There's Only One Thing Florida is Thinking About
Most of the talk surrounding UF these days involves the BCS. Urban Meyer has called for its implosion if Michigan and Ohio State get their rematch. The Gators feel like a win is a win. Style points shouldn't matter.
The voters don't seem to agree.
And there are some people who think Florida has no chance to jump Michigan anyway. Perhaps the National Championship is already out of the question.
Well, none of that is on the Gators' minds this week. It's all about Saturday. It's all about Arkansas and Darren McFadden and winning the conference.
What is the freshman Tim Tebow thinking about?
"Arkansas, and that's it right now," he said. "That's all we're worried about. Trying to go in the SEC Championship and take care of business."
That won't be easy against an Arkansas team with a great running game, a very good receiver (Marcus Monk), and an underrated defense. Certainly the Gators watched the Arkansas-LSU game and saw how the Razorbacks put up points against the Tigers.
Even though Tebow won't have to worry about McFadden, he knows his defense will.
"They're gonna have to bring it," Tebow said. "(McFadden) runs really hard, and it takes more than one person to bring him down most of the time."
Of course, Arkansas has a lot to be concerned about as well. The Gators are the fourth-ranked team in the country for a reason. They have a stingy defense, a great pass rush, Chris Leak, Tebow, Percy Harvin, Dallas Baker. The offense sounds like something from the Spurrier Era. UF's offensive speed will be a lot for the Arkansas defense to handle.
But Florida might be at a disadvantage on special teams. We've seen what McFadden and Felix Jones are capable of doing on kickoff returns.
The Gators will be prepared.
"We got a litlte something for them," special teams standout Wondy Pierre-Louis said, with a big grin on his face. "I aint gonna say nothing, but we're gonna see what happens."
Pierre-Louis reiterated what Tebow had already told us.
"We're just focusing on Arkansas," he said. "We're trying to win the game."
Saturday's game is setting up to be a good one. There is a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. There is a guy named McFadden who will be up for the Heisman this year. There are two guys on Florida named Tebow and Harvin who might have a chance to win that award in the upcoming seasons.
And there are the National Championship implications, but the Gators will worry about that after they try to take care of business against the Hogs.
"Winning the SEC is one of our goals, and it's what we've been working for," Tebow said. "That's all we're worried about. After that game, I think maybe then there will be time to look at some other stuff. But for now, it's not even something we can control. So why worry about it?"
