Tim Tebow is back at practice and Gator fans are breathing a sigh of relief.  After all, Tebow is the main reason, some might say only reason, that the Florida Gators are ranked top 5 in every single Week 6 Power Rankings out there.

The Florida Gators live and die with Tim Tebow, or do they?  That’s the main question that college football fans are asking because Florida’s doctor has not cleared Tebow to play on Saturday.  If Tim cannot go, then the Gators will start back-up quarterback John Brantley.

How will Brantley, or Tebow for that matter, effect both Florida and LSU’s game planning?  Let’s take a look.

Florida’s Offense with Tebow vs. LSU’s Defense

With Tim Tebow the Florida Gators are one of he greatest college football teams that have ever walked onto a football field.  That’s not to say that LSU’s defense cannot stop a Tim Tebow led Florida offense, but LSU’s chances of stopping Florida from scoring are greatly diminished with Tebow under center.

It all comes down to play calling and Coach Urban Meyer is a master play caller. He understands how to take advantage of matchups and how to get his speedy wide receivers and running backs in position to break out for huge yardage plays.  With Tebow, Meyer has a huge yardage guy under center.  Tebow could throw for 20, 30, 40 yards, or more if allowed to run wild. 

Not only that but defending Tebow requires a spy from LSU’s defense.  What a spy does is basically square his eyes on the quarterback and simply follows every move that the quarterback makes.  Because of Tebow’s speed and cagey moves, LSU will most likely have to use a nickel defender to spy Tebow or safety Chad Jones.  Taking any player away from defending against Florida’s fantastic wide receivers and pass catching running backs will hurt LSU’s ability to defend.  Taking Chad Jones away from the defensive backfield and making him the spy on Tebow could lead to disaster for the Tigers.

Florida’s Offense with Brantley vs. LSU’s Defense

I’ve seen footage of John Brantley and I’m impressed.  The man doesn’t have Tebow’s wheels, but he’s definitely got wheels and, this is key: he’s a better drop back passer than Tim.

The big question with Brantley is can he make decisions on the fly against a fantastic LSU defense? Meyer will game plan somewhat differently for Brantley, using more drop back type passing formations, allowing the LSU defenders to run past the running backs on draw plays, and just calling a more basic football game with Brantley in there, but Florida will find some success.

How much depends on Brantley, under the lights, against LSU’s feared defense.  Brantley will have to make perfect decisions.

For LSU, a spy might still be an option as Brantley will run with the ball, but more than likely Coach Les Miles will count on his speedy linebackers to get to Brantley before Brantley can pick up huge chunks of yardage.  Again, Brantley has wheels, but he doesn’t have Tebow type wheels.

Final Analysis Says Florida Wins with Tebow and Possibly Loses with Brantley

With Tim Tebow, the Florida Gators should beat the LSU Tigers on Saturday night.  If Tebow isn’t suffering any ill effects from the concussion, then Tebow provides too many matchup issues for LSU and changes LSU’s defensive game planning too much for the Tigers to have success against Florida’s offense.

Now, if Brantley plays, then the story changes.  Florida is still a better overall team than LSU, but LSU gets to play Florida in Baton Rouge.  That’s a huge advantage as the Tigers are 45 and 4 at home in night games in this decade and throwing passes in practice against top defenders is different than doing it in Bayou Country.

Whoever starts for Florida, college football fans should expect an exciting SEC Conference game between the Tigers and the Gators.