Florida: the Naional Champions!

By: GUEST BLOGGER Mark from Swamp Ball

Florida was not supposed to be there. There were clearly better teams than them in the country, and it was evidenced by the “great” game that Ohio State and Michigan played on November 18th that these were the two best teams in all of college football.

It’s been two weeks since the BCS National Championship game took place in Glendale, a game in which Florida defeated Ohio State 41-14 to not only showed they belong, but to show us who really was the best team in college football this season.

We as college football fans were spoon-fed the fact that the Buckeyes and Wolverines were “clearly” the two best teams in the nation, and that their match up in Columbus was the peak at which college football was going to be played in the 2006 season. What happened in the bowl season shook the college football world in that sense, as both of the above mentioned programs fell on their faces – maybe leaving some of us confused.

Could it be? Could Ohio State not be the best team in the nation?

On November 18th the Buckeyes beat the Michigan Wolverines 42-39 in an instant classic that no one should have missed. This was a battle between two great college football teams who should have been the benchmark for programs in the 2006 season.

On November 2nd, two weeks prior to the “big game,” Louisville beat West Virginia 44-34 in an exciting Big East conference battle. Unfortunately, though, this was just a showcase of pretty good offenses going against less than great defenses. This is what many college football fans were saying, at least. On January 8th, when the bowl season was completed, perhaps it became evident that the Ohio State – Michigan match up was of the same mold.

Even though the Buckeyes were 12-0 coming into Glendale, the defensive squad was coming off a game in which they gave up 39 points and close to 400 yards of total offense against their best regular season opponent. And on January 8th, against their best overall opponent, they gave up 370 yards and 41 points – running the combined total to 767 yards of offense and 80 points against their two best forms of competition on the season.

In scoring 41 points to beat the Buckeyes, the Gators offense looked as efficient as any offense could possibly be. Chris Leak continually picked apart the Ohio State zone defense (why they stayed in it nearly all game is a mystery), passing for 213 yards while never throwing more than a 20 yard pass. I don’t know if you can call that a great offensive performance. That could be called simply toying with the defense.

But the Buckeyes offense had a good showing, right? Wrong.

Heisman trophy quarterback Troy Smith compiled a total of 6 yards of offense in the 27 point loss, while the Buckeyes could only muster up a total of 82. Statistically this was second to only Western Carolina as the worst offensive performance by a Gators opponent all season. The Gators defensive front badgered the Ohio State offensive line, running backs and Smith all game long, as the secondary provided lock-down coverage. In no way was there going to be constant success against such an inspired and hungry Gators defense – a defense that had carried the team throughout the 2006 season.

Perhaps the presence of Ted Ginn Jr. could have changed some of what occurred for the Buckeyes defense. But if you ask Troy Smith and any other quarterback they will tell you that it is impossible to throw accurately from your back – a position Smith was in constantly in this game thanks to the Gators defensive front (Smith was sacked 5 times on the game). Plus, not having the deep threat Ginn provided just meant that Ohio State wouldn’t have to deal with the headaches caused from trying to pass the ball on safety Reggie Nelson.

The Buckeyes had a 51 day layoff before the game, while the Gators break lasted 37. There was talk that this 51 day break made Ohio State less focused and lethargic. While there could be some truth to that, this would be a non-issue had the Buckeyes won the game.

If the opposite outcome had occurred, we would have been under a constant barrage of talk focusing on how much of a genius big-game coach Jim Tressel is. It would have been because of his precise game-planning over the break that the Buckeyes pulled out a victory. Instead, the layoff is used as an excuse. 37 days is quite a while to for these athletes to stay focused as well – and the last time I checked coaching is part of football, too. Coaches should bring a winning game-plan and a motivated team, especially when so much is on the line.

It’s still hard to believe how easy that actually was for Florida. The Gators are the 2006 (BCS) National Champions, and it’s hard to make any argument to say any team would have knocked them off two weeks ago – even the supposed “actual” 2006 Ohio State Buckeyes team that didn’t show up to Glendale.

A closing note on the long layoff is that it may have been one week to long this season. While the +1 format just makes the major sponsors and college football wealthier, it is just too long of a wait in between the New Years Day bowl games and the National Championship game. In the future I feel that the NCAA and BCS should look into keeping these games closer together.

Other than the above complaint, there were not many negative things to say about the bowl game performance of the Florida Gators – capturing their school a football national title to go along with that basketball one earned last March. This is an unprecedented action that has the University of Florida on top of the college athletics world.