Chomping Down on the Gators: Can Cincy bite back?

After scouring the internet for information on the Cincinnati-Florida Sugar Bowl matchup, I found it nearly impossible to get any sort of education about the actual game itself.  In case you were lucky enough to avoid the onslaught of media attention to non-football information on the Sugar Bowl, here is what you’ve missed:

Rambling about Urban Meyer’s stress incident, discussion about Brian Kelly, Charlie Strong and Jeff Quinn leaving, interviews with players about the prior issues, a few tidbits on All-Conference and All-America selections, the obligatory “what it means for Seniors to play in their last game”, the usual Tim Tebow talk and a bunch of other nonsense that really does not matter all that much.  The avid fan wants to know about their opponent and how their team is going to win this game?  I don’t care who is coaching elsewhere or next year until this game is over.  I want to know if the Bearcats have a chance to upset Florida.

Instead of rambling about what everyone else is rambling about, I’d like to delve into the season Florida had and try and provide some sort of hope for Bearcats fans.

First and foremost, I’m throwing out the home games Florida played against Charleston Southern, Troy, and FIU.  They aren’t worth evaluation.  And don’t give me any crap about Troy being good because they had a winning record and went to a bowl.  They got blown out by all real competition and their marquee win was at home against a 5-7 Conference USA team (UAB).

Florida played ten meaningful games and won nine of them.  Four of these games were never really in doubt.

The Well Played:

The Gators won big at Kentucky (41-7), took out rival Georgia (41-17) at a neutral site, swamped Vanderbilt (27-3) at home, and blew out rival Florida State (37-10) at home.  These teams combined to go 23-27 this year.  Vandy’s 2-10 mark weighed that down a bit, but it points out that none of these teams were major threats to challenge the Gators.  The Gators dominated each team with efficient passing from Tim Tebow, a gashing run game, and an abusive defense.  The Chosen One, Tebow, obviously had no QB anywhere near his status to compete with.  The only truly decent opposing QB was Christian Ponder of FSU…and he was hurt that week.  All of this translated into an average margin of victory of 27.25 points per game against mediocre competition.  This reveals little.

The Ugly:

Certainly, this category is a little harsh because Florida only lost one game all season, but the manner they won games was pretty “Ungatorlike.”  I swear that’s a word.  Six of their games were close in the 4^th Quarter.  In winning two national titles in three years, the Gators were not grinding out wins like this too often.  This year it seemed like a trend.  Florida won five games by a margin of 8.6 points per game and got stomped by 19 in the SEC title game.  Obviously this section of competition was much better and it warrants mentioning that four of the six games were on the road or at neutral sites.  Undefeated Alabama (13-0) and nationally ranked LSU (9-3) led this group to a 41-20 record.  Florida hosted rival Tennessee (7-5), Arkansas (7-5), and traveled to South Carolina (7-5).

Each win gave cause for concern.  After the home win over Tennessee, QB Tim Tebow said “It wasn’t how we envisioned or hoped.”  The Arkansas game was nearly even in yardage, and Florida scraped by despite losing the turnover battle 4-0.  A couple of missed field goals kept the Razorbacks from an upset.  Urban Meyer acknowledged “You usually don’t win that kind of game.” Mississippi State gave the Gators a scare by forcing a couple of Tebow interceptions and running back a kickoff.  The defense flustered Florida’s offense all night and Bulldog Defensive End Pernell McPhee said “I felt like we frustrated them and made them do some new things they did not usually do tonight. They got in the I formation tonight and that is the first time I have ever seen them do that.”  Florida jumped out to an early lead but the Gamecocks found a way to make Florida sweat.

The Alabama game was evidence that Florida was not the best team in country, and in turn, the SEC.  Tim Teblow cried and hopes for another title crashed and burned.  Bama ran for 251 yards, forced a Tebow pick, and controlled the game from start to finish.

What does this mean for Cincy?

It means they have a chance.  Clearly the Bearcats have not played anyone of Florida’s caliber, but they have a few things working for them.

1. Tebow has thrown some picks.

2. Mississippi State ran back a kick on the Gators.  Bearcat Senior Wideout Mardy Gilyard is the best kick returner in the country.

3. Gator WR Brandon James is out with a foot injury.

4. Carlos Dunlap might get hammered on NYE and drive in NOLA.

5. Florida has not faced a pass-first spread offense…much less one led by a great QB like Tony Pike.

6. Pike and UC struggled in the cold weather at Pitt.  The indoor turf should help.

7. Urban might be stressed out.