When all the votes are counted I think Florida is a unanimous National Champion. This quote from receiver David Nelson says it all: ""We beat the No. 1 team in the nation two games in a row," Florida's Nelson said. "We beat the preseason No. 1 [Georgia]. We beat the defending national champs [LSU]. We've answered all questions." And another opinion from SI: "No team in the country finished the season stronger against quality opponents than the Gators, who beat six ranked teams, including two No. 1 teams to finish the season."
Still say Utah deserves a chance to play for it. It needs to be decided on the field not by some computer.
16 Brave souls voted Utah #1 in the AP Poll. But the rest voted for UF. So Gators aren't unanimous...but still #1 in both polls.
I believe the best team in the nation won last night. They held the highest scoring offense in NCAA history to 14 points utilizing two amazing goal line stands to get it done. I was impressed with the Florida D. The Oklahoma defense, to their credit, was a lot better than I aniticipated. It was a competitive game but the Florida defense and Tebow/Harvin were just too good in the end. Utah certainly has an argument and a good one at that but I what Florida accomplished is enough for me.
That's what I meant Terry.....didn't expect all the votes and actually only 16 dissenting in the AP is surprisingly low to me. Good points Aquila.....I agree the OU defense was better than I thought and wrt Florida's defense we saw why the ppg against the Gators was so low this season. Almost all of the two deep for that defense is returning next year. Can they get better?
So Texas ends up above OK in the final poll. There's something unfair about the whole thing. By the way is STOOPS the OK coach's real name or is that short for something ellse?
Gipper, Stoops is his real name. I only have a small amount of time this morning as I still have some preparation to do for my first class today. But let me say this about the so called number 1 debate. In the coaches poll Utah only finished 4th. Obviously the coaches didn't think they were even 2nd best. In the AP, even though they got 16 first place votes and did finish second, the gap between Florida and Utah is greater than the gap would have been if everyone had Florida and Utah either number one or number two. Which means that there are quite a few voters that had Utah lower than 2nd place. There did not seem to be all that much controversy in the voters minds. Mine either. Anyway, as I said earlier elsewhere I'm a happy camper this morning but am going to have to prepare for my first class and won't be back until about 5 o'clock.
I'd put SC or Utah on the field with either of those teams I saw play last night. If you thought Oklahoma's defense was good, you have no idea. That being said, and this seems to get lost in all of this, it is the system that is fooked not the kids or the teams. I don't blame the coaches for whoring themselves out and lobbying as hard as they can to get their kids a #1 vote. But this system, it's broken.
Love this debate; great points by all. But in the end, all that matters is ......... Go Gators!! :wink:
And for the record, I really hope I live long enough to see a real playoff system in the big school division, now k/a the Football Bowl Subdivision.
How Many SEC Students does it take to Change a Light Bulb? At VANDERBILT: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard. At GEORGIA: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to explain how they're not a student but their cousin's best friend's father-in-law's son is a student at Georgia and the whole family is so proud of him...Go Dawgs! At FLORIDA : it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one. At ALABAMA: it takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator. At OLE MISS: it takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion. At LSU: it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester hours. At KENTUCKY: it takes eight, one to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season. At TENNESSEE: it takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama. At MISSISSIPPI STATE: it takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, 'GO TO ####, OLE MISS'. At AUBURN: it takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama, and fifty to get drunk and roll Toomer's Corner when finished. At SOUTH CAROLINA: it takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team. At ARKANSAS: None. There is no electricity in Arkansas
SEC Football Quiz 1. What does the average Alabama player get on his SATs? ........Drool. 2. What do you get when you put thirty-two Arkansas cheerleaders in one room? ........A full set of teeth. 3. How do you get a South Carolina cheerleader into your dorm room? ........Grease her hips and push. 4. How do you get a Georgia graduate off your porch? ........Pay him for the pizza. 5. How do you know if an Ole Miss football player has a girlfriend? .......There is tobacco spit on both sides of his pickup. 6. Why is the Kentucky football team like a possum? ........Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road. 7. What are the longest three years of an Auburn football player's life? ........His freshman year. 8. How many Florida Freshmen does it take to change a light bulb? ........None -- that's a sophomore course. 9. Where was O. J. headed in the white Bronco? ....... Baton Rouge , Louisiana . He knew that the police would never look at LSU for a Heisman Trophy winner. AND FINALLY (drum roll and cymbal crash.....) 10. Why did Tennessee choose orange as their team color? .........You can wear it to the game on Saturday, hunting on Sunday, and picking up trash along the highways the rest of the week!
Florida lost by one point on a blocked extra point to the #14 ranked Cotton Bowl Champ. The Gators obliterated everyone else except for a solid win ( at the end ) over #1 ranked at the time Alabama. Utah managed to win by a combined 5 points over a 3-9 team and 5-7 team. I just don't think Utah would have managed Florida's season long schedule as well as the Gators did. One more thing on the Bama comparison for both....did you see what an impact Harvin was for Florida last night? Florida would be a 12 point favorite over the Utes.
Well, hard to say what Utah would do in the SEC but we do know for a fact that Bradford had a 122 QB eff rating against an SEC defense. Against the Big 12 he had a 181. :wink: