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Next Year Is About To Start

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By ANDY STAPLES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 1, 2008

ORLANDO - University of Florida receiver Percy Harvin barely could stand to watch this season's Southeastern Conference title game. As Harvin watched East Division champ Tennessee play West Division champ LSU, his mind kept drifting back to a failed fourth-quarter drive against Auburn, a blown lead at LSU and a clunker against Georgia.

Had even one of those games gone differently, it might have been the Gators instead of two-loss LSU playing for the national title. Harvin and his teammates can't forget that.

"I was very disappointed," Harvin said. "We were sick to our stomach to watch some those teams play. ... Those losses are a little knot in my stomach. "

Harvin and the Gators feel they have the talent returning to compete for the 2008 national title. They already have the gut-wrenching memories to fuel them when their muscles scream during offseason workouts. Still, they need one more thing. They need to launch themselves into the season Coach Urban Meyer has built for since his arrival in Gainesville in 2005.

Florida intends to use today's Capital One Bowl against Michigan as the launching pad. While the Wolverines will play to honor outgoing coach Lloyd Carr, the Gators will try to win their first game of 2008.

"The thing I keep hearing about is that this is a springboard to the '08 team," Meyer said Sunday. "There's a lot of anticipation for that '08 team."

Meyer knows the importance of entering the season on a high note. Perhaps the most overlooked win on Florida's 2006 national title resume was the Gators' first win of 2006, a 31-24 victory against Iowa in the Outback Bowl. Though the win counted on the record of the 2005 team, it told recruits - those already committed to Florida and those still considering the Gators - that Meyer had the program headed in the proper direction. It also gave players already on the roster a foundation on which to build.

The Gators want to feel the same way heading in 2008. Florida will return a Heisman Trophy winner (quarterback Tim Tebow), a likely Heisman candidate (Harvin), almost all of its offensive line and - assuming junior defensive end Derrick Harvey turns pro - eight defensive starters. And like the 2006 team drew from wisdom gained in 2005 losses to Alabama, LSU and South Carolina, this group has learned from its stumbles.

"We're starting to play like a team again," Harvin said. "Early in the season, we were a bunch of individuals just playing together and we were good enough to get by. When we got to the tougher teams, we ran into a little slump."

Other Gators also have sensed that this team has turned a corner. That's why Tebow, fresh off his Heisman win, never hesitated when asked if this season could be topped.

"Yeah," Tebow said Dec. 11. "We went 9-3. We're looking to get better than that. We're not really worried about the stats, how many yards we put up or touchdowns.

"We're just worried about the wins. That's going to be our No. 1 concern, trying to improve that next year."

The Gators had better get started, because next year began at midnight.

Reporter Andy Staples can be reached at (352) 262-3719 or astaples@tampatrib.com.

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