(Sports Network) - In a game full of storylines, the Florida
Gators and Cincinnati Bearcats will collide in the much-anticipated Sugar Bowl
on New Year's night.

Cincinnati is making its second straight New Years Day appearance in a Bowl
Championship Series game. The Bearcats have won back-to-back Big East
Conference titles and wrapped up a perfect regular season with a come-from-
behind, 45-44 victory over Pittsburgh in the finale. The team is currently
ranked fourth in the AP poll, matching the highest spot ever achieved by the
program.

"To have the chance to represent the University of Cincinnati in a game like
the Sugar Bowl that has such great history against an outstanding opponent in
Florida is a real honor for our football team," said head coach Brian Kelly
after the Pittsburgh win. "We look forward to a great game in New Orleans on
Jan. 1."

While Kelly may have been looking forward to this bowl game at the time, he
won't be on the sidelines for the Bearcats, as he decided to resign his post
at Cincinnati to accept the vacant head coaching position at Notre Dame.
Kelly's assistant, Jeff Quinn, was named the interim head coach for this Sugar
Bowl, and even though he was recently selected to be the next head coach at
Buffalo, Quinn will honor his commitment and lead the Bearcats against the
Gators.

"The most important thing right now is our players," Quinn said. "This has
been a tremendous season, but we still have another game to finish off. We
will handle our preparations for the Sugar Bowl with class and distinction."

The story becomes even more complicated in that Cincinnati has already hired a
new permanent head coach in Butch Jones, who led Central Michigan to a pair of
Mid-American Conference titles. Jones replaced Brian Kelly at CMU after he
left the Chippewas to lead the Bearcats.

As for Florida, it is making a bowl appearance for the 19th consecutive year,
the second-longest active streak in the nation. The Sugar Bowl marks the
program's sixth appearance in a BCS game, and the team knocked off Oklahoma by
a 24-14 final in last season's national title contest. The Gators hoped to
defend the championship this season, but a 32-13 loss to Alabama in the SEC
title tilt on December 5th crushed that dream. Still, at 12-1, Urban Meyer's
Florida squad has plenty to be proud of. The Gators' 22-game win streak, which
began in 2008 and was snapped by Alabama, was a school record and the fourth-
longest ever by an SEC team. It was the best in the league in the past 15
years.

Adding even more intrigue to this clash is the recent announcement by Meyer
that he is going to take an indefinite leave of absence following the Sugar
Bowl for health-related reasons. Meyer had originally stepped down from his
coaching position, stating his desire to concentrate on his health and focus
more on his family. But a day later, changed his mind and will take leave
instead.

Clearly, there is unrest with both teams at the moment, which could make for
some interesting developments on the Superdome playing surface this Friday.

In the only previous meeting between Florida and Cincinnati on the gridiron,
the Gators cruised to a 48-17 victory back in 1984.

Cincinnati leads the nation in passing efficiency (166.19), and ranks sixth in
scoring offense (39.8), passing offense (320.3), and total offense (464.3).
The team has the good fortune of having two outstanding quarterbacks in Tony
Pike and Zach Collaros. Pike, the senior, missed three games due to injury,
but he has still thrown for 2,350 yards with 26 touchdowns against six
interceptions this year. Collaros, a sophomore, has connected on 75 percent of
his attempts for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns against a mere two
interceptions. As a runner, he has posted 344 yards and four touchdowns.

Pike will get the start under center in this bowl game, and he will benefit
from the presence of receivers Mardy Gilyard and Armon Binns as usual. Gilyard
has recorded 80 catches for 1,150 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Binns adds 56
grabs for 859 yards and 10 scores. Gilyard has also scored a touchdown as a
runner, one as a punt returner and two as a kick returner. Isaiah Pead leads
the UC ground attack with 758 yards and nine touchdowns.

Cincinnati is yielding 20.8 ppg and 350.2 total ypg, and while the defensive
unit isn't dominant, it has been strong in most games this season. The
Bearcats are only allowing 3.5 yards per rushing attempt, and they have
recorded 16 interceptions as well. Aaron Webster has intercepted four passes
to pace the team, and Andre Revels is tops with 103 total tackles.

Florida is led by quarterback Tim Tebow, who is one of the greatest leaders
the college game has ever known. Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy as a
sophomore and a national title as both a freshman and junior, has thrown for
2,413 yards and 18 touchdowns while completing 65.2 percent of his passes this
season. As a runner, the versatile signal caller has posted 13 touchdowns and
859 yards, and he was recently named the SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

The Gators will be playing without Brandon James in this clash, as the
standout kick returner and wideout has a foot injury. Jeff Demps and Chris
Rainey have combined for nearly 1,300 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, while
tight end Aaron Hernandez and Riley Cooper have more than 1,500 yards and 12
touchdowns between them.

Florida has allowed just 15 touchdowns this season, tied for the fewest in the
nation with Penn State, which has played one fewer game than the Gators. The
11.5 points per game that UF is allowing ranks third nationally, and the team
has given up seven or fewer points in six games. Foes are gaining a mere 101.6
yards per game on the ground against the Gators, who are yielding just 3.1
yards per rushing attempt. The pass defense has been even better, as opposing
quarterbacks have notched just seven touchdowns with 20 interceptions.

Standout defensive end Carlos Dunlap didn't play against Alabama in the SEC
Championship Game and was sorely missed. His one-game suspension has been
served and he is expected to be on the field against Cincinnati.






Copyright 2010 The Sports Network
All rights reserved

 Email To Friend