Monday, November 24, 2008
Florida, College Football’s Best?
Are the Florida Gators the best team in college football? Believe it, as the "Gator Bulldozer" leveled the Bulldogs on Saturday. An impressive win over the Citadel, huh? Let's go back a few weeks to see why the Florida Gators are the best team in college football.
Did I really just type that? Sorry, 'Bama, Texas, and OU fans, but it's true. Over the last six weeks, the Gators have been totally dominant on both sides of the football. The offense has been annihilating the opposition and scoring like a high school kid on prom night. The defense has been tougher than Chuck Liddell. Can anyone disagree with that? Let's take a look:
10/11 No. 4 LSU 5-1 (3-1) W 51-21 10/25 Kentucky 6-1 (4-1) W 63-5 11/01 @ No. 6 Georgia 7-1 (5-1) W 49-10 11/08 @ Vanderbilt 8-1 (6-1) W 42-14 11/15 No. 25 S. Carolina 9-1 (7-1) W 56-6 11/22 Citadel 10-1 (7-1) W 70-19
It started with the shellacking they laid on the LSU Tigers in which they dominated from the opening kickoff and exposed the weakness of the much overrated Tiger defense. Then came the destruction of early season surprise Kentucky, which they turned it into a laugher and got tuned up for the most impressive win of the season, at Georgia. They took the Bulldogs to the woodshed in Jacksonville. Then Vandy was brought back to earth and they laid the biggest whooping the Ole Ball Coach has ever seen. Then they had time to heal up by feasting on the Citadel, the only non-conference game during this streak.
The "second season" started for Florida on September 28th, the day after losing 31-31 to Ole Miss at the Swamp. That seemed to light a fire in the Gators as they have gone on to win seven straight, averaging 53 points a game. Just as impressive has been the Gator defense, who has given up only 12 points a game, the most being LSU's 21 (on the road) during this time. So what, you may say? Well, when you consider three of those games were on the road and included two top-10 teams in the streak, you have to describe their play as dominant. Don't get me wrong, Oklahoma looked great Saturday against Texas Tech, but I'll put my money on the Gators. (Do you know how hard that is for an LSU fan to say?)
As much as I cannot stand Urban Meyer, he has righted the ship in Gainesville and has them playing outstanding football. Tim Tebow is an arrogant, cocky jerk who is one hell of an athlete and if not for the great year the Big 12 trio (Sam Bradford, Graham Harrell, and Colt McCoy) are having, would be your leading Heisman candidate. Florida is a legit threat in the BCS picture, but will probably not get a shot at the national title.
Look at this with an open mind: if Florida beats FSU and the beats 'Bama in the SEC title game, how can they honestly be overlooked for a title shot? I know the Big 12 has three capable teams in Texas Tech, Texas, and Oklahoma, but come on, do you really think any of those teams are better than Florida, on both sides of the football?
The BCS was setup to let the two best teams in college football play for the national title, right? Well, it hasn't been right very often, but if Florida wins out, the BCS could get at least one team right, the team that will win their second national title in three years. But the BCS and "correct?" That hasn't been spoken in the same sentence since...