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Gators, Sooners Ready To Collide For BCS Title

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By MICK ELLIOTT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 8, 2009

MIAMI - In pursuit of a victory that will recast college football's pecking order of glamour programs, cement a coaching reputation, and, quite probably, lead to excessive celebration, the No. 1 Florida Gators and No. 2 Oklahoma Sooners collide tonight in the BCS Championship Game.

Florida arrives seeking its second national title in three years under Coach Urban Meyer and the Gators' third in history. Oklahoma, with seven national titles, is making a third title-game appearance under Coach Bob Stoops. The Sooners last took the crown in 2000.

If expectations are correct, any one of countless minute details could eventually be a deciding factor in the turf of Dolphin Stadium.

The fascination of the matchup, both teams with 12-1 records and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, is the promise of two edgy offensive attacks that have averaged a combined 99 points per game (OU 54, Florida 45) this year. But reality suggests that other areas of the game will ultimately decide the outcome.

Special teams? Field position? Defense?

"Defense is always going to be a factor in the game and it will in this one," Stoops said. "Florida has played really good defense. We have at times. We've been inconsistent. But I'm excited the way we've practiced."

That brings up one of the week's most persistent story lines. As a result of a Big 12 Conference season of hyperactive offenses - OU, Texas and Texas Teach all scored seeming at will - the league's defensive abilities increasingly have been questioned.

Now, Meyer, the master manipulator who uses psychology like it's an X or an O, is looking at an opponent convinced it has been dissed, while his team has been established as a solid three-point-plus favorite.

"Well, if I had my druthers I'd rather coach a very mean, angry, nasty upset team," Meyer said. "But I don't get the sense that this is an entitled team walking around like we're going to win this game. They have a very clear understanding."

Both teams have cooperated in giving the other an issue to grab a hold of and turn into inspiration.

Since arriving a week ago, OU defensive back Dominique Franks announced Gators' Heisman winner Tim Tebow would rank no better than the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12.

"You can say whatever you want, that's fine," Tebow said. "We still get to go play."

UF linebacker Brandon Spikes observed an abundance of 55-45 scores in Big 12 play proved the league's defenses are "a joke."

"I guarantee you," said OU linebacker Travis Lewis. "I'm going to bring that hammer. It should be a good match-up."

The Gators most certainly will have an opportunity to prove they know good defense when they see it.

The Sooners' no-huddle, hurry-up attack continually has confounded foes by getting the ball in play long before defenses were set. While UF's offense, not exactly a plodding attack, averaged 61 plays per game, the Sooners managed to get off 84. Many of their snaps came while opponents were hastily trying to substitute players or signal in plays.

"You have substitution limitations because of tempo, you have the fatigue factor and you have the chaos factor where you like to line up," Meyer said. "The positive is we've had three weeks to prepare and we've been operating at a very high level of chaos on defense trying to get lined up and be ready to go. They create a lot of plays because teams are misaligned.

"We have to get lined up and get ready to go. That's a problem.

"The personnel is a problem. I'd like to play a team that does this with really bad players - it's not a problem. It's the fact that they're really good."

Reporter Mick Elliott can be reached at (813) 281-2534.

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