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Desperate to find some offensive rhythm, Florida took a close look at two of college football's most recent juggernauts.
The Gators copied everything they could.
Florida re-examined the 2008 team at Oklahoma, the highest-scoring in NCAA history (716 points) and the first to score 60 or more in five consecutive games, and then broke down this year's squad at Oregon. The top-ranked Ducks are averaging 573 yards and 55 points.
The Sooners, with Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford at quarterback, ran an up-tempo scheme that gave defenses fits. Oregon plays even faster and has been equally tough to stop.
Florida took notice.
The Gators (5-3, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) spent two weeks installing no-huddle formations and incorporating a dual-quarterback twist for deception. The result was a season-high 77 plays, 450 total yards and a 34-31 victory in overtime Saturday against rival Georgia.
Now, they plan to make it a full-time part of the offense.
''Last year, we dorked around a little bit with it,'' offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said Tuesday. ''We just decided we're going to go to it now.''
Florida first started tinkering with the no-huddle in spring 2009, after coaches witnessed firsthand how difficult it was to prepare for. The Gators spent four weeks getting ready for the Sooners in the Bowl Championship Series national title game, learning how taxing up-tempo offense could be on conditioning, communicating, substituting and getting lined up properly.
Addazio figured he would try it with Tim Tebow & Co. The Gators called it the ''banzai'' package, but used it sparingly last season. Given Tebow's leadership skills, coach Urban Meyer felt it was better to have him directing everything from a huddle.
What about now?
''I could kick myself for not going to it full time, but obviously it worked out the other way,'' Meyer said.
The Gators needed something - anything - to spark their lackluster offense. Quarterback John Brantley clearly wasn't comfortable running option plays, and running backs Jeff Demps, Emmanuel Moody and Mike Gillislee haven't been healthy in weeks. Throw in a shaky offensive line, turnovers, poor snaps and inexperienced receivers, and the Gators were a mess.
Florida ranks ninth in the SEC and 80th in the nation in total offense.
The no-huddle could turn things around. It seemingly caught Georgia off guard, especially with quarterbacks Brantley and Trey Burton lining up at different positions and then swapping spots just before the snap.
But how effective will it be Saturday at Vanderbilt (2-6, 1-4) or the following week against No. 18 South Carolina?
''The no-huddle actually was harder in practice than it was in the game,'' guard Carl Johnson said. ''It was fairly easy because Georgia was so tired. They weren't even getting in their stance half the time. They were so tired. ... They make it so much harder in practice. We don't have the 40-second-clock rule in practice. The coaches are like, 'Get on the ball, run another play.' We don't have the refs taking their time to spot, so it wasn't that bad.''
Johnson wanted to talk trash to Georgia's defenders, but said, ''They couldn't talk. They were so tired. They really weren't saying much.''
Florida held the ball for 10 minutes, 23 seconds in the fourth quarter, totaling 135 yards and 10 points.
''You feel like you own them a little bit, 'You're blown, you're tired, you're gasping and I'm fine,''' Johnson said. ''It's fun. It's football.''
There was a downside, though.
The Gators were flagged for six false starts, including five against offensive linemen.
''It's such a quick fire, get down, let's go, let's run it,'' Johnson said. ''You have miscues, you have false starts, you have missed assignments.''
Addazio wants to clean those up and get the whole scheme running smoothly - more like Oklahoma and Oregon did.
''The whole operation we just want to keep improving,'' he said. ''The faster we can go, the better it is.''
