Does UF have a chance?

Do the Gators have a chance against Ohio State?

For the life of me, I can’t figure out how that is even a question. But for some reason, I have been asked that question countless times over the course of the past month or so.

Of course they have a chance. But I can understand where college football fans are coming from when they ask such a question. Turn on ESPN for five minutes and a naïve viewer can come away with the impression that Ohio State is the Harlem Globetrotters of college football with UF playing the role of the Washington Generals.

But isn’t that exactly what the experts were saying about the other bowl game in Glendale before Boise State inexplicably knocked off Big 12 champ Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl? Now some of these same analysts and columnists are saying that Boise State has a legitimate argument to be the national champion should UF defeat Ohio State. I think Boise State has been underrated for years, but that is so absurd I don’t know where to begin.

And with the country’s most overrated team getting crushed by Southern Cal (as I predicted, and I have the cash winnings on my bet to prove it), the Gators won’t have to worry about a few misguided voters shunning the results of the title game in favor of Michigan.

UF lost just one game, playing in the toughest conference in America and playing one of the toughest schedules in the country. And the game UF lost was not only a very close game but a controversial one at that. Regardless, UF lost the game but finished out a brutal schedule with just that one loss.

And any team who has accomplished that has a chance to defeat anyone in the country. Even Ohio State.

With that said, you won’t catch me betting on the Gators in that game. Ohio State, unlike Big 10 rival Michigan, is legit. They only beat the Wolverines by 3 points, but that game was never really in doubt, and it felt like the Buckeyes won by two touchdowns.

But the beauty of the whole thing for UF fans is that it is a no-lose situation. If the Gators lose, they are simply doing what they were supposed to do. If they win, all that BCS controversy will be evaporated and everyone will be waiting in line to hop aboard the UF bandwagon.

Remember when Ohio State defeated supposedly unbeatable Miami in 2002?

The Gators shouldn’t worry too much. That Buckeyes team had no chance to win, either.

Arrival and bowl games

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Minus the cacti, sand and mountains and Phoenix is just like Florida. The weather is great, the girls are pretty and the Gators are in town.

It's been a busy 24 hours since I arrived in Phoenix. My hapless airline put my luggage on the wrong flight and I have squeezed with four other people into a Camaro one too many times to get from place to place.

The highlight of the stay so far was staying up to see the end of the Fiesta Bowl.

I hope everybody's been watching the 25-plus bowl games that have been played already, because they will provide insight into Monday's national championship game.

Take this for example:

The best two bowls have arguably been the Insight Bowl and Fiesta Bowl, the two games played in the Phoenix area.

Florida coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday that the trick-play calling, especially by Boise State, is something that he will look at for his gameplan against Ohio State.

Everybody says the NFL is a copycat league. It looks like the NCAA is one too.

Gators arrive in Arizona

The Gators arrived at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on Tuesday at about 12:10 p.m. (MST) and were greeted like the President.

The red carpet rolled down the tarmac and the Gators came out of their charted American Airlines, Boeing 757 flight.

Led off the plane by senior wide receiver Jemalle Cornelius, the team was first welcomed by four Fiesta Bowl girls.

With a Mariachi band playing on the runway, about 150 members of the press, fans and committee members for the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game lined up to greet the team.

Fans and committee members waved orange and blue pom-poms and held welcome signs.

Players were dressed in their best attire, including a pink suit worn by freshman linebacker Brandon Spikes and a brown, pinstripe suit by freshman running back Brandon James.

UF Coach Urban Meyer spoke briefly to the media, and the players headed to their hotel. The Gators will practice at 3:30 p.m. (MST) today at Scottsdale Community College.

Welcome to Gators in Glendale

With the game more than two weeks away, I'd like to introduce what's coming on the special Gators in Glendale Web site.

The alligatorSports staff will report from Arizona for the week leading up to the game with practice reports from both Florida and Ohio State.

In addition to those stories, we will provide extras including player features, off-the-field news articles, photo galleries, breaking news and blogs from each alligatorSports columnist that provide insight into what's going on leading up to the big game.

For those seeking nostalgia, we will also provide a look back at the season with all the memorable stories and photos from the year's highs and lows.

We look forward to providing you with all the Gators sports news you can handle and always appreciate feedback.

Let us know what you want to read about, what you think about the Web site's stories/photos and your opinions on other issues.