A new season is beginning.  Tim Tebow will not be on the Florida sideline for the first time since the Outback Bowl victory over Iowa.

ESPN's Sunday Conversation with John Brantley which aired on SportsCenter earlier this week was really just about Tebow.

If you take a drink every time someone says ''Tebow'' during one of our games, you may wind up seriously harmed (note: G1 does not recommend this.  For anyone.)

With all that in mind, let's link all the Tebow-centric material we've posted over the years in one place, and all agree to move on.

Of course, when he does something amazing, or a statue of him is erected in Gainesville or something, we'll bring that news to you, too.  And we'll link it right here in this post.  But it is time to move on to the 2010 team, so let's get this out of the way...

You may have seen the college fantasy football mock draft I posted last week, and wondered how our own Jordan Reed was the second tight end off the board- and drafted well before most teams drafted a tight end.

Let's take a look at his projected stats, and see how that stacks up against other recent Florida Gators tight ends...

As loyal G1 readers know, I've spent a lot of time trying to sort out truth from myth concerning the Florida Gators 2009 offensive performance, in an attempt to understand what problems must be- and/or will be- overcome by the 2010 unit.

Here is a good summary of those efforts:

Last weekend was our first glimpse of Tim Tebow as a professional, even if the game was a preseason contest, those other guys on the field were being paid (over the table this time, in the case of former Trojans).

So how did the media and the nation react? And what can we expect heading into his next game, this Saturday against the Lions? What about the 2010 season, his rookie campaign?  And what does this all mean for that juicy football spread you've been eyeing?

I had the opportunity last week to be interviewed by friend of G1 BlatantHomerism on the 2010 Florida Gators football season and the state of the SEC.

BH was recently named to the Twitter 200 (200 college football writers who provide insight via Twitter) by John Walters of AOL Fanhouse. You can subscribe to his podcast on iTunes.

Here is the link where I discuss Florida's WRs, life after Tebow, Urban Meyer's mental health, and the upcoming season.

What happens when you wear a Gator hat, but your job involves covering a different team?

You get fired.

Over the weekend, an Arkansas friend passed along a story of a reporter at Arkansas wearing a Gator hat and being called out by Bobby Petrino.

The story got weirder, as Arkansas fans did their usual crazy thing... and then the reporter was fired.

The number one topic on the minds of Gator fans concerning the 2009 offense's ''troubles'' is red zone efficiency.

Let's take a look at how scoring, offensive efficiency, and red zone efficiency in 2009 compared to other years. What do you expect from the Gator offense in 2010?

Sticking with a theme from earlier, when I posted this chart showing the evolution of the Urban Meyer offense at Florida from 2005 to 2009, I'm going to show some stats from the 2004 season which help explain where Urban Meyer came from and what he had to work with in the early part of his tenure.

Here are similar stats for 2004 Utah, 2004 Indiana (where current UF OC Steve Addazio was the OC) and 2004 Florida (where we were stuck in Zook mediocrity with Larry Fedora calling the plays).

Obviously I've written a lot on this topic...

I believe there is much more to be said on it. I did think I'd share a nifty chart for now. Check out this chart comparing 2005 through 2009:

This is awesome.

Thanks to ESPN's unfettered man-crash on Timothy Richard Tebow, we can have the latest and greatest NFL news using ''Tebow Tracker''. Love to hear as much positive Florida Gator news as possible...

LINK

In the coming days, you should expect several posts breaking down the way carries were distributed in the backfield in 2008 and 2009.

I'm hopeful we can learn something about what to expect from the 2010 backs.

For now, I'll blow you away with the most important Florida Gators graph of all time...

Gators First strives to provide quality Florida Gator content with our unique dose of insight and perspective. But, sometimes we'll run across an article that provides great insight and all of the pertinent details. When that happens, we feel it's our moral obligation to share it with the rest of the Gator Nation.

Jamie Newberg of ESPN Recruiting did a wonderful job highlighting the recruiting class of 2011, as in depth as anything we could provide. It will be a very important class as many seniors will depart following this upcoming season.

This is a quick post to let you guys know I interviewed with Zach Rosenfield of Accuscore.com a couple days ago.

The interview is right here on their site, and touches on Florida, the SEC, and I project conference champions from around the league.

As you've come to expect around these parts, I'm not afraid to go against the safe picks for some of the conference champions.

See below for an excerpt.

Before the 2009 season, I decided I was going to track the differences between the Steve Addazio offense and the Dan Mullen offense. I picked a few offensive stats to track, and kept up with the differences year-by-year, comparing to both the 2009 pace and 2009 game-to-date, as well as the 2004 Indiana offense (Addazio's previous stop as an OC). The first post was here, and the last post, which was right before the Alabama game (bloodbath?), is here.

