Gators gain title game
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Florida spoiled its fans with seven appearances in the conference championship game during the Steve Spurrier era, but it seemed as if the program?s mystique vanished when Spurrier left to become the head coach of the Washington Redskins. After three disappointing seasons under Ron Zook, Urban Meyer was brought in and the former Utah head coach has won the trust of Gator Nation in less than two full seasons on the job.
?We were fortunate enough to play in the first five SEC Championship games. We?ve had a bit of a dry spell, but we?re excited to be going back to Atlanta,? Meyer said at his press conference on Sunday
Most figured that Meyer?s revolutionary spread offense, which made former Ute quarterback Alex Smith the first pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, would return Florida to its familiar role of championship contender. Instead, the defense has led the way. The Gators won four conference games this season by seven points or fewer, thanks to a defense that ranks first in the conference with an average yield of 69.7 rushing yards per game.
To make the centennial season of Florida football truly one for the ages, the Gators will have to contain McFadden and force the Razorbacks to throw the football. Led by Utah transfer Ryan Smith and Reggie Nelson in the secondary, Florida has notched a conference-best 17 interceptions this season.
?We?ve got to do a better job of creating separation,? Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said. ?We?ve got to do a better job of throwing the ball. I think our receivers know that and realize that they?re going to be going against some very good defensive backs. If you look at the stats, you see that we don?t really throw that much, but we?ve got to work on that.?
Arkansas has struggled to find consistency from its quarterbacks, and the Razorbacks? passing attack ranks 105th nationally with an average of 148.2 yards per game. Freshman Mitch Mustain appeared to be the answer, but he gave way to Casey Dick down the stretch. Dick struggled in last week?s 31-26 loss to LSU, completing just 3 of 17 attempts for 29 yards. As strange as it may seem, McFadden might be the team?s most viable option at quarterback.
In addition to leading the conference in rushing yards, McFadden has played quarterback on 52 snaps this season in the Razorbacks? Wildcat package. The 6-foot-2, 212-pound sophomore and Doak Walker Award finalist has thrown for 70 yards and two touchdowns on 5-of-5 passing.
?One of the things we try to do is to figure out different ways to get McFadden the ball,? Nutt said. ?We have other guys that we go to as well to try to create some opportunities for him. We do try to add one new thing each week.?
It?s not just McFadden who makes the Arkansas offense go. The elusive Felix Jones needs just 39 rushing yards to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the season, the offensive line has imposed its will on opposing defensive fronts, and wide receiver Marcus Monk has 46 receptions for 880 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Florida quarterback Chris Leak was been an enigma over his college career. He was the top-rated high school quarterback from the senior class of 2003 and has been the Gators? primary starter each of the last four seasons, but not everyone has been sold on his ability despite the fact that he is on the verge of rewriting the school record books.
Leak is a traditional quarterback, one who would have fit in nicely in a Spurrier-like Fun ?n? Gun offense. Leak doesn?t seem like such a natural when it comes to Meyer?s spread offense.
Meyer has confidence in Leak to find play-making wide receivers like Dallas Baker and Andre Caldwell. Baker is Florida?s top receiver with 54 grabs for 872 yards and nine touchdowns this season, while Caldwell has recovered from a broken leg suffered last season and has caught 52 passes for 540 yards and five touchdowns.
Tim Tebow has become a folk hero in the Sunshine State and the type of running threat Meyer needs for his system to flourish. When he?s not picking up first downs or scampering across the goal line, the vaunted freshman quarterback can be seen on the sidelines cheering for his teammates and pumping up the crowd.
Tebow, who has carried the ball 71 times this season for 399 yards and seven touchdowns, is the team?s second leading rusher and brings an efficiency rating of 194.34 into Saturday after completing 21 of 32 passes for 357 yards with four touchdowns and one interception during the regular season.
?(Florida) is a big-play team,? Nutt said. ?They?ve got some great receivers and Chris Leak has a lot of weapons. Then you bring in Tebow, who is one of the strongest runners I?ve seen as a freshman. All in all, they?ve just got a lot of weapons that they can hit you with.?
The Arkansas defense, which has overcome safety Michael Grant?s season-ending knee injury, has been vulnerable against both the pass and run at times this season. Southern California collected 472 yards of total offense in a season-opening 50-14 win, Vanderbilt collected 240 yards on the ground against the unit and five teams have passed for more than 201 yards this season.
Neither team has a distinct edge when it comes to the third phase of the game. The Gators rank eighth nationally in net punting, but place-kicker Chris Hetland was been horrendous this season and has only converted 3 of 12 field goal attempts.
The Razorbacks are third in the country with a kickoff return average of 26.6 yards, and Jacob Skinner, who is averaging 38.0 yards per punt, has put 23 of his 49 punts inside the opposition?s 20. The punt return unit ranks eighth in the conference, and Jeremy Davis hasn?t exactly been automatic, converting 6 of 11 field goal attempts but only 1 of 5 from 40 yards on more.
Arkansas vs. Florida
n Records: Arkansas 10-2 (7-1 SEC West); Florida 11-1 (7-1 SEC East). n Coaches: Arkansas? Houston Nutt (103-64); Florida?s Urban Meyer (59-12). n Series: Florida leads 5-1. n Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET Saturday. n TV: CBS.