1 » CBSSports.com pit two of their national columnists – Mike Freeman and Dennis Dodd – against each other on Friday. Their task, respectively, was to argue why the No. 1 Florida Gators or No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide would win the 2009 SEC Championship game. Freeman began with this: “There simply isn’t enough time to list every reason why Florida will beat Alabama in the SEC title game, so let’s just start with a few: Urban Meyer is a big-game coach and Nick Saban isn’t; super-virgin [senior quarterback] Tim Tebow; a faster defense; more depth and more speed overall.” He then focuses on Crimson Tide QB Greg McElroy, calling him “pedestrian” and explaining that the Gators’ defense will overwhelm the Alabama offense in every way.

2 » Dodd responds by calling Saban a “mad scientist” who will “create [a] way to beat the Gators.” He even admits that “it’s hard to pick against the Gators in this game.” Yet his entire argument rests on running back Mark Ingram rushing for 150 yards and winning the Heisman Trophy, kick returner Javier Arenas grabbing an interception and scoring a return touchdown (against a special teams that has barely allowed double-digit punt return yards the entire season) and Saban using revenge to fuel his team to victory.

3 » As part of his brand new television show, Sports Jobs with Junior Seau, the future Hall of Fame linebacker played the part of a reporter and followed around Sports Illustrated reporter Andy Staples during the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in October. The story that Seau came up with? Gators senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes is “a monster” and absolutely dominant on the field. More coverage from SI includes Stewart Mandel’s article focusing on the weight of expectations the Gators face, Andy Staples’ column about the absences of junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap and Alabama linebacker Dont’a Hightower and Corey McCartney’s three reasons why Florida will lose on Saturday.

4 » No. 13/17 Florida basketball hits the road Friday night for its first true road game of the season against the Jacksonville Dolphins at 7 p.m. at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. The game will air live on FOX Sports Florida.

The No. 1 Florida Gators are on their way to Atlanta, GA, to face the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 SEC Championship. An ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive EXCLUSIVE, the following is the flight information for the Gators, who are flying over on an American Airlines Boeing 757-800 twin-jet. You can also track the flight live while it is in the air!

ORIGIN: Gainesville Regional Airport (KGNV)
DESTINATION: Hartsfield-Jackson Intl. Airport (KATL)

DURATION: 1 hour 42 minutes

DEPARTURE: 12:09 p.m. EST [scheduled 12:00 p.m. EST]
ARRIVAL: 1:51 p.m. EST [scheduled 12:49 p.m. EST]

1 » Steve Wieberg of USA Today wrote a terrific article about Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow that printed Friday. “Already a Florida legend, Gators’ Tebow is aiming higher,” focuses on Tebow’s ability to make selflessness cool, his fire and devotion and potential prospects on the next level in the National Football League. “Football. Athleticism. Leadership. Charity Work. His faith. You name it. I’ve never seen anybody who had all that in one package,” said former Georgia Bulldogs head coach Vince Dooley. “That’s what puts him in a class by himself.”

2 » Saturday is going to be filled with plenty of college football action. Conference championships, rivalry games and career-defining moments will be aplenty, but the day truly belongs to the Southeastern Conference and its championship game. Tommy Hicks of the Mobile Press-Register contends that “it’s the SEC’s world, and all the other leagues and teams are just playing in it.”

3 » Just because four-star running back recruit Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA) committed to the Gators does not mean teams have stopped pursuing him. At the top of that list is the Tennessee Volunteers and recruiting coordinator Ed Orgeron, who visited Brown and tried to persuade him to switch. “He said they would play me as a freshman and that in their offense, the back gets the ball more than the backs in a spread offense. He said in the spread, I’ll be sharing carries with receivers and three or four running backs.” Florida immediately called and spoke to Brown’s father. “I’m committed to Florida, I’m not taking any other visits but Florida,” Brown said.

