No Joke: Florida Isn't Laughing at FSU

Top-ranked Florida's biggest challenge Saturday against Florida State may be making sure it doesn't get lost in the emotion of Senior Day. Drum roll, please.

UF's senior class, headlined by quarterback Tim Tebow, has won more games than any other in SEC history at 46-6. It is 27-5 in the SEC, 25-2 at Florida Field, 14-3 against ranked teams and 11-1 vs. Tennessee, Georgia, FSU and Miami. The class includes a Heisman Trophy winner and a national Defensive Player of the Year.

Let's not forget it has also helped win two national championships and crafted a nation-best 21-game winning streak. That's the beauty of this class -- it's also well aware of what's at stake. The Gators promise, cross their hearts, they are wary of heavy underdog FSU.

"They look at lot better than 6-5," UF cornerback Joe Haden told The Gainesville Sun.

"They have athletes. A couple of plays here and there and they could have a lot better record than they have now. They have the same athletes (they used to have). Their record isn't as good, but they have the players."

Specifically on offense, which has caught the eye of UF head coach Urban Meyer.

The Seminoles (6-5) have won four of their last five games, and are 2-0 since redshirt freshman E.J. Manuel took over for injured Christian Ponder at quarterback.

In victories over Wake Forest (4-7) and Maryland (2-9), FSU has averaged 35 points and 420 total yards, with Manuel throwing for 426 yards and a touchdown and rushing for one score.

Manuel overcame three interceptions and led the Seminoles to the winning touchdown in last Saturday's 29-26 win at home against Maryland in the final 1:46. He ran twice for 35 yards and tossed a six-yard completion to Taiwan Easterling, setting up Lonnie Pryor's three-yard run with 32 seconds left.

"There's a lot of concern. (Manuel) is a really athletic guy, and they're running a lot of triple option," Meyer said.

"I didn't know they were running it. I flipped on the tape against Maryland and they're running it all over the place. So, we have to make sure when they do that -- we know because we do it -- we better make sure someone has the quarterback and someone has the pitch." Manuel says he expects the Seminoles, tabbed anywhere from a 21- to a 25-point underdog, to play well against the Gators. UF has won the past five games in the series, the longest streak in the series since the Gators won six in a row from 1981-86.

Over the past three games, FSU has a near perfect 1:1 ratio of rushing yards to passing yards with 693 yards rushing and 701 passing yards. And, for the first time in 17 years, FSU features five receivers with 20 or more receptions each in one season.

"I think we're prepared for it as an offense, as long as we continue to play together," Manuel said.

"As long as we continue to prepare well for the game, I think we'll be fine."

The onus, of course, will be on FSU's maligned defense to slow the Tebow-led Gators.

The Seminoles rank 106th nationally in total defense (434.4 yards per game), 105th in rush defense (193.5), 106th in pass-efficiency defense (149.3 rating) and 95th in scoring defense (30.2 points per game).

Sophomore linebacker Nigel Bradham, who has registered 39 tackles in the last four weeks, believes FSU will embrace the challenge.

The undefeated Gators (11-0) have allowed just 108 points, the fewest of any team in the nation. They are ranked 10th in the nation in scoring offense. And they need to win to remain in national championship contention.

"They've got a great offense and a great team as a whole," Bradham said.

"It's pretty much (up to us) to go out there and execute. When you're going up against a team like this that doesn't make many mistakes in a game ... it puts you to a challenge to see where you're at and motivates you as a player to see how good you really are going against great competition."

For UF, of course, that competition is fueled by Tebow, whom Meyer has called the best ambassador for the sport that he has ever seen.

"I've never seen anything like the way he's handled it," Meyer said.

"Tim does a lot of things I've never seen. His mission and what he stands for, impeccable is a word. I don't know if there will ever be another one like it certainly (not) in my lifetime. He's the best ambassador I've seen for college football."