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Sure Gators speedy, but Sooners no slowpokes

 
By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist
Published: 1/8/2009  2:24 AM
Last Modified: 1/8/2009  3:20 AM

 MIAMI, Fla. — If speed kills, Oklahoma's dead.

At least that's the prevalent national opinion as we count down the final hours until OU and Florida decide Thursday night who's the 2008 BCS national champion.

Florida coach Urban Meyer, so the overwhelming theory goes, has put together a team so swift afoot that the Gators will run coach Bob Stoops' Sooners right out of Dolphin Stadium.

Florida admirers believe the Gators are actually a world-class track team disguised in football uniforms. That isn't much of a stretch with running back/wide receiver Jeff Demps, who competed last summer in the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials, recording a 10.01 100-meter dash to win his quarterfinal heat.

Team speed certainly isn't a Gator secret. Meyer talks about it all the time.

"We want the fastest team in the country," Meyer said. "If you can run fast, we will call you."

Completing his fourth season at Florida, Meyer has obviously had success with those recruiting calls. There are 12 players slated to see action against the Sooners who have been timed in at least 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

"We've got five or six dudes who can go under 4.2," said All-American runner/wide receiver Percy Harvin.

OK, Florida, we get it. Quarterback Tim Tebow, aka "Superman," may be more powerful than a locomotive, but several Gators are faster than a speeding bullet.

Enough, already. Before we officially declare OU's national championship chances as dead and buried, perhaps we should consider that the Sooners have an element of speed that has carried within one victory of the school's eighth national title.

OU's no-huddle, spread, point-a-minute offense isn't an Olympic Games event. But it also isn't your grandfather's slow-motion show. Instead of the 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust attack of yesteryear, the Sooners prefer the three-plays-and-a-touchdown approach.

Next to watching a running back or receiver romp into the end zone, the prettiest sight for OU's offense is seeing defensive opponents so winded and tired their tongues are hanging out.

To produce that effect, the Sooners rely on a different type of speed. While Meyer wants Gators who can run 40 yards fast, Stoops demands an offensive tempo so helmet-spinning quick that the Sooners run up the score while their foes run out of gas.

"At the beginning of the year, when people weren't expecting it, we probably caught people off guard more often," quarterback Sam Bradford said of the no-huddle attack installed during spring and fall camp. "But there are still multiple times a game we do it."

And that's what tonight's game will come down to — Florida's straight-ahead speed vs. OU's stright-down-the-field-lickity-split speed. Can the Sooners' offense wear down Florida, before the Gators run past OU's susceptible defense?

"You have substitution limitations because of (OU's) tempo," Meyer said. "You have the fatigue factor, and you have the chaos factor when you line up."

Tossing a defense into total chaos is the ultimate goal of OU's offense. The rapid-fire approach, achieved by shelving the huddle and having skill players so versatile they can change positions without substitution, can create an atmosphere so chaotic that confused defenses often don't have time to line up correctly.

"The quick tempo can put a defense back on its heels," Bradford said. "And I'm sure we could go even faster if we wanted to do it."

Even faster? OU led the nation in scoring per game (54 points), set an NCAA modern-day record with 702 points, scored more than 60 points the last five games, had a 4,000 yard passer and two 1,000 yard rushers.

What's next, warp speed?

"Our goal is to score every time we touch the ball," said Bradford, who touched it, tossed it and handed it off enough to win the Heisman Trophy. "Because of the no-huddle, we take that mind-set every time we go out there."

Meyer has attempted to prepare for OU's hit-and-run offense by alternating defensive units on every play. But he won't be able to do that in the game if he wants to keep all the speed on the field at the same time.

Of those 12 Gators who can blaze through a 40-yard-dash, five play defense. Florida's defensive unit also includes seven sophomore starters who will match up with OU's veteran offense.

"Momentum is such a big part of college football," OU senior center Jon Cooper said. "With the no-huddle, you can keep going instead of taking that little break.

"When we see (the defense) get tired, we take advantage of it by upping the tempo and taking charge."

Yes, speed can kill. But not if it's too pooped to pop.Read Dave Sittler's blog at
tulsaworld.com/sportsextra

By DAVE SITTLER World Sports Columnist

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COMMENTS 
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7 comments have been made for this team so far. Tell us what you think below!
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Report Comment
Big Harp, Florida (1/8/2009 7:20:27 AM)
BOOMER SOONER!!!
Report Comment
Arbythree, Tulsa (1/8/2009 9:41:14 AM)
Did the headline really say we are not Slowpokes? DUH!!!! We beat the slowpokes!!!!!!!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMER SOOOOOOOOOOOOONER!!!!!
Report Comment
pat, Kiefer (1/8/2009 2:00:14 PM)
BOOMER SOONER!!!!!!!
Report Comment
Bonnie's Bevos, Broken Arrow (1/8/2009 2:13:46 PM)
The old saying goes that the Texas Longhorns should finish #2 after the gators whip OU's buttocks, and Utah finishes No. 1. Even though Florida wins tonight, they fall to 3.
Report Comment
Gil, Joplin (1/8/2009 2:42:16 PM)
BB, you really should consider rehab.....
Report Comment
Bullhead, Nicut (1/8/2009 8:53:30 PM)
True dat, Gil, true dat. BOOMER SOONER!
Report Comment
KJL, Sallisaw (1/9/2009 10:58:42 AM)
Nick Harris tried to slow the Gators down, by trying to twist Harvin's ankle after the tackle knowing they couldn't stop him. I am glad I don't have to see him play for OU again. What a punk, you can't blame Tebow for giving him the Gator chop. The fourth best QB in the Big XII? HA! What idiots.
 

 
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