The Greatest Team of Our Era?

by cocknfire on Nov 8, 2008 11:44 PM EST in SEC Football

It wasn't that long ago that Urban Meyer was criticized for calling Tim Tebow "the greatest player of our era." Tebow hadn't won anything without Chris Leak, the critics pointed out -- not the SEC East, not the SEC and certainly not the national title.

All that goes away today, with Florida annihilating Vanderbilt 42-14 as the Great Timbino passes for 171 yards, runs for another 88 and scores 5 TDs. Tebow might not be the greatest player of our era, but Florida just might be the greatest team of the year. Yes, they lost to Ole Miss. But, with the exception of that game, no other team has even come close to challenging the Gators as they bulldozed the rest of their schedule.

Not the greatest, perhaps, but still pretty good.

No one seriously questions whether Florida will win its last three games -- vs. South Carolina, vs. The Citadel, at Florida State. The only question in everyone's mind is the margin. Can South Carolina's great defense hold the Gators under 30? How long will Tebow play against The Citadel? Can Florida State, a good team that has thrived in the weak ACC, challenge their old rival?

Florida, of all teams, should be cautious. In retrospect, the Mississippi loss is unforgivable. And Florida is only a few wins away from the BCS title game because Penn State lost to Iowa when they weren't "supposed to."

But if they win the rest of their games from here on out -- who thinks they lose to Alabama? They have to be favored to make the national championship game.

First things first, of course. The first thing was beating Vanderbilt and clinching the SEC East. Now, it's just a matter of staying alive.

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Comments

Whoa - slow your roll, honkie

Anyone can lose (though occasionally a team tests that thesis – Nebraska ’95, for one.)

- They can simply run into a better team; and Bama may very well be. (Remember those early decade Oklahoma teams that looked like world-beaters at this point in the season?)

- They can suffer a run of horrific mistakes, which is exactly what happened against Ole Miss. (A quality opponent can turn a close game into a rout in ten bad minutes.)

- They can come out flat mentally and never recover – or, as UF did against Ole Miss, lose focus when the game seems to be in hand. (The Gators were never really focused in that game, but it was still a 10-point lead at the half.) I think UF is immunised against flatness for the rest of the season, but you never really know. It’s so easy for justifiable confidence to shade over into a totally unjustifiable sense of invincibility.

by peachy rex on Nov 9, 2008 12:19 AM EST reply actions

That's why I said "Florida, of all teams, should be cautious"

They’ve been upset once. They should be aware that it can happen again.

Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.

by cocknfire on Nov 9, 2008 12:33 AM EST up reply actions

Yep, 1995 Huskers...

Best team I’ve seen. Ever. And IM35IMAMAN!!

by Stuck in the Plains on Nov 9, 2008 5:55 PM EST up reply actions

Fraizer...

First football game I ever sat through (I was 2 1/2 at the time) and I have to watch him run down the sidelines, dumping guys off his shoulders left and right. It’s a wonder I ever wanted to watch the game of football again… [goes off to sob]

Clutch: A measurement of how much better or worse a player does in high leverage situations than he would have done in a context neutral environment. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/glossary/

by bdalebs on Nov 10, 2008 5:36 PM EST up reply actions

To paraphrase Bill Parcells

Let’s not crown them yet. They look great, indeed, running over Vandy and all.

‘Bama vs. Florida should be a fascinating championship game—a matchup of two different styles performing at a high level. And I don’t think Florida would run away with that one.

by The ArchDawg on Nov 9, 2008 1:00 AM EST reply actions