At that time, it was clear that the percentage of run plays v. pass plays, the yards/game, etc. were not as enormously different as the points/game (in the end, the only stat that matters).

With that in mind, here are some extra numbers to consider when comparing the 2009 offense (which most Gator fans will argue was dreadful) and the 2008 offense (which gives most Gator fans a Tebowner).

If you've been following along on our site the last couple of days (here and here), you know that Gators First is the only Gators fan site to cover the 2010 College World Series from Omaha.

The rain delay couldn't dampen the spirits of Omaha's revelers, so the day was not a complete loss.

 ...and I'm only half-talking about the Gators horrendous Game 1 performance.

The day started of great, as the storied home of one of college sports' greatest events was a welcoming host.

The night ended in disaster, as while the Gators were getting thrashed on the field, the G1 mobile (dubbed in my earlier post) was getting broken into.  The shattered passenger-side window represented my shattered my hopes and dreams- at least those of happily enjoying a Bison burger and a brew to cap the night.  We're currently awaiting pizza from Papa John's, they have a hotel special... the Brewburger kitchen is closed.

In order to bring Gator fans the real experience of attending the College World Series in Omaha, I drew the burden of giving you the details of a fan's experience to this annual event.

I am sure this makes Gators First the only fan-run Gators website to give you a first hand account of both the College World Series and the Oklahoma City Subregional.

If Florida's rise to prominence is cyclical, as national college football writers will have you believe, what sort of cycle is going on with our rivals?

To answer this question, I'll start by giving some thoughts on the state of the Seminole program. If Florida were to fall from these current heights, it stands to reason a few of our rivals would have to rise either as a result or as an impetus of this fall.

A common theme of many stories about the Seminoles this offseason has been that 'Jimbo Fisher has a plan to bring them back' to national prominence. Were they ever really considered a candidate for conference realignment? I know I dismissed them in my look at realignment, mainly because they don't fit the SEC profile in their inability to fill seats. It's a little pathetic when they have to bundle the Florida game with two other games just to sell more tickets, right?

So, are we in danger of a Seminole uprising in the near future? Let's investigate.

I was reading this piece in Outside magazine (the only magazine I subscribe to- ESPN the Mag comes whether I want it to or not as I'm an ''insider'' and I canceled SI a few years back when they sent me this cover, but that's another blog entirely), and it reminded me of the conflicting feelings I felt in college when UF changed the way students bought season tickets.

What is the best way for the University of Florida to distribute student tickets to football games?

I thought this was interesting: David Thorpe of ESPN breaks down the players that would be ideal complements to LeBron James' athletic gifts. In case you've been in a coma, LeBron is a free agent this summer. You might say people are interested in where he'll sign.

I was looking at the names, and figuring out which, if any, of the teams linked to James have several of the players listed.

That's when I found his ideal team: the 2004-05 Florida Gators.

I know it isn't exactly midseason, but I tagged this freshly completed road trip and the two upcoming series as the key to the season in the preseason preview. As close the Gator's longest road trip since the 1980s and head into the mouth of the beast with Arkansas and LSU next, I felt it was time to return with a bang as we recap and see where we stand for the stretch run.

On the first night of the 2010 NFL Draft, three Florida Gators get drafted, including one who steals the show. Joe Haden was taken by the Browns, Maurkice Pouncey goes to the Steelers, and Tim Tebow stays in orange and blue by way of Denver.

Back in February, I began monitoring all 32 NFL teams, and trying to answer a few questions: ''Where is Tim Tebow likely to go in the NFL Draft?'' and ''Where would Tebow enter the league in the best situation?'' You can read my first piece on this topic here.

Up until that time, everything written about Tebow and the NFL focused on which round his ''value'' indicated he should be picked, and a couple things about individual teams. I tried to shift the focus to the complete picture, as it's clear he will be drafted by one of the 32 teams, so one could begin going team by team to try to predict his draft day destination (whether he's picked Thursday, Friday, or Saturday). I have no proof that George Bodenheimer reads G1, but within days of my piece, ESPN ran a similar piece with input from their 8 NFL bloggers (check it out here).

Since February, several things have changed the QB picture for several franchises, and the public has been focusing on a couple of destinations. Let's look at the player movement (and other QB-centric offseason happenings) and revisit my previous analysis.

Our friends at Gator Tailgating are raising money for a most worthy cause: posting a billboard in the midst of FSU territory putting all the semen-holes in their place.

After all, it has been more than 6 years (or 2,000 days) since FSU last beat Florida in football.

Details on the billboard are here.

The University of Florida has built a reputation as one of the greatest athletic programs in the country, with countless national championships and rich traditions across all sports. With this in mind, Gatorsfirst.com will be starting the ''Nostalgia Reptilia'' series, documenting the greatest players, coaches, and teams in the great history of the Florida Gator athletic program.

