Why Florida Gators Will Win The National Championship!!!

[WayneChung]

It's time to talk Florida.

Date / Opponents / Result
September 2 Southern Miss W 34-7
September 9 UCF W 42-0
September 16 @ No. 13 Tennessee W 21-20
September 23 Kentucky W 26-7
September 30 Alabama W 28-13
October 7 No. 9 LSU W 23-10
October 14 @ No. 11 Auburn L 27-17
October 28 @ Georgia W 21-14
November 4 @ Vanderbilt W 25-19
November 11 South Carolina W 17-16
November 18 Western Carolina W 62-0
November 25 @ Florida State W 21-14
December 2 No. 8 Arkansas W 38-28


Out of the twelve games played this season, Florida has matched up with two Top 10 opponents (Arkansas, LSU) and two Top 15 opponents (Auburn, Tennessee).

Unlike Ohio State's schedule, each and every one of these opponents put a quality product on the field. That's not even Including some of the unranked teams Florida beat -- teams who must face the upper crust of the SEC every year.
I'm talking about teams like South Carolina (who came within a snaggletooth of beating Auburn and Florida, and were competitive in most of their games) and Georgia, who, despite quarterback and offensive woes throughout the season, always fielded tough defenses and eventually righted their ship with big victories over No. 5 Auburn and No. 16 Georgia Tech.
Even Kentucky, bowl-bound at 7-5 for the year, was no slouch; they'd have eaten the Big 10's lower half alive, and given the Top 5 a real run for their money.

This is the SEC, of course, so let's talk defense.
Of Florida's opponents, two are in the Top 10 for total defense; two are in the Top 20; and one is in the Top 25, for a total of five Top 25 defenses faced this year:

#4 BCS LSU is ranked #2 nationally in total defense, allowing only 18 TDs all year;

Unranked Georgia finished their regular season ranked #9 in total defense, allowing only 25 total TDs:
Unranked Florida State is #15 in total defense, allowing only 28 TDs;
Alabama and Auburn round out the list at #18 and #25 respectively.

The biggest difference in these stats vs. Ohio State? The teams these defenses play. SEC defenses are constantly going up against Top 25 teams. Big 10 defenses -- well, you already know who they play. The Northern Illinois' and Ball States of the world.

"Where are they now?" Looking for where the ranked opponents ended up:

Team / Rank at time of game / USA Today rank at end of regular season / Record / Drop/Climb

Tennessee No. 13 -> No. 18 (9-3) Dropped 5 places
LSU No. 9 -> No. 4 (10-2) Moved up 5 places
Auburn No. 11 -> No. 10 (10-2) Moved up 1 place
Arkansas No. 8 -> No. 13 (10-3) Dropped 5 places


Already, the stats are starting to favor the Gators. Florida has played four ranked opponents, and when you consider those teams' victories...

Tennessee played three Top 10 opponents and two Top 15 opponents, ending up with a 9-3 record;
LSU played three Top 5 opponents (#3 Auburn, #5 Florida, #5 Arkansas) two Top 10 opponents, finishing with a 10-2 record;
Auburn played (and beat) #2 Florida and #6 LSU, and lost to the then-unranked but ascending Arkansas Razorbacks, the SEC West Champions -- final record 10-2;

Arkansas played two Top 5 teams, two Top 10 teams, and a Top 13 team, finishing with a 10-3 record after losing to Florida in the SEC Championship game.
... it's clear just what kind of quality Florida brings to the table when they win. In fact, all but one of Florida's SEC opponents is bowl-bound.

Not one of Florida's ranked opponents dropped out of the Top 25. Two moved up; two dropped; but none tanked. LSU is a BCS team headed to the Sugar Bowl to bring immeasurable pain to Notre Dame, Auburn's going to the Cotton Bowl and Arkansas has a Heisman-quality running back in Darren McFadden. Georgia will probably find their way back into the Top 25 if not the Top 20 if they win their bowl game.

Again, I remind you: UF lost a single game to that group of teams. And that loss came largely on the strength of a badly botched official review.

One more data point: not one of Florida's ranked opponents lost a single game to an unranked opponent. The Big 10 is light years away from being able to say that.

