Florida Gators football tickets have been hard to find, and the team has held a special place
in the hearts of Gators fans, for over 20 years now. The team was a perennial also-ran
before the likes of Steve Spurrier showed up in Gainesville and transformed the Gators into a
national power. The roots of such a run of dominance were beginning to take hold a bit
before Spurrier arrived, but Florida was always a national contender under Spurrier and won
the national championship in 1996.
However, after Spurrier left for the NFL, the Gators’ dominance began to wane as the team
searched for an identity and lost quite a few games it never would have under their
sometimes-controversial leader. Ron Zook, Spurrier’s replacement, was not beloved by any
stretch in Gainesville, and he was basically run out of town after the 2004 season.
Zook is now struggling with a very bad Illinois team, and the job of restoring Gator glory fell
on Urban Meyer, who was the “hot” coaching candidate after the 2004 season when he led
Utah to unprecedented results and rankings. No one thought that Meyer would wind up in
Florida, as most had him penciled in for the Notre Dame job, but in a very surprising turn of
events, Meyer took the Florida job and declined Notre Dame’s overtures. The results are
already beginning to show, and Florida Gators football tickets could once again become
nearly impossible to find, as Meyer is building a foundation at Florida that could wind up
rivaling Spurrier’s work. Below are a few reasons why this is the case.
Meyer’s System
Let’s face it - big-time college coaches are all more than competent when it comes to
preparing a team for a game. There’s a reason they rose through the ranks and got to where
they are. So what sets the truly great one apart? When it comes to in-game coaching, it’s the
system that they have in place. Meyer’s spread offense is famous for its creativity and the
difficulty it presents opponents in defending it. No one has really figured out how to stop it,
and now that Meyer is in his second year, his system is beginning to take hold.
This spread offense has made several average-to-decent quarterbacks great ones, and one
only need look at the current exploits of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow as well as how things
worked out for Alex Smith at Utah to see just how effective this system can be. It’s possible
that none of these quarterbacks would be NFL prospects without Meyer’s coaching, but
Smith wound up being the first overall pick in the draft and Leak is headed to the NFL next
season. Tebow, with the benefit of having four years under Meyer, has a ceiling that can’t
even be defined at this point. Great offensive coaching leads to great quarterback play, and
in college football, that alone can be enough to run a team through its schedule with a lot of
wins.
Recruiting
Under Zook, the Gators were starting to lose a few of the recruiting battles that they had
grown accustomed to winning under Spurrier, but Meyer has changed all of that. Meyer’s
reputation is such that players want to go play for him, which does not bode well for Miami
and Florida State, Florida’s traditional recruiting rivals. One can already see a few cracks in
Miami’s and Florida State’s talent levels, and don’t think for a second that Meyer doesn’t
have anything to do with that.
Great recruiting builds a great talent base, and even though Florida had what many
considered to be the most brutal schedule in the country this season, the Gators are flying
high and have a shot to qualify for the national championship game if they run the table
through the rest of their SEC schedule.
All in all, a coaching system and a reputation lead to a recruiting advantage, and this
recruiting advantage leads to a loaded roster, which Florida has already under Meyer. All of
this can come together and lead to a run of national dominance, which is the direction in
which Florida appears to be headed. If you’ve been faithfully using your Florida Gators
football tickets during the recent “down years,” you may be rewarded soon for your patience.
in the hearts of Gators fans, for over 20 years now. The team was a perennial also-ran
before the likes of Steve Spurrier showed up in Gainesville and transformed the Gators into a
national power. The roots of such a run of dominance were beginning to take hold a bit
before Spurrier arrived, but Florida was always a national contender under Spurrier and won
the national championship in 1996.
However, after Spurrier left for the NFL, the Gators’ dominance began to wane as the team
searched for an identity and lost quite a few games it never would have under their
sometimes-controversial leader. Ron Zook, Spurrier’s replacement, was not beloved by any
stretch in Gainesville, and he was basically run out of town after the 2004 season.
Zook is now struggling with a very bad Illinois team, and the job of restoring Gator glory fell
on Urban Meyer, who was the “hot” coaching candidate after the 2004 season when he led
Utah to unprecedented results and rankings. No one thought that Meyer would wind up in
Florida, as most had him penciled in for the Notre Dame job, but in a very surprising turn of
events, Meyer took the Florida job and declined Notre Dame’s overtures. The results are
already beginning to show, and Florida Gators football tickets could once again become
nearly impossible to find, as Meyer is building a foundation at Florida that could wind up
rivaling Spurrier’s work. Below are a few reasons why this is the case.
Meyer’s System
Let’s face it - big-time college coaches are all more than competent when it comes to
preparing a team for a game. There’s a reason they rose through the ranks and got to where
they are. So what sets the truly great one apart? When it comes to in-game coaching, it’s the
system that they have in place. Meyer’s spread offense is famous for its creativity and the
difficulty it presents opponents in defending it. No one has really figured out how to stop it,
and now that Meyer is in his second year, his system is beginning to take hold.
This spread offense has made several average-to-decent quarterbacks great ones, and one
only need look at the current exploits of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow as well as how things
worked out for Alex Smith at Utah to see just how effective this system can be. It’s possible
that none of these quarterbacks would be NFL prospects without Meyer’s coaching, but
Smith wound up being the first overall pick in the draft and Leak is headed to the NFL next
season. Tebow, with the benefit of having four years under Meyer, has a ceiling that can’t
even be defined at this point. Great offensive coaching leads to great quarterback play, and
in college football, that alone can be enough to run a team through its schedule with a lot of
wins.
Recruiting
Under Zook, the Gators were starting to lose a few of the recruiting battles that they had
grown accustomed to winning under Spurrier, but Meyer has changed all of that. Meyer’s
reputation is such that players want to go play for him, which does not bode well for Miami
and Florida State, Florida’s traditional recruiting rivals. One can already see a few cracks in
Miami’s and Florida State’s talent levels, and don’t think for a second that Meyer doesn’t
have anything to do with that.
Great recruiting builds a great talent base, and even though Florida had what many
considered to be the most brutal schedule in the country this season, the Gators are flying
high and have a shot to qualify for the national championship game if they run the table
through the rest of their SEC schedule.
All in all, a coaching system and a reputation lead to a recruiting advantage, and this
recruiting advantage leads to a loaded roster, which Florida has already under Meyer. All of
this can come together and lead to a run of national dominance, which is the direction in
which Florida appears to be headed. If you’ve been faithfully using your Florida Gators
football tickets during the recent “down years,” you may be rewarded soon for your patience.
by: Jay Nault
2008 (c) notjustmyflorida.com