UF in 'decent shape'
Florida's coaches and players claim they deserve to be playing in the Capital One Bowl after their decent season, but the defending national champs also remember going into the year expecting a bigger postseason prize.
"We have the ability and the athletes to be in those BCS games," quarterback Tim Tebow said. "But, we're 9-3."
Like it or not, Florida began its on-site bowl preparations with a two-hour practice at Disney's Wide World of Sports on Wednesday.
In what has become a recurring theme since November, Florida coach Urban Meyer praised his team afterward.
"They were actually in decent shape," he said. "That's the worst nightmare. You go out there and have a bunch of guys bent over. We ran them pretty good today. We got the Christmas out of them."
The Gators head into their New Year's Day finale against Michigan as one of the hottest teams in the country, led by a Heisman Trophy winner and a coach who has never lost a bowl game.
They won each of their last four games by at least 20 points.
"I learned a lot about this team," Meyer said. "It happened all over the country, there's a bunch of teams that cashed it in. What you don't want is your team packing it in on you. Our kids not only didn't pack it in, they played their best football the last four weeks."
But midseason blunders against Auburn, LSU and Georgia cost Florida a shot at the SEC title and a potential BCS trip.
Most point to the Georgia game as the one that got away. Tim Tebow rushed for minus-15 yards with a bum shoulder, and Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno made mince meat of the young defense, slicing it up for 188 yards and three scores.
The Gators have grown into a solid, all-around team since that last loss.
The offense, when fully healthy, looks unstoppable.
First-year starters on defense -- like lineman Jermaine Cunningham, linebacker Brandon Spikes and cornerback Joe Haden -- flashed All-SEC talent.
To keep their heads up, the Gators must ponder those positives while they watch Ohio State and LSU play for the right to replace them as BCS champions.
"I thought we'd play in a BCS bowl, but it was a young team," senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell said. "They developed. They got great at the end of the year."
Capital One Bowl
TEAMS: Florida (9-3) vs. Michigan (8-4)
WHERE: Orlando
WHEN: Jan. 1, 1 p.m.
TV: ABC
LINE: Florida by 10 1/2
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