Gators not in trouble, just ran into inspired Tide

	Chris Leak completed just 43.2 percent of his passes on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Bob Rosato/SI
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I see it's taken all of one loss to get folks in Florida all lathered up about what's wrong with head coach Urban Meyer and the Gators, who were pummeled by Alabama 31-3 on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. I guess that's to be expected, but before anyone in the Sunshine State starts throwing up any Urban-must-go Web sites, they may want to take a deep breath. The Gators are still 4-1, and I believe are a much better team than the one that got ground into the turf at Bryant-Denny Stadium. There may have been no team in the country, outside of USC or Texas, who could have beaten Alabama last weekend.

I think the big problem for Florida was that it failed to appreciate what a huge game this was to the Crimson Tide. 'Bama had seniors on both sides of the ball -- quarterback Brodie Croyle and linebacker DeMeco Ryans in particular -- who have been through some pretty dark stuff in the last four years, from coaching turmoil to catastrophic injuries to NCAA sanctions. The Tide were beaten so far down a few years ago that there were even murmurs about the death penalty. Head coach Mike Shula took over in a tough spot and struggled, going 4-9 and 6-6 the past two years. This wasn't just a run-of-the-mill SEC game for Alabama -- this was a chance for validation and redemption on national television, against a rival and a top-five team.

So, needless to say, the Tide were jacked up, and so were the fans. I've been in some loud stadiums in my day -- the 2004 Belmont Stakes, for example, when more than 100,000 people literally made the grandstand shake for Smarty Jones -- but I don't know if I've ever heard a crowd as loud as the one in Tuscaloosa. When Florida got off to a shaky start on its first series, the whole stadium was rocking. Then Croyle threw an 87-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Prothro the first time Alabama touched the ball. When Gators quarterback Chris Leak was picked off by defensive end Chris Harris later in the first quarter, things only got louder.

It didn't help that Florida started the game with a few mistakes, including a blown coverage on Prothro's first touchdown. Alabama just pounced all over that stuff. By the end of the first quarter, the game was a blowout and the Gators were completely deflated.

You could tell the noise was bothering Leak, who seemed to get more frustrated as the afternoon wore on. As angry as he got, the cheering only fired up 'Bama's defenders. Florida's a fast team, so how else can you explain the fact that they looked so slow? The Gators got behind early in a very hostile environment against a very hungry team and just got overwhelmed. Overwhelmed, mind you, by a good team. There were quite a few people who thought Alabama had a chance in this game -- including our own John Walters and B.J. Schecter -- so while the manner of the victory was a big surprise, the victory itself was only a small one.

Is this Meyer's fault? To a degree, yes, and I bet Florida comes out on fire next week against poor Mississippi State. Of primary concern to Meyer should be the play of his offensive line, which looked sloppy, slow and overmatched on Saturday. I know center Mike DeGory is an All-America candidate, but the guys around him spent an awful lot of time getting manhandled by the Crimson Tide's front seven. After watching the Gators' O-line perform, I now know why Meyer has been complaining about his running game.

Quick Hits

• Thanks to all who wrote in to tell me that the last straight-ahead kicker in Division I-A was Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams. And to those who told me I was wrong about Michael Vick as a pocket passer because he ranked No. 1 in the country in passing efficiency in 1999, I have this to say: Michael Vick has never been known as a pocket passer. He's many things -- exciting, wildly creative and fast, to name but a few -- but a pocket passer is not one of them.

• Favorite thing I heard this week: I sat across from CBS broadcaster Verne Lundquist at dinner in Tuscaloosa on Friday night, and he told me he'd been a smoker for many years before finally kicking the habit a few years ago. "Was it tough to give it up?" I asked. "Mark, you have no idea. Kicking heroin would be easy for me at this point."