Florida Gators - SEC Preview

Wednesday, 22 August 2007

The party is over for the National Champion Florida Gators as they now have to defend their crown against a brutal set of contenders. This team is a young one chalk full of talent but it will be interesting to see how they react to being the champs. Head Coach Urban Meyer must be considered a great coach after last years success and his pure genius on offense. SportsBetting.com has the defending National Champion Florida Gators at 8 to 1 betting odds to win the 2008 BCS.

Urban Meyer runs his famous spread offense with a simple philosophy: create mismatches. This will be the year that everyone finds out just how good run first, throw second, Quarterback Tim Tebow really is. Tebow, 6-3 234, has a strong arm and can run with the best of them and is Florida's leading returning rusher. But having only thrown 33 passes last year Tebow is largely unproven as a passer. Backup QB's Cameron Newton, 6-5 242, could also see some playing time as Meyer plans on using a two QB's as an option again this year.

Whoever is throwing the ball will have an excellent set of targets to throw to. WR Percy Harvin, 5-11, 181, can pull the rabbit out of the hat at any time he touches the ball as either a reciever or a runner. Teaming with Harvin will be ultra productive senior Andre Caldwell, 6-0 198, who is coming off a 06' campaign that saw him score 6 TD's and 577 yards. The Gators lack a true bookend running back but junior Kestahn Moore, 5-10 208, is a grinder that appears to be the best of an ordinary bunch. The Florida offensive line again looks dominant this year with four starters returning.

The Florida Gators defense took a massive hit as 9 starters from last year have departed. While there is reason for concern their is plenty of speed and talent eager to prove themselves. The Gators had an awesome recuitment of young defensive blue-chippers that should be inserted immediately. The D-Line has future a NFL first-rounder in DE Derrick Harvey, 6-4 245. Harvey will pair up most likely with redshirt freshman Lawerence Marsh, 6-5 285. Marsh is a glass eating quick end that can make an impact. The tackles inside are undersized but quick.

Depth at linebacker is a concern and will feature three new starters. MLB will be manned by potentially great sophmore Brandon Spikes, 6-3 241. Alongside Spikes will be two lightning fast OLB's in Dustin Doe, 6-0 219, and A.J Jones, 6-1 205. Everybody in the secondary is new except strong safety Tony Joiner, 5-11, 217. The cornerback position has some young blue-chip athletes that are unproven and green as grass. The kicking game will have new players all around but return man Brandon James is explosive.

The Florida Gators will not repeat this year as National Champs. That said, the Gators have one of the best coaches in Urban Meyer and a ridiculous amount of young talent that can make this team good enough to challenge for the SEC title.

Brad Marchetti Opening Day Florida Gators Power Ratings: 20-80 Scale

20- Poor
30- Well Below Average
40- Below Average
50- Average
60- Above Average
70- Very Good
80- Great

Coaching: 70
Quarterback : 65
Backs : 50
Receivers : 75
Offensive Line : 65
Defensive Line : 65
Linebackers : 65
Secondary : 60
Special Teams : 55

SportsBetting.com has posted college football betting odds to win the 2008 BCS:

Alabama
100 - 1

Arizona
300 - 1

Arizona St
50 - 1

Arkansas
60 - 1

Auburn
100 - 1

BYU
300 - 1

Boise St
100 - 1

Boston College
200 - 1

California
40 - 1

Clemson
100 - 1

Colorado
200 - 1

Florida
8 - 1

Florida St
30 - 1

Georgia
35 - 1

Georgia Tech
75 - 1

Hawaii
300 - 1

Iowa
100 - 1

Kansas St
300 - 1

LSU
6 - 1

Louisville
20 - 1

Maryland
300 - 1

Miami FL
30 - 1

Michigan
8 - 1

Missouri
25 - 1

Nebraska
40 - 1

North Carolina St
300 - 1

Notre Dame
60 - 1

Ohio St
30 - 1

Oklahoma
12 - 1

Oklahoma St
50 - 1

Oregon
50 - 1

Oregon St
300 - 1

Penn St
40 - 1

Pittsburgh
300 - 1

Purdue
300 - 1

Rutgers
75 - 1

South Carolina
75 - 1

South Florida
100 - 1

TCU
100 - 1

Tennessee
45 - 1

Texas
10 - 1

Texas A&M
60 - 1

Texas Tech
300 - 1

UCLA
35 - 1

USC
5 - 2

Virginia Tech
30 - 1

Wake Forest
300 - 1

West Virginia
8 - 1

Wisconsin
30 - 1

Field (Any Other Team)
100 - 1