Three more recruiting BITS and an extra BIT after the jump…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow aims high, SEC reigns supreme

Recording their highest hitting percentage in an NCAA Tournament match in school history (.476), the 16 overall seed No. 14/15 Florida Gators (24-5) defeated the College of Charleston Cougars (18-13) 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-18) in first round action at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center on Thursday. Five Florida players hit .400 or better in the match, and the team as a whole out-blocked College of Charleston 6.0-3.0. The Gators have advanced to the second round where they will face the Florida International Golden Panthers (32-3) on Friday at 7 p.m. in the O’Dome. FIU is the Sun Belt Conference regular-season champion.

In general, it is tough to gain an understanding of the type of family a student-athlete comes from unless you hear a recruiter or reporter rave about one. However, from what Carlos Dunlap, Sr. has said over the last few days about his son’s DUI arrest, one can get a pretty good idea of the upbringing the Florida Gators junior defensive end received. On Thursday, Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post spoke with Dunlap, Sr., who was quite vocal about how disappointed his family and his son are about the recent situation. For a player who had a flawless (trouble-wise) three years at Florida, Dunlap has been tormented with his mistake and its repercussions.

“How would anyone feel when they have the golden opportunity God has given them to be on such a platform, and then the situation is taken from you, whether it’s your own doing or not?” Dunlap, Sr. said. “Carlos is very, very disturbed about this, but this is something the lord has placed in his hands. I still can’t believe it. I’m still waiting for somebody to wake me up. He’s the one that kept me grounded all my life. He’s always been the one that wanted to tell everyone else what not to do, and lead by example. He’s not the kid you saw in the paper. He’s still a great kid. Somewhere, something went wrong. He’s very loving and caring, and concerned and worried about how people perceive him. This is something we have to work out in the court of law, but in the court of love, Carlos is very torn. But he will bounce back from this. We’re a strong, surviving family.”

On his son’s future with the Gators this year and beyond, Dunlap, Sr. had this to say:

“We don’t want to do anything to hurt the University of Florida football team. We love the team to death and we don’t want to be any distraction. We want to be a complement to the team, not a hindrance to the team. Our presence at the [SEC Championship] game will not be what the team needs to be focused on. We came to the University of Florida for a four-year education. He has another year in school to go. Everybody’s talking about the draft. We’re not talking about the draft. It’s never even been a thought. We as a family never even sat down and talked about leaving school. My son’s job this year was what they were talking about – finish the mission.”

The Gators may have to finish the mission of an undefeated season and third BCS National Championship in four years without perhaps their most explosive defensive player should head coach Urban Meyer‘s indefinite suspension stand past Saturday.

1 » He may have broken numerous Maryland state records as a high school quarterback, but Florida Gators junior cornerback Joe Haden wanted to play in Gainesville, FL, and realized he would not be unseating now-senior quarterback Tim Tebow for the job. With the help of his father and coaches (who Haden told he just wanted to get on the field), he became an All-American cornerback, the first to start as a freshman in Florida history. “We worked to shape Joe’s body and mind to be able to absorb anything at any level of football,” his father Joe Haden, Sr. said. “It took years of intense training. He went to school with confidence.” His brother Jordan, a four-star recruit, will be joining the Gators in the spring with the same training and mindset.

2 » According to Todd McShay on ESPN Insider, junior tight end Aaron Hernandez has emerged as the most dangerous tight end in the nation. Mostly due to his versatility, Hernandez can make plays any number of ways and the Alabama Crimson Tide must account for him on both passing and rushing downs. Hernandez moves the chains, has run-after-catch ability, stretches the seam and is dynamic enough to catch screen passes and the triple-option shuffle pass and take them upfield. If you subscribe to ESPN Insider, you can read the entire article.

