TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 RUNNING AWAY WITH A CROWN CHAPTER 2 THE GROWING GATORS 10 CHAPTER 3 PUTTING FLORIDA FOOTBALL ON THE MAP 16 CHAPTER 4 GRIDIRON GREATS IN GAINESVILLE 24 CHAPTER 5 THE CHAMPIONSHIP ERA 32 TIMELINE QUICK STATS QUOTES AND ANECDOTES GLOSSARY MORE INFORMATION ONLINE RESOURCES INDEX ABOUT THE AUTHOR 42 44 45 46 47 47 48 48
CHAPTER 1 RUNNING AWAY WITH A CROWN The University of Florida Gators football team was preparing to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2006 Bowl Championship Series BCS National Championship Game The showdown was set for January 8 2007 Gators head coach Urban Meyer had an idea for motivating his players He placed a huge bulletin board in the locker room during the week before the game On it he posted articles written about the team Some articles predicted Ohio State would easily win Others featured so called experts claiming the Gators could not match up to the talented Buckeyes Meyer later referred to the board as 10 feet of nonsense That's because some items he placed on it were pure fiction They were created simply to upset his players His plan was a huge success The players grew angrier as the showdown approached Urban Meyer led Florida to the 2006 national championship game in just his second year as the Gators coach
