By BRADY ACKERMAN
Florida Gators Football Sideline Reporter
Dec. 29, 2010
Florida and Penn State are finishing preparations for the Outback Bowl with much of the focus on the coaching match up.
Florida's Urban Meyer has won two national championships and took Utah to the BCS with an unbeaten season. Joe Paterno is the all time leader in wins, has two national championships and five undefeated seasons. This is a classic showdown and it will be on these two coaches to elevate their teams after disappointing seasons.
The teams have so many similarities statistically it really is an even game. There is not clear edge on offense or defense. I like to look at the team's best wins when assessing the match up.
Penn State beat Michigan and Northwestern who were both seven win teams along with eight win Temple. The biggest win was likely against Northwestern, who seems to be the most complete of the three teams. In that game Penn State had to come from behind, displaying strong offense while registering four sacks. Northwestern also runs a similar offense to the Gators with the spread attack, making the film of this game the most useful for the Gator's preparation.
Florida defeated MAC champion Miami of Ohio this season, but their best SEC wins were over a couple of 6-6 teams, Georgia and Tennessee. Tennessee is a much different team now with Tyler Bray at quarterback, but the Georgia victory was a good win for two reasons: It was a rivalry game and, more importantly, Florida had an extra week to prepare.
Meyer's teams always play well with extra time and especially on offense. The Georgia game was the first time Florida employed a true "Two QB" system. Trey Burton rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown as the Gator offense put up 34 points.
I look for Florida to use this style of offense to find some success on the ground against Penn State suspect run defense. Northwestern and Michigan combined to run for over 400 yards on consecutive weekends against the Nittany Lions.
Keys to Victory
1. Florida must win first down. The Gator offense needs to stay on schedule and be creative on first down. Get Andre Debose, Trey Burton and the running backs in space and find positive yards on first down. Defensively this is the key down for the Gator attack. If the Gator defense can focus on squeezing Royster out of the mix on first down they can put Penn State in throwing situations which benefits the Gator secondary.
2. Big Plays. The Gator offense must find some 20 yard plus plays on offense. Take some shots down the field. The Gator speed at receiver has been underused this season, and a bowl game is the perfect time to unleash a trick play for a big pass.
3. Win the turnover battle. The Gators were +11 in the turnover margin in their seven wins. They were -12 in their losses. It is pretty easy to see how this team can win. The -12 number was the worst in the SEC.
Finally, it's Urban Meyer's last game and pride should play a big factor. This team should be motivated to send the coach out with a win. Meyer has praised the senior class many times during the difficult season. I would expect the leadership to be there for a great effort on Saturday.