3 » Wednesday, Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com wrote that the Tide were closing in on the title but had to take care of the Gators. Thursday, he looked at Florida’s odd, flawed season and how they are still unbeaten and competing for the 2009 SEC Championship. From questions about Tebow’s NFL prospects, Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin’s comments about Florida head coach Urban Meyer, shunning former QB Shane Matthews and the whole team coming down with the flu to Tebow’s concussion, Meyer’s Notre Dame rumors, a $30,000 fine for commenting on officiating, senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes’ attempted eye gouge and junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap’s DUI arrest, the Gators have been through a lot in 2009. It all truly comes down to Saturday. “I do feel a sense of, ‘We’re here. Let’s not worry about it. Let’s go play,’” Meyer said.

4 » Protecting QB Greg McElroy and opening running lanes for running back Mark Ingram are going to be of paramount importance for Alabama on Saturday. Losing two All-Americans to the NFL Draft, the offensive line has actually performed better than the 2008 unit did – statistically. “It’s just all those guys getting their nose in the book and learning this offense and being able to be prepared for situations we see on Saturdays,” senior guard Mike Johnson said. The Gators are 39-1 under Meyer when holding an opponent to less than 100 yards rushing; they have done this in four straight games and nine times in 2009.

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong has been named as the leading candidate to become the next head coach of the Louisville Cardinals, and University of Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich has been quite open about that fact. While Jurich has not contacted Strong yet and will not do so until after the 2009 SEC Championship game, he has answered questions about his desire to see Strong as his next coach.

“I want to get the program rolling, I want to get after it, but I gave my word to several people that I didn’t want to be a disruption to their program,” Jurich told the Courier-Journal on Wednesday. “A lot of guys are still playing for a lot of important things. I’m the last person I want to get in the way.” The Orlando Sentinel spoke with Jurich Thursday and received a similar response. “I have too much respect for Urban [Meyer] and Jeremy [Foley] to be a distraction,” he said.

The Sentinel also reports that Jurich will not travel to Atlanta, GA, for the game and, contrary to other reports, is not expected to meet with Strong until after the weekend is over. In fact, Jurich and Louisville are of the belief that Florida will make a lucrative counter offer to keep Strong as its defensive coordinator.

Though Strong has interviewed for head coaching jobs in the past, he has always been turned down. One of the reasons why, according to Strong and others, is that his wife is white and that fact made many in the “Good ‘Ol Boy Network” uncomfortable. Jurich said that is not an issue for him whatsoever. “I haven’t heard that from too many people, but that doesn’t affect me at all We want someone with class and integrity, and I’m a real big guy when it comes to passion.”

Should Strong leave, it will be the second time in as many seasons that the Gators have lost a coordinator after the SEC Championship game with former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen being hired as the Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach in 2008. Like Mullen, Strong would likely stay on to coach the Gators in their January bowl game. Assistant defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chuck Heater and assistant head coach/defensive line coach Dan McCarney would be the leading candidates to replace Strong should he accept the job. One of the two could join Strong as his defensive coordinator wherever he winds up.

Florida Gators junior cornerback Joe Haden was chosen to the 2009 All-America Team by the American Football Coaches Association on Thursday. Haden, who is also a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, was the only Florida player to land a spot on the team, the first Gators CB since Keiwan Ratliff (2003).

Beating out senior quarterback Tim Tebow for the honor was Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy, while Georgia Bulldogs punter Drew Butler was selected over Florida junior Chas Henry. Four Alabama Crimson Tide players (running back Mark Ingram, offensive lineman Mike Johnson, linebacker Rolando McClain, CB Javier Arenas) were honored.

Tebow received a different distinction on Wednesday, however, as he was announced as a presenter for The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards on Thursday, Dec. 10. Along with Faron Kelly, Disney’s director of sports marketing, Tebow will be presenting the Disney Spirit Award (for college football’s most inspirational figure) that he won in 2008. Tebow is a 2009 finalist for the Maxwell Award (most outstanding college football player) and O’Brien Award (nation’s best college quarterback) while teammates Haden, senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes (Bednarik Award – outstanding defensive player) and Henry (Ray Guy Award – nation’s best punter) are also listed as nominees.