Colleges

Nothing matters but that trophy

You can forget their flaws and their season-long struggles. You can forget the controversy of the polls, and particularly the moaning of Michigan. All you need to remember is this: The Gators are national champions.

By JOHN ROMANO
Published January 9, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: James Borchuck] Chris Leak celebrates with the BCS National Championship trophy after the Gators beat Ohio State. View celebration photos, share your pictures

GLENDALE, Ariz. - All they asked for was a place in the game.

From there, the Florida Gators would claim their place in history.

You can forget their flaws and their seasonlong struggles. You can forget the controversy of the polls, and particularly the moaning of Michigan.

All you need to remember is this: The Gators are national champions.

In one of the great upsets in national championship history, and in one of the most dominating performances on a grand stage, Florida beat No. 1 Ohio State 41-14 on Monday evening in the BCS title game.

So let Michigan whine, and let Ohio cry.

Florida is celebrating, and there is no need for apology.

It seems silly today to recall the controversy of last month when Florida swept past Michigan in the final BCS poll to claim a spot in the title game.

Turns out, in the end, it wasn't about computer rankings or polls. It wasn't politicking or strength of schedule or network television preferences.

In the end, it was simply football.

A quicker team. A smarter coach. And far more heart and resolve.

And now, for the first time in Division I history, one school can claim to have the reigning national champions in both football and men's basketball.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. Not by a long shot. Not for a team that was 7 1/2-point underdogs.

Oh, sure, the Gators had a chance. After all, they were Southeastern Conference champions and owners of a 12-1 record.

But they weren't supposed to overwhelm anyone, let alone Ohio State. Remember, this is a team that struggled against Vanderbilt. A team seemingly on the verge of collapse every week.

Yet Monday night, they were beasts. They crushed Ohio State's offense and toyed with its defense. The team supposedly built on pluck turned bully overnight.

And, in the process, some legacies changed.

Urban Meyer, for instance.

The 42-year-old came in with the reputation of a young hotshot. He emerges as one of the best coaches in the country, age be darned. Ohio State's Jim Tressel is supposedly the best big-game coach in the country, and he was made to look foolish by Meyer's game plan.

In six seasons as a head coach, Meyer has won five bowl games at three schools, had an undefeated season at Utah and won a national championship.

And then there is Chris Leak.

He arrived four years ago as one of the greatest recruiting coups in UF history, and he walked away Monday night as a national champion. In between there was more criticism than a quarterback deserved.

For much of his stay, Leak heard how Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerffel and Rex Grossman had won conference titles while he had been shut out. Now, in his final two games, Leak claimed an SEC title, a national championship and, along the way, outplayed Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith.

A few days ago, this team was merely good. Meyer said it himself. There was only one great team in Florida history, the 1996 national champions.

But as of last night, and forever more, these Gators are great.

Not because they will make a splash in the NFL draft; they won't. And not because they will be remembered as a dominant outfit; they weren't.

These Gators were great because they won when it mattered. They won in the final minutes against Tennessee, on the final play against South Carolina, in the SEC title game against Arkansas and, finally, in the desert against Ohio State.

They won because, for all his bungling in stadiums, former coach Ron Zook was the Pied Piper of recruiters.

They won because, for all the booing he endured, Leak remained stronger than any of us might have imagined.

Mostly, they won because Meyer taught them how.

Sure, he brought the right Xs and Os with him on offense. And, yes, the defensive schemes were admirable, too.

But Meyer brought something more. He brought confidence. Accountability. And, mostly, expectations.

In his first days on the job, he broke the team down with a viciousness no one had expected. Players would arrive at workouts at dawn to find garbage cans ominously spaced around the room. The cans were there for anyone needing to vomit, and they were used more than anyone would like to admit.

Meyer, at one point, kicked the team out of its own locker room and made players earn their way back in.

The point was not to be cruel but to teach a lesson. About what was expected.

And about what could be accomplished if you were willing to work for it.

Consider the lesson learned.

[Last modified January 9, 2007, 03:36:32]