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Florida, Florida: SEC Fans Unsurprised By NCAA Football Champs

by Christopher McIntosh
01/15/2007

I wonder how it feels to lose the BCS title to a guy who prepared for the national championship game by playing on his Xbox and watching Boise State?

What a whipping. What an absolute behind the woodshed, go cut yourself a switch, pray for mercy, whipping Florida put on Ohio State last night.

Chris Leak looked like he was running the offense with a Playstation controller, not standing in the pocket while large, angry 300 pound behemoths tried to dismember him.

Ohio State--the number one team in the country--had their will broken before they blew the first half whistle.

I am a Georgia fan. Am a Georgia alum. I was openly rooting for the team in blue and orange last night.

And I'm not ashamed.

I just pretended they were Boise State. It wasn't very difficult. After all, Florida did the same thing. They just did it with better players, a better coach, and executed it better.

And by better, I mean perfectly.

The lead up to this game was a perfect example of the power of groupthink. The media saw a team that was undefeated. Beat two number two teams in the country, including hanging 42 on a team from a conference known for defense. They saw a team with a fearsome defense, the Heisman trophy winner, and a coach with a seemingly insurmountable amount of experience compared to his virtual protege.

They'd voted them number one the entirety of the season. Why change that now?

I didn't pay much attention to the media, I looked at the schedules, looked at the comparative teams strengths and figured this was a game that was pretty close to a pick 'em. I told one of my friends that this bore a strange similarity to the LSU-Notre Dame game. Not that OSU was as overrated as Notre Dame, or didn't deserve to be the favorite, but that the SEC part of the competition was a nasty team that flew around the field and would show the midwestern adversary a type of game with which they were unfamiliar.

Two things would determine the outcome.

If the other team could adjust, game on. If not, look out.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, which QB would show up. In the LSU game, if the "evil" Jamarcus had showed up--the one who turns the ball over and tries to make every play--then the game would be difficult for LSU to win. If the real Russell came to play, watch out.

Same with Florida. If the "evil" Chris Leak showed up--the one with the INTs and the fumbles and the poor decisions who won some ugly, ugly games--OSU might just live up to their seven and a half point favorite status.

If not, watch out.

Why other people didn't get this, I don't know. Everyone I spoke to regarding the game--shockingly I don't run in circles with the mainstream media--was of the opinion that Florida had everything from a 50-50 shot to a legit claim to being a slight favorite.

So what happened?

OSU could not adjust. It was downright comical. After the kickoff return, Leak ran the table. Dumpoffs, duck downs, throws underneath coverage, all completed. Marched down the field and scored.

Then they did it again.

And again.

And again.

Leak eventually missed a few passes, but OSU looked shocked.

They were shocked.

The 50 day thing certainly helped Florida, but it cuts both ways. I would have needed about 50 seconds to figure out that UF's offense was quicker than OSU's defense. One should adjust accordingly.

OSU apparently felt that their relative speed in the Big Ten meant they were as fast as anyone in the country.

Turns out they were wrong. Why they couldn't figure that out with 50 days to watch tape, I have no idea.

By the time they appeared to accept that fact, Florida had hung 27 on them. In the first half. In embarrassing fashion. It was so bad everyone in my apartment was openly laughing. The Florida punter might as well have been in witness protection.

Defensively it was even worse. OSU had 82 yards of offense. They had the ball for less than 20 minutes.

And it didn't even seem that long.

OSU could get nothing, nothing done. After the kickoff return for the TD, that was it.

OSU couldn't complete passes, they couldn't run the ball, they couldn't do anything at all.

Mind boggling things I took away from this game.

1. Florida scored 34 in the first half while forcing only one turnover. One. Take that away and they hung 27 simply by executing their offense perfectly. Against an awesome defense. I can't remember the last time I've seen that happen anywhere, let alone in a championship game.

2. The number of times OSU defensive players thought they had a Florida player lined up for a tackle or trapped on the sideline and couldn't get there in time. I saw so many times where I expected a tackle, started to turn away and turned back to see the blue shirt gain another three yards. It was shocking. But obviously not as shocking as it was for the OSU defensive unit.

3. Florida iced the game for an entire half. An entire half. The team that had taken a Big Ten team--a conference known for power running--and sliced them to ribbons completely switched gears and turned into their version of Wisconsin. They treated the entire second half like the final three minutes. Not only did the metamorphisis work, but OSU couldn't even put up some garbage time points. Total second half points? Zero.

4. The fantastic image of the Florida player who lost his helmet, spun around and ran down the Heisman trophy winning quarterback from behind. Had to leave the field to get some treatment. Trainer's response to sideline reporter's dumb question about how he's doing, "that's why we wear helmets."

5. This game may go down in the gambling hall of fame. The over/under on this game was 48.5. 48 points were scored in the first half. It was a metaphysical certitude someone would score in the second half. Millions--conservatively speaking--was riding on this metaphysical certitude. Florida looked uninterested in scoring and OSU looked unable. They made it through the third quarter without scoring a point. They were halfway to the over/under after the first quarter (give or take five seconds). In the fourth, if you'll recall, Florida found themselves deep in OSU territory with some time left. Fourth and goal.

Rather than sending in the kicker for a field goal even he couldn't miss, they went for it. If they don't score, OSU gets pinned at their own one foot line and those who gambled on this continue to bite their nails and dream the impossible dream. I'm certain Urban--a guy named after a pope--wouldn't put money on his own game, but wow, there were more than a few people who would have wondered if he hadn't scored.

6. The SEC is actually dominant this year. I'm sure there's more to say, but I'm kind of groping for warrants from last night.

Like any good whipping, the details have been quickly forgotten.

But the lesson hasn't.

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