If Tennessee and the rest of the SEC East do not stop Florida from winning the division this year, they could be in a long wait similar to the 1990s when Steve Spurrier ruled the league. Although the Gators are ranked fifth in the nation and are favored to win the East again, they are almost as vulnerable as Spurrier's 1992 team.
Just like then, UF's third- and fourth-year players, the heart of most championship teams, come from weak recruiting classes. Just like then, the Gators might have enough strengths to win the division anyway.
The SEC is tougher than it was in the 1990s, but UF coach Urban Meyer and his staff are building a powerhouse that will be awfully tough to beat starting next year. This Saturday, it may be now or never for the Vols.
The Tennessee game this Saturday is big for Florida, but it is even bigger for the rest of the SEC East.
If the Gators get to the SEC Championship Game this season, it is hard to envision anyone stopping them in the near future. Urban Meyer and his staff proved they could coach brilliantly last year, adjusting the offense to fit the strengths of quarterback Chris Leak and overcoming the loss of All-America caliber defensive tackle Marcus Thomas at midseason. The coaches have recruited tremendously the past two years, drawing comparisons to Pete Carroll at USC in the way they are building a program.
This year? It is 1992 all over again, when Steve Spurrier guided a team with major holes to the East championship and set the table for league domination the next four seasons as those weaknesses disappeared.
OK, it is not quite the same. The SEC is much deeper than in the early 1990s, so no team will win four championships in a row while decapitating almost every opponent in its path, as the Gators did with their 34-2 league record from 1993-96. But Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and even Kentucky are on leveler playing field with Florida right now than they will be for the next several years.
The Gators are very vulnerable even if the pollsters don't believe it, just as in 1992. Spurrier's team, coming off its first official SEC championship, was ranked fourth before facing Tennessee despite losing a terrific senior class from 1991. He had few quality juniors and seniors because Florida had recruited poorly in 1989, the last year of Galen Hall's tenure, and 1990, a coaching transition year.
Meyer's team, coming off the second national championship in school history, is ranked fifth entering the Tennessee game after losing an incredible group of seniors. He, too, is nearly bereft of big-time juniors and seniors thanks to Ron Zook's highly rated but shallow class in his final season and the typical misfires as Meyer's staff recruited on the fly in 2005.
The holes are in different spots, but they are huge. The 1992 Gators were awful on the offensive line, with Jim Watson the only holdover starter from '91. True freshman Reggie Green started the season opener at left tackle, and another true freshman, Jason Odom, took over at right tackle after three games.
The 2006 Gators look terrible at defensive tackle and are terribly young in the secondary. Clint McMillan and Javier Estopinan, the two interior-line starters in the season opener against Western Kentucky, combined for one tackle. True sophomore Brandon Antwine replaced Estopinan against Troy, but the results were not exactly triumphant. Although he and McMillan combined for five tackles, the Gators gave up 31 points and got zero push up the middle. Marcus Thomas and Ray McDonald and Joe Cohen and Steven Harris, they're not.
UF's top four cornerbacks – Joe Haden, Wondy Pierre-Louis, Markihe Anderson and Jacques Rickerson – are either freshman or first-year starters. That foursome is talented, but Troy's receivers were running free all over the field in the second half last Saturday. While they learn on the job, they will get burned more than once.
Tennessee exposed the '92 Gators on the third Saturday of September, winning 31-14 at Neyland Stadium. Twelve days later, Mississippi State mauled them 30-6 in Starkville.
Fifteen years later, Meyer's Gators won't be exposed as easily on the third Saturday. Like all comparisons, this one breaks down in the details. The '92 team was shaky on defense, too, so Florida could not overcome its offensive inefficiency.
The 2006 Gators have a veteran offensive line and a plethora of playmakers at the skill positions. If the defense collapses against Tennessee, Tim Tebow and company will score enough points to keep pace with the Vols.
Still, Tennessee is in perfect position. Florida will get better defensively as its young players mature, but they have not prepared long enough to withstand their first major test. Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge can pick apart a secondary when he gets time to throw, and he should be able to stand in the pocket if the Vols focus their protection on UF ends Derrick Harvey and Jermaine Cunningham while ignoring UF's tackles.
The '92 team was incredibly lucky to win the SEC East, as Tennessee went from a choke-hold on the division to grabbing its own neck, sandwiching 1-point losses to mediocre Arkansas and South Carolina around a defeat to eventual national champion Alabama.
Meyer doesn't believe in luck, so he needs to win this Saturday. Since 1992, the Florida-Tennessee loser has reached the SEC Championship Game only once in 14 years.
But if the Gators lose, they likely will have to wait no longer than next year to play for another SEC title. Tebow will be a year older, and Meyer's top-ranked recruiting classes of 2005 and 2006 will begin to flourish the same way as Spurrier's touted '91 haul in 1993.
If Tennessee loses, the Vols and everyone else in the East may have to wait a long time to play in Atlanta. They need to get the Gators now or face the scary potential of fighting for second place forever.
uf vulnerable, but not for long
uf vulnerable, but not for long
several weeks ago I thought this team would be similar to SoS's teams in the early years that had to out score people to win.
“The Knave abideth.” I dare speak not for thee, but this maketh me to be of good comfort; I deem it well that he be out there, the Knave, being of good ease for we sinners.
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annarborgator
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uf vulnerable, but not for long
is this year's SEC really tougher than it was in the early 90's? i guess there are more solid teams. i'm gonna have to do a little research at some point.
I've never met a retarded person who wasn't smiling.
uf vulnerable, but not for long
They throw the ball more than they did in the early 90's but I wouldn't say the SEC is tougher right now than it was in the early 90's.
“The Knave abideth.” I dare speak not for thee, but this maketh me to be of good comfort; I deem it well that he be out there, the Knave, being of good ease for we sinners.
uf vulnerable, but not for long
^^^especially this year...watching UT and Auburn so far, it's not looking all that hot this year...and not to mention UGA. But USC and Vandy are a bit better, and Kentucky isn't as bad as it used to be. But Old Miss, Miss St still suck.
Okay, let's try this!
uf vulnerable, but not for long
I think it's as strong as ever. There's just some shifting going on. By the end of the year Arkansas' place in the west will probably be solidified and Alabama will have replaced Auburn. In the east South Carolina will have taken the place of Tennessee...Kentucky will be seen as yet another solid team in the east.
