No. 1 Gators stay focused despite distractions

By Mark Long - The Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- From preseason talk about perfection to star linebacker Brandon Spikes' suspension for dirty play, Florida has faced plenty of potential distractions.

The top-ranked Gators have stayed unbeaten through them all, maybe the most impressive aspect of the team's 19-game winning streak.

“It's been the year of stuff,” coach Urban Meyer said. “What does stuff do to bad families? It rips them apart. Bad teams? It rips them apart. What's it do to solid teams and solid families? It gets them a little closer. I'm proud to say this is a very solid family, a very solid team.”

The bond certainly has been tested in 2009, and it will be again before the defending national champions play No. 3 Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game next month.

Florida (9-0, 7-0 SEC) faces former coach Steve Spurrier on Saturday in South Carolina, then two weeks later, has the final home game for seniors looking to win three national titles in four years. The finale also has the potential to be Florida State coach Bobby Bowden's last game.

It started on the first day of fall practice, when Spikes, Tim Tebow and several teammates proclaimed their goal was to be the first undefeated team in school history. That was news to Meyer.

The Gators relived Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's offseason recruiting allegations and his promise to win in Gainesville. They dealt with flulike symptoms that kept dozens of players out of practice.

There was Tebow's highly publicized concussion going into the biggest game of the season at LSU. There was Spikes missing most of two games with injuries.

There was the game against former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, and Tebow's bailing out on postgame interviews after a sub-par performance against Mullen's Mississippi State team.

There were questionable calls against Arkansas and Mississippi State that prompted conspiracy theories about SEC officials favoring the league's top teams.

There was the heated rivalry against Georgia, which included plenty of emotion that carried onto the field and caused issues the following week.

Spikes' eye-gouging incident became a huge deal when video of it spread via the Internet. Meyer suspended Spikes for the first half against Vanderbilt, then increased it to a full game two days later — after Spikes said he didn't want to be a distraction.

Meyer, meanwhile, said officials missed a late hit on Tebow. The SEC fined the coach $30,000, making him the first to be penalized under the league's stricter rules regarding criticizing officials.

“Everybody plays better with a chip on their shoulder,” guard Mike Pouncey said. “All that stuff gives us a little edge for every game.”