Gators take big bite out of Big Ten

[Southpaw]

Ouch.

Bill Plaschke:
Los Angeles Times

Gators take big bite out of Big Ten
January 9, 2007


\

It is no coincidence that, of nine BCS champions, only one is from the Big Ten, and Ohio State only beat Miami in 2003 because of a referee's error.

Earlier this season, everyone talked about Michigan-Ohio State game as a classic tribute to the late Bo Schembechler but, in hindsight, it was closer to being about Pop Warner.

ADVERTISEMENT
Michigan was beaten by 14 points in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State was beaten by 27 points here, and both stories were the same.

"They weren't as fast as us," said Florida defensive tackle Ray McDonald. "We all hear about the Big Ten being so great, but they couldn't keep up with us."

Florida realized this soon after Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

On the Gators first drive, they covered half the field in seven plays with the Buckeyes barely touching them.

"We saw how we were running right past them," receiver Jemalle Cornelius said.

Then, on the Buckeyes first drive, the Gators held them to minus-three yards, ending with Derrick Harvey's sack, followed by a Harvey sermon.

"Derrick came to the sidelines and said to everyone, 'They're not quick enough to block us, we can get right around them,' " Everett said. "And you know something? He was right."

Throw Notre Dame into the mix — the Irish lost by this identical score to LSU of the SEC in the Sugar Bowl — and football's heart has clearly left the heartland.

Of the 109 players on the Florida roster, 81 are from the state of Florida.

This is not a coincidence.

"I remember watching film of Ohio State and thinking, 'They don't play our kind of football,' " McDonald said. "Coming in here, nobody believed that. I guess we showed them."

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Ripped, too, was the myth of Jim Tressel the Genius.

He was unbeaten in four previous BCS bowl games but faced with Florida's relentless speed and athleticism, he acted like a rookie.

Nobody was spooked more than the guy in the sweater vest. He lost such confidence in his defense that he ordered his offense to attempt a first-down conversion on fourth and one from his 29-yard line late in the second quarter.

At the time, he trailed by only 10 points. At the time, he should have still been playing field position.

Instead, the ball was handed to freshman reserve Chris Wells and the game was handed to the Gators, with Wells being smothered by a Florida defense that seemingly spent as much time in the Ohio State huddle as Smith.

"We were all pretty shocked he was going for it," McDonald said. "We thought it was a slap in the face to our defense. Like, everyone thought they were tougher than us."

Four plays later, Florida kicker Chris Hetland bounded on to the field and kicked his second-longest field goal of the season — 40 yards — to give Florida a 27-14 lead.

"By stopping them there, that gave us all the momentum," McDonald said. "I think it changed the game."

The Gators were still riding that momentum afterward, bouncing around the University of Phoenix field with the same quickness and strength, chest-bumping in their T-shirts, sliding through the confetti, finally relieved, finally respected.

"We spent all year hearing about Ohio State and the Big Ten," Everett said. "But we've always known where the best football is played."

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

 

[boisesuns]

The big ten has Boring football, and many teams are in need of and offensive make over. Running games and time management are key, but a good called offensive game, can negate that. The title game was evidence of this.