Kiffin Beats Meyer, 29-29

"(Lane) Kiffin continues to pile the praise on Tim Tebow and the Gators, all in a devious plan to manage expectations so low that losing 55-0 will seem like a moral victory."
--Dan Shanoff, proprietor of Tim Teblog, on Wednesday, 9/16

"Expectations are the X-factor. That's how a 10-point loss turns into some kind of twisted 'victory' for the losing team. The only expectation -- historical or otherwise -- there should be for Tebow is winning another national championship, by whatever means (and margins) necessary."
--Dan Shanoff, proprietor of Tim Teblog, on Monday, 9/21

"It wasn't how we envisioned or hoped, but it's a win, and it's good enough for all of us."
--Tebow, post-game

I don't know what's funnier. Shanoff backpedaling so furiously that Petrino just offered him a scholly or that he has a blog providing, "Obsessive coverage of Tim Tebow." I'm smelling BOOK DEAL!!! The hypocrisy, of course, is that he's rebuking the public for having unrealistic expectations of Florida, while using multiple online forums to advance said expectations. So, it's comedy on multiple levels and textbook form intellectual dishonesty.

Shanoff's second quote speaks to a larger issue. Does Tennessee have any right to claim a moral victory after losing 23-13? I see the Florida fans shaking their heads and the Tennessee fans nodding. I don't think it's so much that Tennessee can claim a moral victory, it's that Florida has to accept a moral loss. You think Tebow's quote was accidental? Come on. They envisioned hellfire, a couple late timeouts, and then brimstone. What they got was a two-possession game. Big whoop.

Sure, the W is the most important thing. But, this is Florida-Tennessee, not Florida-Mississippi State. Add in The Swamp, Tebow's last game against the Vols, and there's no way in hell 23-13 ain't a disappointment in Gainesville. Meyer knows that flu or not, they underachieved relative to their available talent. In fact, the Vols did win in the sense that they get to use this game as a building block and recruiting chip. You think Meyer's staff is gonna be showing all the sweet highlights from this game to hotshot recruits? How about Kiffin? Yeah, that's why it's a moral loss.

Meyer knows his team never forced either Kiffin to go away from Plan A, but lost simply because Florida has better athletes, especially at QB. That gap figures to close next year. Thus, Meyer knows it was probably his last really good shot at embarrassing Tennessee for awhile. Factor in no Tebow and in Knoxville next year and would anyone really be surprised if Florida tumbled? Meyer knows this. He also knows the Vols' offensive game plan ... as one savvy blogger anticipated ... may have revealed a critical flaw. By going smashmouth, Tennessee was able to run the clock, keep Tebow off the field, and beat up on the Gator D. Strategically speaking, it's as simple as football gets. You don't need Charlie Strong to scheme it, it's about balls and want-to, and even factoring in the flu +/-, I thought the Vols showed more of both than the home team. All moral losses for Meyer.

Fortunately, the upside of a moral loss is that it's also called a win. To Florida's credit, they took Tennessee's best punch, emerged victorious, and remain favorites to win the championship. And I think it's fair to assume that they'll improve as players step up and figure out their roles, especially if that role doesn't include the flu. This is an Urban Meyer team. It's what happens.

That said, I think this remains a template on how to beat the Gators. Should they be playing a team with a good QB, a few big play weapons, and an athletic, disciplined defense, there could easily be a different outcome. Question is, how many teams on Florida's schedule at least kinda sorta match that description? I'd say in order of losability and given what we know after 3 games ... i.e. not much ... I'd rank the Top 5 as follows:

1. FSU in The Swamp (11/28)
2. This Saturday's game @Kentucky is an absolute, no questions asked TRAP GAME! We know how Florida looks when waylaid by the flu, but now they have to hit the road. UK is decent on D and Hartline is a good enough QB that if they caught a few breaks and kept it close into the 4th quarter, the home crowd alone might propel them to the upset.
   
3. @South Carolina (11/14). I don't think Garcia is as good as Cox, but I'll take Cocky's D over UGA's D. Plus, in Columbia doesn't hurt.
   
4. @LSU (10/10). Talent + Death Valley = always tough.
   
5. Cocktail Party (10/31). You can't sleep on a rival, but I just don't see it happening for Richt. Georgia's inexplicably turned into Kansas, which is not the ideal game plan to beat Florida. Meyer wants a track meet. What he doesn't want is a slugfest.

CHECK IT, YO

Visit GatorVision Online to see how Tennessee was able to have some success against the Florida defense. This is part of a new weekly video series ("Inside The Coaches' Tape") where former Gator receiver Travis McGriff breaks down game film. Pretty cool stuff. Get yer Tebow on.