Gator Country

Florida redshirt sophomore running back Chris Rainey makes a cut before Arkansas safety Tramain Thomas inadvertently kicked the ball away during the second half of the Gators' 23-20 win against the Razorbacks on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

Blowouts are the preferred method of victory for Tim Tebow. “A lot less stressful and a lot less prayerful, too,” Tebow said at Monday’s press conference. Given the choice of rallying the Gators in the fourth quarter to that 23-20 win over Arkansas at The Swamp Saturday and a blowout, Tebow would have much preferred an early Homecoming celebration spent watching Johnny Brantley throw some darts to Frankie Hammond, Omarius Hines and T.J. Lawrence as the clock wound its way down.

Blowouts are indeed a lot less stressful and they’re extremely good for style points with the media, something the Florida Gators seem to be lacking these days, which has everything to do with why Alabama leapfrogged the Gators into the #1 position in the most recent Associated Press poll.

“All love affairs end. Eventually the girl is going to put curlers in her hair.” The late, great Al McGuire --- Hall of Fame basketball coach, television personality extraordinaire and sage street philosopher --- said that and when applied to college football and the AP poll, Alabama is the latest love affair while the Gators are the girl in curlers.

It doesn’t matter that the Gators are unbeaten (6-0), winners of last year’s national championship and owners of the nation’s longest (16 games) winning streak. The Gators haven’t accumulated enough style points with Urban Meyer’s win and move on philosophy. Meyer thinks a one-point win is dandy, which explains why he’s willing to go Woody Hayes on us when protecting a precious lead late in the game. The AP voters believe if the buzzards aren’t circling when you finish off an opponent, you haven’t done your job properly.

It’s highly debatable that Alabama is a better team even though the Crimson Tide did handily beat those same Arkansas Razorbacks who had the Gators on the mat for a two count Saturday before a 10-point rally in the fourth quarter culminated by a game-winning field goal by Caleb Sturgis with nine seconds left. While the Gators were battling back from three quarters of self-inflicted gunshots to their feet, Alabama had no problems disposing of the Razorbacks, 35-7 four weeks ago.

Alabama wasn’t all that impressive Saturday night when it disposed of South Carolina, 20-6, but it wasn’t just Florida’s struggle to beat Arkansas that altered the AP poll. Florida fell because those wins over Tennessee, Kentucky and LSU haven’t generated enough style points. On their way to the 2008 national championship, the Gators beat Arkansas, LSU, Kentucky and Tennessee by a combined 143 points. In this season of even greater expectations than last year, the Gators beat those same four teams by a combined 54 points and the wins over LSU and Arkansas were so tight that the white knuckles were covered in blood when the game ended.

Alabama’s four SEC wins have been by comfortable margins. The Crimson Tide has beaten Arkansas, Kentucky, Ole Miss and South Carolina by a combined 79 points. In the eyes of the people that vote, Alabama has cruised and Florida has not so Alabama is the latest beauty queen while the Gators have been demoted to Miss Congeniality.

Florida’s problem is unrealistic expectations. The Gators have Tim Tebow, perhaps the greatest college football player who has ever strapped on a helmet, and Brandon Spikes, the best defensive player in the country when he’s healthy, plus 32 returning lettermen on what was the best defensive unit in college football at the end of last season along with some beastly offensive linemen and running backs capable of covering 40 yards in nanoseconds.  The so-called experts seem to think a team like that should be pillaging and plundering everything in sight.

It hasn’t exactly looked like ground zero in the Gators’ wake, but they are 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC and that has been accomplished in spite of expectations that are through the roof, a never-ending skein of distractions that included the Tebow concussion, a flu epidemic that threatened to wipe out a third of the team and an injury bug that has kept the Gators from playing at full strength for even one game.

Alabama, on the other hand, has had fewer distractions, isn’t having to live up to unrealistic expectations and hasn’t had near the problems with either sickness or injury. Some might argue that these are the precise reasons why Alabama should be number one. The Crimson Tide has far fewer outside influences while Florida has to deal with both SEC opponents and all the other baggage. Supposedly, fewer distractions mean fewer opportunities to lose.

That’s the perception.

Now, here is the reality. None of the perceptions matter.

The only thing that matters is what Florida does on the field and margin of victory will have no bearing in the Gators’ ability to bring home a second straight national championship as long as they keep on winning. Whether the Gators win their next six regular season games by a combined six points or by 306, the only number that really matters is the number in the L column. If that number is 0 then the Gators will be in Atlanta to get their ticket punched for the BCS National Championship Game in Pasadena.

Style points will only enter the equation if the Gators lose a game as long as that game is not to either Alabama or LSU --- we keep forgetting LSU has a November 7 date with Alabama and the Tigers are very capable of winning that game --- in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game in Atlanta. Whether it’s unbeaten or with one loss, if the Gators win the SEC championship, you can bet the ranch they’re playing for the BCS National Championship.

If the Gators are unbeaten and win the SEC it’s a no-brainer. If they’ve got a loss on the agenda but beat either unbeaten Alabama or one-loss LSU in Atlanta, it’s another no-brainer because such a win would earn all the style points they need to get to Pasadena.

The secret is to win in Atlanta. Lose in Atlanta and the gig is up. No SEC title, no national title. It’s that simple and that’s why you constantly hear Meyer say the goal is get to Atlanta. Take care of business, get to Atlanta and win the SEC. Win in Atlanta and all dreams can come true. 

So forget the AP voters and so-called experts and their love affair with Alabama. Remember, all love affairs end and all the love in the world can’t alter what happens on the playing field. If the Gators win the rest of their games, then Alabama will be the one wearing the curlers.

That’s not perception. That’s reality.

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