It's just best to come out and say this.
Holy Shnikies, UF's defensive line is actually, well, looking like a legitimate Southeastern Conference defensive line.
Miami running back Graig Cooper - who could easily be a starter on any team in the SEC - was beaten, stonewalled and thwarted by the Gators? The same team that allowed LSU running back Jacob Hester to help his team convert on five 4th downs last year and completely crush UF's spirit for the rest of the season? The same team that made Knowshon Moreno - in his second career start - look like he was surrounded by a force field unable to be touched? The same team that made Michigan's Mike Hart look like he was just sprayed by a skunk because he was so far away from defenders?
Yes, it's the same team. Except, this time, they're mad. All of them.
"We've got a little bit of a rotation on there," UF coach Urban Meyer said. "Last year we didn't have that luxury."
It doesn't look like Moreno will be drooling the week before the Gators and Bulldogs meet this season. Even LSU's speedy running backs will look at the UF defensive line and linebackers and wonder where the gaps will be to run through.
"It looks like a whole different D-line," linebacker Brandon Spikes said.
Let's put it this way: If the defense keeps this up, even when the Gators don't score over 35 points, they can still win the game. Tim Tebow isn't forced to put on his Superman cape every game.
Good luck, SEC. Your job just got a whole lot tougher. Now you have to try to find a way to stop Tebow and find a way to score yourself.
Sure, Miami never tested the Gators down the field, but neither did LSU last year. Even when UF put everyone in the box against the Tigers, Hester still bullied his way for multiple first downs.
Last season, if you weighed over 300 pounds and were healthy, you would play on UF's defensive line. Just ask Mike Pouncey. All he had to do was jump up and down and smack his helmet a few times to get a start on the line.
Now players have to grunt, sweat and pant every day at practice just for a shot to play. Carlos Dunlap was replaced in the starting lineup by Justin Trattou at defensive end, and both athletes played better because of the battle.
If these guys have similar performances against LSU and Georgia, UF will win those games. Tebow and Percy Harvin get giddy at just the thought of not having to score in quick bursts every time.
If the Gators are able to brick wall Arian Foster in two weeks at Knoxville, this defensive line has arrived. They won't have more than 90,000 soon-to-be-laryngitis-ridden fans cheering for them in Knoxville. They'll have a running back in Foster looking to flatten them with every ounce of adrenaline in his system after last year's 59-20 abomination.
This defensive line holds the key to the season. They can't beat LSU if they don't slow down the run game. They probably won't beat Georgia, either. But if they do, I wish the best of luck to everyone else who tries to beat them. It might not happen.
