Perhaps the Gators weren’t so overmatched after all

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, January 09, 2007  |  Comments( 7 )

College Football
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The Florida Gators have a lot of reasons for gloating today.

Forty-one, to be exact.

After absolutely demolishing the Ohio State Buckeyes 41-14 to earn their second national championship (first in the BCS era), Florida coaches and players played the respect card, and with good reason. Never before has such an unmitigated underdog served up such a lopsided whipping.

Vegas made the Buckeyes a seven-point favorite, but the vast majority of media pundits and fans figured that Florida would fall by double digits. Instead, it was the Gators who held a comfortable lead for most of the contest, despite giving up a 93-yard touchdown to Ted Ginn Jr. on the opening kickoff. And speaking of Ginn, he was quickly rendered inactive after suffering a foot injury late in the first quarter. Without its most explosive offensive threat, the rest of OSU's offense sputtered like an '87 Chevette on the expressway.

How bad was it? The Buckeyes managed just 82 total yards and Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith was held to just 35 passing yards and an interception on 4 of 14 passing. Smith spent most of the night running for his life.

Meanwhile Florida's offense seemed to be hitting on all cylinders. Quarterback Chris Leak was virtually flawless, completing 25 of 36 pass attempts for 213 yards and a touchdown. His understudy, Tim Tebow, pitched in with a one-yard passing touchdown and 39 rushing yards and another score on 10 carries. Fellow rookie sensation Percy Harvin was also outstanding, rushing for 22 yards and a touchdown and catching nine passes for 60 yards and a second score.

So what conclusions can be drawn from this most unexpected of outcomes?

1) Ohio State was vastly overrated
2) Unconventional play calling is en vogue at the college level (Boise State and/or Florida are paving the way)
3) Clearly, there needs to be some sort of playoff system instituted. The Gators llost this year, which means they aren't invincible, and there were several schools (including Boise) that seemed capable of challenging for the national championship this month, had they been given the chance.

Alas, another college football season has come to an end. And the Florida Gators have an offseason's worth of gloating to look forward to. But, hey, they earned that right, so let the bragging begin in Gainesville.

Lastly, here's a fun fact: The final score was a palindrome (41-14).

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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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CommentsComments: 7  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Tim Sullivan		01:29 AM
01/11/2007
I'll add one more conclusion: it's a complete fallacy to think the BCS can select the two best teams in the country by means of...
No.2
Mental Wanderer		05:01 PM
01/16/2007
A ColFo playoff is over the top. Too much is already being spent by universities on expensive intercollegiate athletics. A...
No.3
David Paul		05:45 PM
01/16/2007
Bowls are for college not playoffs. In playoffs, everyone is eventually a loser but one, in bowls many teams/schools can be...
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