Buckeye fans, do you still doubt the power of the SEC?


(Rhetorical question. Don't answer it.)

Okay, let's get this out of the way: "But what about Western Carolina?"

What about them? They were a Division I-AA team that would have been competitive with Ball State. (Difference is, Florida put 62 points on WCU, and did it with their second, third, and fourth strings. Even walk-ons made it onto the field.)

Let's sum up Florida:
12 wins, one loss...
... against four ranked teams.
Florida's ranked opponents beat a combined total of eight ranked opponents, including one Top 5 team, six Top 10 teams, and one Top 15 team!

One of UF's wins -- Arkansas -- came during an extra game which Ohio State didn't have to play -- the conference championship matchup with No. 8 Arkansas.

Two additional teams were unranked but fielded Top 15 defenses.
Florida's schedule included a total of ten bowl-bound teams.

Florida's defense is ranked 10th in the country in Total Defense, 6th in the country in rushing defense, and 6th in scoring defense.
I know what you're thinking.


"Ohio State can move the ball, Ferg. They put up a lot of yards. Florida can't do that."


Is that so? Let's see what the NCAA stats say:

Ohio State total offense average: 409.75 yards
Florida total offense average: 398.08 yards.

"Quarterbacks," you're thinking. "Troy Smith is better."

Ohio State passing efficiency: 66.56%, 165.93
Florida passing efficiency: 63.26%, 151.90 rating

Rushing," you say.

Ohio State rushing offense average: 180.08 yards per game
Florida rushing offense average: 160.31 yards per game


What makes those numbers truly remarkable is that while they're essentially pretty even, Florida does it against the nation's toughest defenses, while Ohio State does it against teams like Northern Illinois, Cincinatti, Indiana and Bowling Green.


The Bottom Line...

Florida not only can and will win, an objective review of the stats indicate that they should be favored to win. But let's not tell the world just yet. I want that 8.5 point Vegas line to keep growing. It all just adds up to more m-o-t-i-v-a-t-i-o-n. Now if we can just get some bulletin board material from the Bucks' players, so we can tack on some "style points... "

y-you are my hero-i am having sexual connatations !! ps-looking the board over,i believe you could play every underdog and come out decent !!

[GrandPa]

IMO, the conference affiliation card takes on WAY too much significance in these debates. And are we supposed to just ignore the DD loss at Auburn?

For the record, I think any dog of over a TD in the title game with a month to prep has to be the preferred choice, but I am not sure the reasons stated in this thread are valid.

Either way, the climbing # benefits all the dog players here, and I can only imagine the # of opinions and angles that'll be thrown up in the air in the next 30+ days.

[vinnyvegas]

Garbage thread...NEXT

[rwall]

IMO, the conference affiliation card takes on WAY too much significance in these debates. And are we supposed to just ignore the DD loss at Auburn?

I disagree with you there gramps. With your argument then why isn't Boise State playing for the National Championship against OSU?

And the double digit loss you refer to was aided by an interception returned for a touchdown on the final play in a game where Florida's defense did not give up a touchdown.

[bhs4life]

ORANGE
BLUE

[kbsooner21]

ORANGE
BLUE

[jcindaville]

Cincinnati has a filthy rushing defense, i would use them as an example. The only team that ran the ball on them was WVU

[rocko]

great POST SPEARIT AS ALWAYS U MAKE ME WANT TO ROLL WITH FLA., A TEAM THAT I HATE BUT IF THEY MAKE ME MONEY I LOVE THEM
GET-R-DON PEACE

[Deano]

Here's some more motivation for Florida. I received this
email from a Ohio State Alumni. Now I really like Florida
and the points. I don't think this was very nice or funny.

Subject: SEC FUN!

1) What does the average Alabama player get on his SAT's?
...........Drool.

(2) What do you get when you put thirty-two Arkansas cheerleaders in one room?
..........A full set of teeth.

(3) How do you get a South Carolina cheerleader into your dorm room?
..........Grease her hips and push.

(4) How do you get a Georgia graduate off your porch?
..........Pay him for the pizza.

(5) How do you know if a Mississippi State football player has a girlfriend?
.........There is tobacco spit on both sides of his pickup.

