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Surprise! Florida D Stars Against UM

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By MICK ELLIOTT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 8, 2008

Updated: 09/08/2008 12:11 am

GAINESVILLE - Only a few ticks of the clock remained before Saturday night would become Sunday morning and Florida coach Urban Meyer already had touched on all the obligatory talking points of the Gators' 26-3 win against Miami - early offensive struggles, running game questions, special teams success and a stand-up defensive performance - when one last question stopped him like rush-hour traffic at a train crossing.

Considering, after two games, that Florida has allowed a total of 13 points, an inquiring mind wondered if the Gators defense - last year's whipping boy and this season's question mark - might just be the best unit on Meyer's team.

"Say that again," the coach responded.

"Best unit on this team? You mean like better than the offense or something? I've never been asked that. No, I'm having a little fun with you because I've never heard that question. No, it's not the best unit. It was a team win but I'm very proud of the defense."

Meyer, of course, knows the Gators offense and its collection of big-play talent is and will remain the team's calling card, but just the suggestion that Florida might - and for now "might" is the strongest word that can be used - be able to win without a points explosion is chicken soup for a coach's soul.

Granted, the Hurricanes were operating behind redshirt freshman quarterback Robert Marve (Plant), making his first college game appearance in the most inhospitable of environments, but that only underlines the success Florida had standing up to the UM running game.

Behind a large, experienced offensive line - the strength of its offense - the Hurricanes committed to the run but never could make it go.

They rushed 37 times for a net gain of 61 yards, an average of 1.6 yards per attempt. Add in 79 passing yards on 12 of 22 attempts, and the Hurricanes mustered 140 total yards of offense.

"It's great knowing it's OK, we don't have to force anything," Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said, acknowledging the defensive performance. "It's nice to feel like we're going to be OK because the defense is going to come through."

That comfort now allows Florida fans to focus all their worry on the offense.

Still in question is offensive consistency. Even in a point-fest against Hawaii, offensive success came by way of big-play breakouts. And when Miami refused to give up big plays, the Gators were left looking somewhat vulnerable.

After three quarters Florida was hanging on to a 9-3 lead.

"We had a shot," UM coach Randy Shannon said. "We'll build a lot off this game. We were able to play with the top-5 team in the country and had a shot. All you want is a shot on the road in a hostile environment and we had a shot."

Not to worry, Tebow - and, to a degree, even Meyer - insisted, pointing to the 17-point four quarter fueled by 86- and 95-yard TD drives. It just took time to adjust to a good Miami defensive game plan.

"I think one thing was we started doing a three-step drop and quickened it up with shorter routes," Tebow said. "Another thing was some of our linemen were doing a better job of picking up some of their twists and some of the good things they were doing with their backers. It was a little bit confusing for some of the offensive linemen at first; eventually we started to manage it OK."

Not to be overlooked: Favored by 21, Florida did win by 23.

"On offense, I thought we executed very well at the end," Meyer said. "During the early parts of the game, they did a nice job of pressuring us inside. A very stout defensive line and we had a hard time moving them. But in the fourth quarter, we opened it up a little bit and made some plays. Some guys played very well."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534 or melliott@tampatrib.com.

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