Florida Gators Football in 2008
A Short Review of The University of Florida Outlook for Next Season
Tim Tebow may have made history by receiving the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore, but the Gators lost 4 times last year, including a bowl game beating to a down-trodden Michigan Wolverine team. So are the Gators in the hunt for a national title in 2008 or are they simply a fun team to watch score a lot of points but one that can’t compete at the top level? A long look at the Gators heading into the summer begs one question: can one weakness cost an otherwise great team a shot at becoming champions?
Offense
Offensively Florida is lights-out. Nobody in the nation has the top-to-bottom talent that Urban Meyer is sporting in Gainesville. Tim Tebow is nearly unstoppable at quarterback, and the skill positions are overflowing with physical ability. Percy Harvin was Florida’s most lethal weapon as a true freshman when they won the national title and has Heisman Trophy-caliber talent. Cornelius Ingram went from quarterback to monster tight end, and Chris Rainey is poised to break out as another uncoverable weapon at receiver or running back. Barring catastrophic injuries Florida will be exploiting mismatches Saturday after Saturday throughout the fall.
Defensively the Gators have plenty of talent. Joe Haden and Major Wright started as true freshmen in the secondary last year and although they struggled both showed flashes of big play brilliance at times. Along with Wondy Pierre-Louis Florida returns 3 starters in the secondary. Linebacker Brandon Spikes returns after leading the team in tackles a year ago.
Florida's greatest weakness
The absolutely gargantuan question for Florida is defensive tackle. Florida got manhandled last year up front and they lost starting defensive tackle Clint McMillon. All four losses last year were to teams that pushed the defense around up front. Auburn, LSU, Georgia and Michigan all ran the ball straight up the gut against a weak Florida front line and put up well over 4 yards per carry each. Florida may actually benefit from the fact that Auburn and Tennessee are spreading out offensively next year, but the bottom line is everyone they face will try to establish the ground game between the tackles (except for probably Hawaii in week one, who I’m not sure even has a running back). No matter how good Tebow, Harvin and company are on offense if Florida doesn’t find some players inside on defense they simply can’t maintain a run for the national title.
The good news for Gator nation is that the offense looks so impressive they could feasibly outscore enough people to make a run at the SEC crown. If the defensive front shores up and plays well then the Gators are flat-out the best team in the nation. If not, then the scariest offense in the land could end up playing a mid-December bowl game instead of one after New Year’s.
