun sports writer




DOUG FINGER/The Gainesville Sun

After taking some criticism across the nation for his negative views of the BCS and his perceived lobbying for his own team, Florida coach Urban Meyer apparently has become more guarded in his comments.

During the team's bowl media day Monday, Meyer took a deep breath and counted backward from 10 to one when he received a question that could have easily provoked a volatile response.

In the eyes of the national media, you have no business being on the same field with this team. Is that motivation? Meyer responded with his countdown.

"See, I've learned. I made comments in this room before (that were criticized)," Meyer said after counting from 10 to one. "Watch how mature I am. You're going to hear a lot of nonsense out of my mouth from here on out.

"I'm going to start talking like a lot of these other coaches. ... I think we're going to take it one game at a time. We're going to play very hard. Ohio State's got great players. How's that?"

Meyer did eventually say he liked the underdog role in this game.

"I think that's great motivation," he said. "This is all about getting your players ready to play."

Meyer seeks feeback

Heading into the SEC title game, Meyer talked to Georgia coach Mark Richt to get a feel for what to expect in Atlanta.

As for getting an early gauge on playing in the national title game, Meyer has already turned to Texas coach Mack Brown, whose team won last year's national title with its win over Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl.

"I had a long meeting with Mack Brown when I was up in New York (last weekend)," Meyer said. "He was really helpful. We want to make sure our players have a great experience. Mack Brown is one (coach I've talked to). I'll visit with a few more before we go."

Coach can be a bear

Florida wide receiver Dallas Baker remembers a strange chain of events last year.

One day he was watching the movie "The Junction Boys" on television and thinking he could never play for a coach like Bear Bryant .

"Then they hire Coach Meyer and two months later we're doing mat drills," he said. "I started calling him Bear Bryant."

Baker will graduate Saturday from UF.

"It feels like Christmas is coming on Saturday," he said. "I don't think I'll get emotional because a lot of my friends are coming up and I don't want them to see that side of me. Maybe later that night with my mother."

Newest Gator arrives

Senior wide receiver Jemalles Cornelius has taken on a new role as father. His first child, a son, was born last Friday.

"It feels real good to be there through delivery," Cornelius said. "It's amazing. Being able to hold him is a real good feeling. It ain't about me anymore. It's about being there for him and his mom. It's a new responsibility for me."

Recruiting boost

Speaking of new Gators, Meyer said UF's appearance in the national title game is having an impact on recruiting.

"Football recruiting is about momentum," he said. "Everyone wants to be with a winner, everyone wants to be with a team that, hopefully in people's eyes, they do the right thing. I have noticed (a bump in recruiting)."

 

[OregonBuckeye]

UF don't need any jinx to stay in the game. This is a championship game...and they'll come to play.

We'll see. I still have a hard time believing people when they say it'll be a close game. Maybe I just haven't seen enough Florida or maybe they just play up and down to their talent level. From what I've seen, this game will be a blowout by 20 or more points for tOSU.

 

[Best Buckeye]

We'll see. I still have a hard time believing people when they say it'll be a close game. Maybe I just haven't seen enough Florida or maybe they just play up and down to their talent level. From what I've seen, this game will be a blowout by 20 or more points for tOSU.

If you , or the Buckeyes , forget for one moment that this is a championship caliber team who will show up for the game we could be in trouble.
They will be in shape both physically and mentally and have a will to win.
We probably are pretty equal on D and will have to beat them with the O.
Before the 2003 game I hung my hopes on the fact that "any team that can give up 28 points can be beat". Mich hung 39 on us.
That holds true for Fla . now too.

