BCS National Championship Game Preview - Florida Gators Will Run to Glory

John Schaefer, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Dec 19, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Love the BCS or hate it, you have to be happy with the BCS National Championship Game that it has given football fans. The Oklahoma Sooners, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford, will meet the Florida Gators, who won the SEC behind a strong defense and do-everything QB Tim Tebow.

How do these two football behemoths match up and who will be crowned the 2008 champion? Read on to find out, and see predictions for the early bowl games down below.

BCS National Championship Game

Jan. 8, 2009, 8:00 PM ET, Miami, FL

Line: Florida by 3

Offense: College football has never seen an offense quite like Oklahoma's before. The Sooners smashed several records and set a new standard for scoring by reaching the 60-point mark in each of their final five games. If this hadn't been the Year of the Quarterback in football, Bradford would have been a run-away Heisman winner with stats like these: 4,464 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, only six interceptions and a completion percentage of 68.3 percent.

But don't think Oklahoma is just a high-flying aerial circus. The Sooners finished 19th in the nation in rushing yards per game at 205.5 and they featured two 1,000-yard backs, but one of them, DeMarco Murray, will miss the game with a hamstring injury.

As powerful as the Sooners' offense is, the Gators' isn't far behind. Florida lit up the scoreboard to the tune of 45 points per game, thanks in large part to the 11th best ground attack in the NCAA. At the helm is the steady hand of Tebow, who followed up his Heisman season of 2007 with an impressive encore in '08 that included 3,079 total yards and 40 touchdowns with a measly two interceptions.

Of primary concern to Gators fans is the health of Percy Harvin, an explosive talent who is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. He missed the SEC championship game with an injury but should be good to go in Miami.

Defense: Perhaps only Rod Blagojevich has been ridiculed more recently than the defenses of the Big 12. Oklahoma's unit has received its fair share of abuse but maybe it shouldn't. After all, it did an admirable job against the powerful offenses of Texas Tech and Missouri in recent weeks and its 24.5 points allowed per game isn't awful.

One concern for the Sooners is the back surgery that defensive tackle DeMarcus Granger underwent, which will keep him out of the game. Oklahoma needs all the muscle it can muster to deal with Florida's relentless ground assault.

Yes, Oklahoma certainly enjoyed exploiting those notorious Big 12 defenses this season. But the Sooners certainly will be hard-pressed to come anywhere close to 60 points against the Gators, who feature one of the stingiest stop units in the land. There might not be a faster defense than the Gators, who allowed fewer than 13 points per game behind stud linebacker Brandon Spikes.

Prediction: Florida figures to score its share of points, especially since Tebow is so adept at protecting the ball. The Sooners will need to take some chances on defense in order to contain the Gators' running game, but if Oklahoma is caught with its defensive backs too close to the line of scrimmage then Florida should be able to hit on several big pass plays.

But what this game really comes down to is the Oklahoma offense vs. the Florida defense. The Sooners won't score 60 or even 50 points. If they can reach 40, they should win. But if the Sooners are held to the 30s, or even less, then the Gators should prevail in a high-scoring affair that won't disappoint fans.

Final score: Florida 37, Oklahoma 32

Other Bowl Game Picks

Dec. 20

Eagle Bank Bowl

Wake Forest (-3) vs. Navy

The pick: Wake Forest by 5

New Mexico Bowl

Fresno State (-3) vs. Colorado State

The pick: Fresno State by 13

St. Petersburg Bowl

South Florida (-12) vs. Memphis

The pick: South Florida by 11