Joey Johnston

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Today’s Urban Meyer exudes confidence. Today’s Urban Meyer sits atop the SEC football standings. Today’s Urban Meyer will travel to Auburn this weekend knowing that his Florida Gators have the goods to go 7-0.

It’s a different coach from last season’s Urban Meyer, the one who entered the league with a lofty, innovative reputation, the one who was quickly humbled.

One year ago, Meyer took his Gators into LSU, one week after absorbing a four-touchdown pounding at Alabama. One year ago, the Gators forced five turnovers in an SEC road game, the formula for success.

But Florida’s offense got the ball four times in the fourth quarter. It never passed the Gator 30-yard line. LSU 21, Florida 17.

The enduring image occurred in the bowels of LSU’s Tiger Stadium, in a cramped interview room. Urban Meyer became Urban Crier. He wept.

Meyer later said emotions overtook him because of concern for his distraught defensive players, who had done everything necessary. Meyer’s punchless offense had failed.
And that was where things changed.

These are different Gators. This is a different Urban Meyer. In Saturday’s rematch with LSU, before a fever-pitched crowd in Gainesville, Fla., the Gators toyed with the Tigers, even without the services of injured DeShawn Wynn, their best running back.

Chris Leak, the Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback, put the ball into the hands of Florida’s playmakers.

Uber-freshman quarterback Tim Tebow, a bull-moose runner, took 15 snaps and accounted for three touchdowns — a 1-yard sneak on fourth down and a pair of touchdown passes in which he faked a run, then pulled up to toss it into the end zone.

From the 1, he appeared to be charging over the pile, but then he stopped, levitated, and delivered a jump-hook pass to tight end Tate Casey, who gathered the floater to his chest as he fell backward in the end zone.

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Later, from LSU’s 35-yard line, he took a few steps forward and froze. Wide receiver Louis Murphy had broken open behind a confused defense, and Tebow made the easiest touchdown pass of his career.

Leak and Tebow?

It’s easy to suggest a quarterback controversy. But that wouldn’t be accurate. Meyer is delighted with Leak’s adjustment to the offense. He’s equally delighted with the contributions Tebow makes on a spot basis, including a fourth-down run in the fourth quarter at Tennessee, leading to Leak’s winning touchdown pass in a 21-20 victory.

The creative deployment of quarterbacks has confounded opposing defenses. What a difference from last season. Meyer arrived from Utah, where his BCS-busting Utes were 12-0 and he was national coach of the year. His spread-option offense was all the rage. Leak, a methodical drop-back passer, didn’t appear to be a good fit for Meyer’s philosophy.

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Back then, offensive coordinator Dan Mullen just shrugged, saying Leak just had to get Florida into the correct play. Maybe he’d had a 150-yard rushing game. Early on, it became clear, that wasn’t happening. In fact, Leak began to struggle. Receivers went down with injuries. He went to Alabama with a lack of weapons and it showed. At LSU, things got worse.

“We were in a tough situation,” Meyer said. “They blitzed us, they hit our quarterback and in hindsight, we would have done it differently. If we had a tailback who was hammering it for 100 yards a game … but we didn’t at that time.

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“Was [Chris Leak] put into a tough situation? Sure. A quarterback who has a lack of firepower and not being protected is in a tough situation.”

Something had to change. Something did.

When the Gators returned from LSU last season, Florida assistants convened at Meyer’s house. They broke out the notepads. They schemed well into the night.

“That was a late one,” Meyer said.