 

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Florida comfortable in underdog role vs. OSU
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Rob Oller
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

DOUG FINGER GAINESVILLE ( FLA . ) SUN Quarterback Chris Leak helped Florida (12-1) win three games by six points or fewer this season.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? In this sandy land of orange groves, the locals know better than most when fruit is ripe for the picking.
Considering that Buckeyes hold fruit, well, you get the picture. The Florida Gators, or at least their fans, smell an upset in the making. And all they need is to turn their noses south to catch a whiff.
Remember 2002? The Miami Hurricanes? Couldn?t lose? Favored to throttle Ohio State by 13 points in the national championship game being played right outside Phoenix?
This time, the cleat is on the other foot. This Florida team is a 7?-point underdog against the corn-fed unbeatables from Ohio. Not that the second-ranked Gators are predicting results similar to the OSU-Miami classic, but they are aware that the lack of respect they?re receiving outside Florida gives them something to bite into.
"Being the underdog is fine with us," junior receiver Andre Caldwell said yesterday. "Whenever we?re in the corner we come out fighting like dogs, so I won?t see any problem with it. We?ll go out and fight and give everything we got, and the best team wins that day."
Emphasis on that day. Florida has to win only once, Jan. 8 in Glendale, Ariz., and don?t think the Gators don?t know it. All they wanted was one shot at top-ranked Ohio State, and they got it when the poll voters leapfrogged them over Michigan and into the No.2 spot. The fact that controversy surrounded the decision makes the chip on their shoulders that much bigger.
"If it?s just us, then it?s just us," sophomore tight end Cornelius Ingram said. "That?s kind of been our mind-set the whole season. A lot of people didn?t count us in and a lot of people didn?t want us here in the national championship, but we really don?t care. We know we can beat this team if we take care of business."
The Gators (12-1) took care of business all but once this season, losing 27-17 at Auburn. Florida?s strength of schedule ranked 18 th in Jeff Sagarin?s computer ratings; OSU?s was 40 th. The Gators were 5-1 against teams ranked in Sagarin?s top 30; the Buckeyes were 3-0.
It?s not just that the Gators won 12 games but how they won them that makes Ingram think they are destined for greatness.
"We?ve had a lot of close calls, and things are pretty much meant to be for us," he said, "because if you go through the SEC and come out as conference champions, you should definitely have the opportunity to play for the national championship."
Florida?s up-and-down season ?if a 12-1 record can be considered up and down ? brings to mind Ohio State?s 2002.
Florida won three games by six points or fewer; Ohio State won five games by a touchdown or less in 2002. This season, meanwhile, the Buckeyes had only one opponent (Michigan) come within six points.
Gators coach Urban Meyer isn?t opposed to using the underdog label as a jab to his players? ribs.
"I like that. It?s great motivation. This is all about getting your players to play," he said, adding that playing against Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith provides even more incentive.
"Our guys have great respect for (Anthony) Gonzalez, (Antonio) Pittman and, obviously, that great quarterback," Meyer said. "And I would anticipate Ohio State would have a little bit of respect for what our defense did against (Arkansas running back and Heisman runner-up) Darren McFadden."
The Gators limited McFadden to 73 yards, 50 under his average, in the Southeastern Conference title game. But the sophomore also was slowed after suffering an injured ankle in the first quarter. No matter. When it comes to riding the underdog wave, any ammunition will work.
[email protected]

 

[CookyPuss]

Dispatch

Florida?s up-and-down season ?if a 12-1 record can be considered up and down ? brings to mind Ohio State?s 2002.
Florida won three games by six points or fewer; Ohio State won five games by a touchdown or less in 2002. This season, meanwhile, the Buckeyes had only one opponent (Michigan) come within six points.
Gators coach Urban Meyer isn?t opposed to using the underdog label as a jab to his players? ribs.

I continue to see references comparing the 2002 tOSU team to this year's UF team. I posted this elsewhere, but I think it bears repeating:

The comparison works in that UF is a lead by a coach in his second year at the helm whose team won multiple close games to make it into the NC game against a highly touted team. This is where the comparison ends.

The 2002 tOSU Buckeyes won that championship by playing highly disciplined and controlled games. At times they seemed capable of blowing the doors off of opponents, but the play calling was conservative. That Buckeye squad also boasted one of the nation's top FG Kickers in Mike Nugent for added insurance in those close games.