(6) Why is the Kentucky football team like a possum?
..........Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road.

(7) What are the longest three years of an Auburn football player's life?
..........His freshman year.

(8) How many Florida Freshmen does it take to change a light bulb?
..........None -- that's a sophomore course.

(9) Where was O. J. headed in the white Bronco?
......... Baton Rouge , Louisiana . He knew that the police would never
look at LSU for a Heisman Trophy winner.

AND FINALLY (drum roll and cymbal crash.....)

(10) Why did Tennessee choose orange as their team color?
..........You can wear it to the game on Saturday, hunting on Sunday, and
picking up trash along the highways the rest of the week

[vinnyvegas]

Here's some more motivation for Florida. I received this
email from a Ohio State Alumni. Now I really like Florida
and the points. I don't think this was very nice or funny.

Subject: SEC FUN!

1) What does the average Alabama player get on his SAT's?
...........Drool.

(2) What do you get when you put thirty-two Arkansas cheerleaders in one room?
..........A full set of teeth.

(3) How do you get a South Carolina cheerleader into your dorm room?
..........Grease her hips and push.

(4) How do you get a Georgia graduate off your porch?
..........Pay him for the pizza.

(5) How do you know if a Mississippi State football player has a girlfriend?
.........There is tobacco spit on both sides of his pickup.

(6) Why is the Kentucky football team like a possum?
..........Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road.

(7) What are the longest three years of an Auburn football player's life?
..........His freshman year.

(8) How many Florida Freshmen does it take to change a light bulb?
..........None -- that's a sophomore course.

(9) Where was O. J. headed in the white Bronco?
......... Baton Rouge , Louisiana . He knew that the police would never
look at LSU for a Heisman Trophy winner.

AND FINALLY (drum roll and cymbal crash.....)

(10) Why did Tennessee choose orange as their team color?
..........You can wear it to the game on Saturday, hunting on Sunday, and
picking up trash along the highways the rest of the week

Deano,

That thing is so old and dated...give me a break!

[Spearit]

Bowl favorites of 11 points or less/pick ‘em off 35 or more days rest and 14 or more days rest than opponent are 0-16 ATS since 1989, failing to cover the spread by more than 10 points a game on average.

Guess who falls into this senario--------OHIO STATE

Go Gators!!

[vinnyvegas]

Keep reaching....

[frankb03]

[B]Bowl favorites of 11 points or less/pick ‘em off 35 or more days rest and 14 or more days rest than opponent are 0-16 ATS since 1989, failing to cover the spread by more than 10 points a game on average.

Not only is this system 0-16 ATS the favorite has only won 5 of the 16 games. However, the favorite has won 3 of the last 4 games SU.

[meaiken]

Deano,

That thing is so old and dated...give me a break!

But it's still funny everytime you read it.

[Spearit]

Thanx Frank. Seems it may be possible the Gators might lose this game but they will cover --



Why I think the game is off the boards--

Two Buckeyes attend, skee-daddle from illegal fundraiser
Ohio State running backs Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells attended a spaghetti dinner fundraiser that violated NCAA rules, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. DB De'Angelo Haslam and DE Lawrence Wilson were also involved in the fundraiser, but did not attend the dinner.

The dinner was intended to raise money to help both players families travel to and attend the National Championship game.

Running backs Antonio Pittman and Chris Wells, both of Akron, were at the spaghetti dinner fundraiser Saturday when Wells' mother called Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman to explain the situation.
Bollman told the Akron Beacon Journal that he informed her that National Collegiate Athletic Association rules do not allow benefit dinners for players' families, and he advised her to have Wells and Pittman leave, which they did.

Bollman said he didn't know if the players could get in trouble.

"I don't think anybody had intentions of doing anything illegal," Bollman said. "But people did some things without thinking about it. They are reacting after the fact.

"And I don't know how the boys being there will be viewed. That (being there) would be the root of some people's concern," he said.


When the players learned of the concerns, both Buckeyes left the dinner.

In the wake of the violation, organizers said that the money will not go to the players families. Instead, all the proceeds will be donated to pee-wee football.

The NCAA has not yet released a comment on the fundraiser or the involvement of the Ohio State players