JTrain
All-Conference
I see similarities here. OK, let me explain before you jump on me. Would '09 UF win the head-to-head? Definitely. Probably by a couple scores. That said, I think it is a useful analogy based on how Florida has played thus far.
2001 Nebraska was very highly touted in the preseason, ranked 4th in the AP poll. Their schedule was pretty soft for the most part, and it was very tough to tell how great they really were, although everyone just assumed they were indeed great. Their first big test was against a very overrated Notre Dame team (ranked 17th at the time, finished 5-6), and they won 27-10 giving the fan base a lot of false confidence and making Crouch the Heisman front-runner. They also beat Oklahoma, their most impressive win of the season, by playing a smart game and using a brilliant trick play. However, they turned out to have plenty of flaws, and got handled by CU and Miami to end the season in a terrible fashion.
2009 Florida was very, VERY highly touted in the preseason, ranked 1st in every poll known to man. Their early schedule has been pretty soft, and their only win against a ranked team has been against an extremely overrated LSU team (that should have lost to Miss. St.). Tebow is being handed the Heisman by default, despite having done very little to deserve even being mentioned as a candidate. Fan base is full of false confidence as everyone still worships Tebow and thinks the win at Death Valley was a great feat. Even though they play in the very good SEC, they don't have to play Alabama (at least in the regular season), the only other legit top 15 team in the conference, IMO.
Now, Florida does have the clear advantage of WAY more talent on defense and a much better offensive playcaller than '01 NU. But I still think the similarities are worth noting, and I think Florida will end up with two losses (one being Arkansas, USC or possibly even Georgia or FSU, and the other being to Bama in the CCG). They then probably slip into a BCS at-large spot because of the Tebow factor, but hopefully slip to the Cotton.
2001 Nebraska was very highly touted in the preseason, ranked 4th in the AP poll. Their schedule was pretty soft for the most part, and it was very tough to tell how great they really were, although everyone just assumed they were indeed great. Their first big test was against a very overrated Notre Dame team (ranked 17th at the time, finished 5-6), and they won 27-10 giving the fan base a lot of false confidence and making Crouch the Heisman front-runner. They also beat Oklahoma, their most impressive win of the season, by playing a smart game and using a brilliant trick play. However, they turned out to have plenty of flaws, and got handled by CU and Miami to end the season in a terrible fashion.
2009 Florida was very, VERY highly touted in the preseason, ranked 1st in every poll known to man. Their early schedule has been pretty soft, and their only win against a ranked team has been against an extremely overrated LSU team (that should have lost to Miss. St.). Tebow is being handed the Heisman by default, despite having done very little to deserve even being mentioned as a candidate. Fan base is full of false confidence as everyone still worships Tebow and thinks the win at Death Valley was a great feat. Even though they play in the very good SEC, they don't have to play Alabama (at least in the regular season), the only other legit top 15 team in the conference, IMO.
Now, Florida does have the clear advantage of WAY more talent on defense and a much better offensive playcaller than '01 NU. But I still think the similarities are worth noting, and I think Florida will end up with two losses (one being Arkansas, USC or possibly even Georgia or FSU, and the other being to Bama in the CCG). They then probably slip into a BCS at-large spot because of the Tebow factor, but hopefully slip to the Cotton.