The 2006 UF Gators are anything but disciplined. They are the 2nd most penalized team in Division I-A. They run gimmicky plays that often stall drives that were otherwise moving along quite well. And they have an unreliable FG Kicker.

The 2002 tOSU Bucks were facing a scUM South squad that was undefeated coming off a championship season. They were overconfident and lacked the hunger of a team seeking that first championship. It wasn't just the media that had diahrea of the mouth prior to that game. I seem to recall Winslow and McGehee in particular lipping off.

The 2006 UF Gators face a tOSU squad whose only members of the 2002 championship squad were on the scout team as red shirts. They have been pumped as the #1 all year but have not had the head swelling of scUM South. You do remember what happend when a couple of guys shot off their mouths about ending games by the 3rd quarter and letting the backups finish? You think that conservative play calling by Tressel against Illinois did not have a point behind it? (No conspiricy theorists, I do not think Tressel kept the game close on purpose, but rather capitalized upon the situation when it presented itself -if not for the Beanie fumble, it likely would have been 24-0 at the half).

Sorry Gators, Troy and Co. will be ready come January 8th. UF may pull this one off but it will not be because our guys are fat in the head.

:gobucks3: :osu4:

 

[BB73]

cfn

The C.O.W. airing of the grievances followed by the feats of strength
I?m not saying I think Florida will beat Ohio State, however, were not exactly talking about Buffalo here. This is a very, very good team that?s being treated like a Green Party candidate. For some reason, no one appears to be taking the Gators, or the national title game, all that seriously even though the two teams are relatively even. Here are ten reasons why the Gators might beat Ohio State and be your 2006 national champion.

Relax Buckeye fans, the ten reasons why Ohio State might beat Florida are coming next week.

10. Switch the schedules around
What if Florida played Ohio State?s schedule? Northern Illinois, win. At Texas, with the way the Longhorn offense was playing in early September, win. Cincinnati, Penn State, at Iowa, Bowling Green, at Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota, at Illinois, at Northwestern. Win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win, win. Michigan? In the Swamp? Florida. I?m not saying Ohio State couldn?t or wouldn?t beat everyone on Florida?s slate, but considering the problems it had with Michigan, would it have gone unscathed with games against Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, and Arkansas? The Gators would be 12-0, or at worst 11-1, with the Buckeye schedule, which brings me to ?

9. Has Ohio State actually stopped a real offense?
We all saw against Texas A&M what the Texas offense is like when Colt McCoy wasn?t Colt McCoy, and on September 9th against OSU, he was just starting to figure out what he was doing in the second game of his career. The only other offense the Buckeyes faced with the skill, speed and athleticism like Florida?s attack was Michigan?s, while LSU, Auburn and Tennessee all have Ohio State-like talent at several spots. The Buckeyes have sort of faced a spread offense like Florida?s, beating Northwestern like a drum, but this is the souped up version. Can the OSU corners handle the speedy, talented Gator receivers?

8. Urban Meyer is really, really good
Meyer is now 61-11 in six years as a head coach while doing the near-impossible in making Gator fans start to forget about the Steve Spurrier days ? at least a little bit. While Meyer?s known for rocking in year two at a program, highlighted by his run with Utah to the Fiesta Bowl, Florida was supposed to be a year away before the spread attack finally had the right pieces in place. Give Meyer and his staff more than two weeks to prepare and their teams don?t lose. Jim Tressel is a fantastic big game coach, but Meyer?s an equal when it comes to preparations, and is nearly peerless when it comes to adjustments.

7. The Florida run defense
Yeah, Michigan?s run defense was supposed to be a rock and Ohio State ran through it, but Florida?s is better and more talented. Only four teams ran for over 100 yards on a Gator run defense that allowed just 2.8 yards per carry. The defensive front is physical enough to hold up against the fantastic Ohio State O line, while the back seven is fast enough to keep Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells from busting off any backbreakers (just ask Darren McFadden and Felix Jones). Texas held the Buckeyes to 79 rushing yards.

