Florida Gators 2009 Football Betting Preview

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Florida 2008 Record: (13-1, 7-1)
Florida 2008 Bowl: BCS National Championship vs. Oklahoma (W 24-14)
Florida Coach: Urban Meyer (44-9 at Florida, 83-17 overall)
Florida Offensive Coordinator: Steve Addazio
Florida Defensive Coordinator: Charlie Strong
Florida Returning Stats Leaders:

• Rushing: Tim Tebow, QB, 673 yards
• Passing: Tim Tebow, QB, 2,746 yards
• Receiving: Aaron Hernandez, TE, 381 yards
• Tackles: Brandon Spikes, LB, 93
• Sacks: Carlos Dunlap, DE, 9.5
• Interceptions: Ahmad Black, S, 7

Notable Florida Returning Players: WR Riley Cooper, DE Jermaine Cunningham, CB Joe Haden, CB Janoris Jenkins, LB A.J. Jones, DT Lawrence Marsh, C Maurkice Pouncey, RB Chris Rainey, DT Terron Sanders, LB Ryan Stamper, DE Justin Trattou, S Major Wright

Florida Key Losses: WR Percy Harvin, WR Louis Murphy, OT Phil Trautwein, OT Jason Watkins

To sum up the 2008 season: Florida went 13-1 and won the SEC and National Titles. The Gators had a Heisman Trophy finalist in quarterback Tim Tebow (who also happened to win it 2007). Urban Meyer is one of the best coaches in America and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has head coach written all over him. The Gator offense was so successful that offensive coordinator Dan Mullen is now Mississippi State’s head coach! Florida’s only loss came by a single point and they held an extremely explosive Oklahoma offense to a measly 14 points in their 24-14 win in the National Title game. Here’s the scary part for the rest of the country: Almost everyone is back.

Offensively, the Gators revolve around senior quarterback and cultural icon Tim Tebow. Like him or hate him, he’s perhaps the most visible college football player of the past decade. How good has Tebow been? When the SEC Preseason Team was announced, there was an outcry because Tebow wasn’t a unanimous decision! The 2007 Heisman Trophy winner was a finalist last fall as well and should once more find himself in New York at the end of the season. After passing for 30 touchdowns against only four interceptions last fall while rushing for over 650 yards and 12 touchdowns, can he really get much better?

Tebow also returns all three of his running backs from last season and an excellent offensive line. The Gators return four of their top five rushers and should have a dominant running game once more. The biggest question will be replacing their top two receivers as both Louis Murphy and 1 st round draft pick Percy Harvin are gone. Harvin will be especially difficult to replace as he accounted for over 600 yards both running and receiving last fall. On top of that, Florida will have a new offensive coordinator. So, there are some questions on offense but the Gators return almost everyone from a unit which put up nearly 44 points per game last fall. As long as the very physical Tebow stays healthy then this will still be one of the best offenses in the country.

Florida’s defense was excellent last fall, allowing only 13 points per game. If that wasn’t enough, the entire two deep returns and the Gators could be even better this year! Uh oh. The defense revolves around superstar senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes, who could have gone to the NFL this spring and is a very bad man who made 93 tackles and 4 picks last fall. On top of Spikes, junior safety Major Wright is an absolute force supporting the run and is the best player in a great secondary which also features fellow junior safety Ahmad Black, who tied for the conference lead in interceptions last season.

The Gators also have a very strong defensive line, highlighted by junior Carlos Dunlap, who notched 9.5 sacks in 2008, and their depth is excellent. On top of all of that, defensive coordinator Charlie Strong is one of the best in the nation and could easily be a future head coach somewhere. In the end, there’s only one thing you can say about a unit that dominated most opponents last season and returns literally every single contributor: This is going to be one heck of a defense.

The schedule is somewhat daunting for the Gators as they only have three true SEC home games. Luckily, the only major road test appears to come against LSU, a game which the Gators lost two years ago in Baton Rouge. Their annual grudge match with Georgia comes later in the season as the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party continues at its traditional site in Jacksonville. In the non-conference portion, rival Florida State is the only BCS opponent and the Gators play their typically light slate, which is especially disappointing after renewing their rivalry for only one year with Miami last fall. In short, this is a very manageable schedule as Florida avoids Alabama and Ole Miss out of the West.

To be quite obvious, Florida is an overwhelming favorite in the SEC East. A supremely talented team that oozes with experience going against a favorable schedule makes me think very long and hard about picking the Gators to finish undefeated for the first time in school history. However, only one SEC team has finished unbeaten in the past decade and I’m going to respect history and say that the Gators finish 7-1 in conference play despite their myriad of talent. However, Florida will almost certainly win the SEC East and play for the conference title and they’re also one the biggest favorite to play for the National Championship.

Florida Big Games: Sept. 19th vs. Tennessee, Oct. 10th @ LSU, Oct. 17th vs. Arkansas, Oct. 31st vs. Georgia( Jacksonville), Nov. 14th @ South Carolina, Nov. 28th vs. Florida State

Florida’s Strength:

However, the strength of this team is not the offense and Tebow, but it is the defense. Not only does the unit return all 11 starters, but every defensive player that saw any real playing time is back. For a team that ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense and ninth in total defense, it is going to take a real big effort to put any points on the board against the Gators. Linebacker Brandon Spikes is the leader of the group and tallied 93 total tackles last season. With Ahmad Black and Joe Haden anchoring the secondary and Carlos Dunlap dominating the frontline, the Gators defense has an insane amount of talent. Senior Jermaine Cunningham is the beneficiary of Dunlap’s play. Cunningham, the other defensive end, is a capable pass rusher and will make the opposition pay when they worry about Dunlap too much.

Florida’s Weakness:

Does this team really have a weakness? It surely is not at quarterback where Tebow has proven to be a dynamic passer and rusher. It probably will not even be at wide receiver despite the loss of both Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin. Murphy and Harvin were the top receivers last year and Harvin was also second on the team in rushing behind Tebow. Harvin is obviously a huge loss, but Murphy was a consistent receiver and he will be missed as well. However, the Gators do have talented playmakers like Riley Cooper and Deonte Thompson waiting to step up. The biggest problem will be on the offensive line where tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins need to be replaced. They were often overshadowed by the rest of the offense, but the offensive line made Tebow and the playmakers that much better.

Our Prediction for the 2009 Gators:

The Gators know that they have a problem on the offensive line. Offensive lineman turned defensive lineman Matt Patchan is moving back to the offensive side of the ball and he will likely need to play a relatively big role on this team. But with Tebow’s mobility the offensive line will have some time to come together. And, even if it does not, Florida has enough talent everywhere else to win another national title.

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