National Championship Preview: Florida

Florida has came out of the heap that is known as the SEC, to reach the National Championship.

They were not even favored in their own division, Georgia was. They were not favored in the SEC championship game, Alabama was. And not only did Florida win their division, they won the SEC championship.

Like Oklahoma, Florida experienced an early season loss. The Gators lost at home to Ole Miss in on September 27. Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow then gave one of the best speeches of all time. He apologized for the loss and said Florida will work hard every week to accomplish their goals.

Now they get to play against Oklahoma in the BCS national championship game in Miami. This will be the classic match up of a great offensive team(Oklahoma) versus a great defensive team(Florida).

Oklahoma is the number one ranked offensive team in the nation. The Sooners average 54 points per game. Florida is the Fourth ranked defensive team in the nation only allowing about 12 points per game.

As seen in previous bowl games, Big 12 teams have been stopped on offense. Ole Miss stopped the great Texas Tech offense in the Cotton bowl. This could be a pre -cursor to the national championship game.

Player to watch: Chris Rainey, RB The Florida running game has been one of the few weak links of the Florida team. Rainey ran for 655 yards and 4 touchdowns. Florida will have to establish a running game if they want to eat up a clock and keep Oklahoma off the field. Rainey, Tebow, and Jeffery Demps will have step their games up on the ground to keep the Sooners in check.

Impact player: Percey Harvin, WR Harvin, who didn't play in the SEC championship game, has been sidelined with an ankle sprain. He says he can go on Thursday, but he is only about 90 percent ready and making cuts is a little awkward. Harvin is what makes the Florida offense goes. His speed and versatility makes him one of the most dangerous players, a player the Oklahoma defense has to keep in check. He is a threat by taking hand offs and the patent bubble screen passes.

Can the Florida defense stop Oklahoma? While we all know Florida can also score a lot of points to, but can the Florida defense keep Oklahoma off the field. Oklahoma can go down the length of the field and score a touchdown no problem. The Florida defense though must stop Oklahoma from sustaining long-quick scoring drives.

A lot of experts have picked Florida because of their defense and the schedule they have to play in the SEC. Oklahoma on the other hand has looked like a fraud because of the poor play by the rest of the Big 12 teams.

I personally like Oklahoma. They can score quickly and their defense can pick up enough stops to keep their offense on the field. Also Florida's running game has been average, while the Oklahoma running game produced two 1,000 yard rushers. DeMarco Murray, a 1,000 yard rusher, won't be playing, but he didn't even lead the team in rushing(Chris Brown).

Final Score: Oklahoma 35 Florida 28