6. Field goal, schmield goal
Florida can?t make field goals. That could turn out to be the Achilles heel in the title game, but the rest of the special teams are amazing helped mostly by freshman punt and kick returner Brandon James and the punting of Eric Wilbur. Maybe Chris Hetland?s 33-yard field goal against Arkansas has officially broken him out of his year-long funk.
5. Chris Leak
50 games, 11,000 passing yards, 87 touchdown passes, 13 rushing touchdowns, one SEC championship. Leak has seen it all, and after beating Arkansas, done it all while surviving the Ron Zook era to become a steady, yet mellow, leader of the Gators. Troy Smith might be unflappable, but Leak is the textbook definition always maintaining an even keel if he throws a pick, throws a touchdown pass, or gets replaced by Tim Tebow. He?s not going to be rattled.

4. Percy Harvin
Talk about your X factors, now Ohio State has to deal with the same problems it gives everyone else with Ted Ginn. Harvin has grown into an elite all-around playmaker as a runner and receiver growing into the type of gamebreaker who has to be accounted for on every play. Any focus taken off Leak is a major plus for the Gators, and Meyer will find creative ways to get his young star the ball. Outside of their practices, the Buckeye secondary hasn?t seen anyone like Harvin all year long.
3. Time to heal
All teams are banged up at the end of the year, but the Gators will get RB DeShawn Wynn back after missing most of the SEC championship with a shoulder problem, while the dinged up defense should be as close to 100% as it?s been since September. As opposed to the SEC title game version, this will be a fully functioning, almost fully healthy Gator team.

2. Something seems strangely familiar, part one
Remember the last time a team just found ways to win, even if it wasn?t pretty, was a big underdog for a national title game in Arizona, and had a precocious freshman who was a tone-setting power runner? Oh yeah, the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes. Florida has an eerily similar feel with freshman QB Tim Tebow the emotional spark plug, sort of like Maurice Clarett, while the Gators win with great D, timely O, and an ability to pull out every close game helped by a heady, veteran Craig Krenzel-like quarterback.

1. Something seems strangely familiar, part two
No. 1 USC was supposed to blow past No. 2 Texas in the 2006 Rose Bowl. No. 2 Oklahoma didn?t need to show up in the 2001 Orange Bowl against No. 1 Florida State, right? Of course, No. 1 Miami was going to walk all over Ohio State in 2001. The pressure is 100% on the Buckeyes, so if Florida can get a little momentum early, it has every shot at pulling this off in what shouldn?t be considered a shocker in any way. This Gator team really is that good.

 

[martinss01]

Florida's has been prolific in blocking punts and field goals this season. The blocked punt against Vanderbilt decided the outcome of the game as UF scored a TD off the turnover, winning 25-19. Also, the field goal that was blocked against south carolina determined the outcome of that game as UF won 17-16. Without these blocks, UF would have probably ended the season 9-3 and wouldn't have played in the SEC championship. Of course, that means the Buckeyes wouldn't have being playing them in Glendale.

Considering UF was able to block kicks against practically everybody, any thoughts on UF's kick blocking ability in the matchup against tOSU.

we had an issue with field goals/xtra points in one game. i believe we had 1 of each blocked in the same game. tressell is huge on special teams. so with the success florida has had i actually think it is less likely that they will get a block. i think florida's success actually works against them here as i would imagine alot of time is going to be spent watching film and running through blocking schemes. this of course helps florida as every play dedicated to special units is one not dedicated to something else.

how is florida's kick return unit? one of my big conscerns throughout the year has been the kick coverage unit. most of the time we get a touchback. but on the kicks we don't, we have occassionally had issues with people not maintaining their lanes. several teams have gotten good returns on us.