The Florida Gators Chomp On To Pasadena

After taking a little more than a year off from writing for Bleacher Report, I have gained a greater knowledge of the Florida football team. It does not hurt to live a few yards from The Swamp and have participated in the raucous National Championship celebration. As one of the few prognosticators who picked Florida to win the National Championship soon after the Capital One Bowl loss to Michigan, I believe I have enough substance to be an analyst for the Florida Gators.

The Gators have the most talented team in the country for the second year in a row and with all 11 starters returning to an outstanding defense led by Brandon Spikes and Carlos Dunlap which surrendered 12.9 points per game only validates the statement. The returning defense takes some pressure of the Tim Tebow-led offense with the departure of starting receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy.

The offense will not be too far behind with the two stellar freshmen tailbacks, Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps, in addition to a healthy Brandon James another year older and more capable of filling the gap left by the all-world receiver Percy Harvin. David Nelson and Aaron Hernandez must accept a larger pass-catching responsibility, but that should be an issue. If there are any problems, let Tim Tebow, the Best SEC Player of All-Time take over.

The most talented team in the country also benefits from an easy schedule by SEC standards. Besides the weak non-conference schedule (including Florida State), the Gators only have to face one of the West division’s contenders, in LSU, on October 10. Alabama and Ole Miss are not on the regular season schedule nor is Auburn to trip them up.

Tennessee, which has lost to Florida the past four seasons and been outscored in the last two meetings 89-26, returns to The Swamp with SEC Public Enemy #1 Lane Kiffin as the new head coach. The Gators would have beat the Vols without the illegal recruiting accusations against Urban Meyer, but now the Volunteers would be wise to look out for a few extra touchdowns tacked on late. Florida takes down Tennessee, 66-21.

Always a tough test in Baton Rouge, LSU hopes to avenge the embarrassment of last season’s 30-point loss. The task seems to be easier with yet another primetime match-up in Tiger Stadium, but a week off, a reminder of the way they lost in 2007, and a guaranteed bulletin board shot towards Tim Tebow (see Ronny Jean-Francois) will have Florida more than game for the Tigers. The Gators tame the Bayou Bengals, 27-14

Halloween brings the World Largest Annual Bulldog Curb Stomp to Jacksonville and replays of Brandon Spikes blowing up Knowshon Moreno in the hole. With Florida beating Georgia 16 out of the last 19 years and Joe Cox and Caleb King replacing Stafford and Moreno experts would predict a Florida-Tennessee beat down, but expect a closer game than the 49-10 woodshed beating last year. Gators squeak by 38-7.

After a few November practice runs, the Gators go into Senior Day against the rival Seminoles with a chance to finish the season with an undefeated record. If last season’s dismantling of the ’Noles in the Tallahassee monsoon is any indication of what will happen, the Gators might score enough to match Coach Bowden’s age. Gators cap the regular season with a 49-13 victory over FSU.

This Gator fan is hoping to see the Ole Miss Rebels in the SEC Championship Game. Revenge is sweet especially when the stakes are high, but this grudge match is unlikely because the Rebels will struggle to handle the attention they will receive this season and they are the only SEC West team not to represent the West in the Georgia Dome. Florida rolls over the Crimson Tide for the second year in a row and third time in the SEC Championship, 31-14.

The Gators have the best chance to repeat since the ’05 Trojans who featured Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. I predict they will finish what USC could not; win the National Championship in the Rose Bowl. Florida beats Oklahoma again for the National Championship by the same score, 24-14.