The Great UF-FSU Football Gap of the Urban Meyer Era

In trying to come up with an article title, I thought of going a little more specific, such as The Great UF-FSU Talent Gap, or The Great UF-FSU Coaching Gap, or The Great UF-FSU Recruiting Gap, or, well, you get the point.

Then I realized that all the above would be accurate, but not necessarily comprehensive, and I left the title as it is. The Great UF-FSU Football Gap.

Note to FSU fans: Before you go ranting and raving, please see that I have qualified this article with "Of the Urban Meyer Era." Of course, this is assuming you can read and you know what the word "qualified" means.

The simple fact over the past couple of years is that Florida has been much better than Florida State in football.

Recruiting: check.

Coaching: check.

Winning: check.

All-Americans: check.

Number of rings: check.

Number of trophies: check.

Rhodes Scholars: oh...well, you can't have it all, I guess.

I'm not just blowing air here either. The results of the past two games have shown how much better the Gators are than their rivals out west. Even in the Gators' down year (2007), they managed to destroy the Noles 42-12.

This year, of course, the Gators are back on top, and not surprisingly destroyed the ACC almost division champ Seminoles 45-15. In the pouring rain, no less.

The reason why this is happening is due to the first two items of the "check list" above. It starts with recruiting, and that started with Tim Tebow. In Urban Meyer's first full year of recruiting for the Gators, he managed to grab Tim Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and the recipient of the most first place votes for the same award in 2008.

Also recruited in that year are fellow All-American standouts Percy Harvin and Brandon Spikes. That's a hell of a year for any team.

To be fair, FSU also had three players on the AP All-American list: First Team selection Kicker Graham Gano, Second team selection DL Everette Brown, and Third teamer S Myron Rolle.

Hmmmm, a kicker you say? Well dag gummit, there is some pride in the FSU program. Also, I find it interesting that the two other All-Americans were on a defense that allowed 45 points in the Soak at Doak. And I would take Major Wright over Myron Rolle any day of the week and twice on Saturday (Wright's only a sophomore).

Recruiting good players isn't enough (see 2008 LSU Tigers). It must follow with great coaching. Gone are the days of the sack-happy Mickey Andrews Defenses of the '90s. Gone are the Mark Richt-led Offensive powers of the same era.

Insert an older and less creative Mickey Andrews and a JaMarcus Russell-less Jimbo Fisher and you have the current five-year losing streak to the Gators. In two years against the Spread N Shred, the FSU defense has looked helpless, giving up 42 and 45 points, respectively.

Throw in the offense that's only scored one touchdown in the past nine quarters against the Gators, and I think it is safe to say that game planning belongs to Urban's crew.

I currently reside in Tallahassee, incidentally, so I get to hear the attempts of smack talk from FSU "fans." As I walked out of Florida's last-minute loss to FSU in basketball the other week, I heard chants of, "It SUCKS to be, a Florida Gator."

If losing a regular season away basketball game makes being a fan of that team SUCK, then it must be inconsolable to be a Florida State Seminole. Of course, this is assuming that FSU fans know what the word "inconsolable" means.