Next on the list is two-time National Champion and current NBA center Joakim Noah. Get NBA tickets and watch Noah and the Bulls in the NBA playoffs this week.

The University of Florida has built a reputation as one of the greatest athletic programs in the country, with countless national championships and rich traditions across all sports. With this in mind, Gatorsfirst.com will be starting the ''Nostalgia Reptilia'' series, documenting the greatest players, coaches, and teams in the great history of the Florida Gator athletic program.

It's time to go back, way back, back into time to take a look at the legendary career of one, Christopher Leak.

The University of Florida has built a reputation as one of the greatest athletic programs in the country, with countless national championships and rich traditions across all sports. With this in mind, Gatorsfirst.com will be starting the ''Nostalgia Reptilia'' series, documenting the greatest players, coaches, and teams in the great history of the Florida Gator athletic program.

In our inaugural recap, we'll take a look at Heisman Trophy winner and National Champion quarterback Danny Wuerffel.

The big story from spring practice is that Urban Meyer went off on the Orlando Sentinel's Jeremy Fowler.  We had the story here, but this thing has become such a sensation, nationally, I decided to chime in with a full blog.

Big surprise here that media folk have been blasting Meyer for this.

As a fan, student, alum, player, coach, etc. don't you want your head coach to stand up for players, and to prevent any sort of perceived locker room rifts?

It's been a few days since the G1 team tore through Oklahoma City. It's taken at least this long to recover from the St. Patrick's Day debauchery, followed by an epic 1st Round NCAA Tournament showdown with BYU.

As we (plus groupies) represented seven of the roughly 9 Gator fans in Oklahoma City that day, we have a duty to the Gator Nation to let you know exactly what it was like...

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, the title refers to the most downloaded Dropkick Murphys song on iTunes...

Anyway, I'm making the drive up from DFW to OKC today for the NCAA Tournament, to provide you with the best possible coverage of the Oklahoma City subregion. I already talked about the other teams in our group (BYU here, Kansas State here, and North Texas here) the last couple of days, but now you can check our home page and our twitter account for the latest on our road trip for the NCAA Tournament's opening round.

Joining me on the drive up are G1 co-founder Chris Canada (from here on out, CC), DFW-area Gator grad (The Gator Nation... Is... Everywhere) Trey, and my former college roommate Char (who drove in from Gainesville last night). Flying into OKC from Jacksonville tonight is G1 co-founder Jesse Colston (JC). My cousin (and Gator fan) Courtney should also be meeting up for tonight's revelry, but not the game tomorrow.

Here's a couple thoughts previewing our travels to OKC, and the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

The Oklahoma City subregion features 4 teams: the BYU Cougars, your Florida Gators, the Kansas State Wildcats, and the North Texas Mean Green.

One of the early NCAA Tournament darlings of the national media- and Florida's first-round opponent- is the squad from Provo, Utah: the BYU Cougars.

I covered the other two non-Florida team in the bracket already (North Texas here and Kansas State here).

And now, a look at our first victim... er, opponent.

The Oklahoma City subregion features 4 teams: the BYU Cougars, your Florida Gators, the Kansas State Wildcats, and the North Texas Mean Green.

I previewed North Texas yesterday here, in my quest to introduce Florida Gators fans to the rest of the bracket.

If the Gators were to spring the upset on Thursday, they would then face Kansas State on Saturday.

Today's guest blog is from our friend Malik G. Malik runs and maintains the Gator blog ''Shots From the Dome''. You can follow him on a regular basis at his twitter page here.

You can find Malik's original post here. Enjoy!!!

The Oklahoma City subregion features 4 teams: the BYU Cougars, your Florida Gators, the Kansas State Wildcats, and the North Texas Mean Green.

The opponent the Gators are the least likely to face is North Texas.

What are some things you should know about this opponent, to impress your friends at the bar on St. Patrick's Day (aka March Madness eve)?

Over the coming days, expect a flurry of activity on these pages concerning the NCAA Tournament.

G1 is doing it huge, as 3 of our founders (including me) are making the trip to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night for Thursday morning's game v. BYU (12:20 ET, 11:20 local on CBS).

For now, click here to join our bracket challenge group on ESPN- or just create an entry and search for 'Gators First'.

I've got a prize for the winner...

Today at approximately 6:30 ET, the Florida Gators officially ended their NCAA Tournament drought.

The Florida Gators will meet the BYU Cougars on Thursday, March 18 in Oklahoma City. They are a 10 seed, and BYU is a 7 seed.

After a rough day for bubble teams yesterday (Houston surprising UTEP, Mississippi State upsetting Vandy, many more) speculation was rapant that Dan Werner would play yet another game in front of his under-appreciative fans.

Instead, they are heading to OKC. Some more facts below...

The Gators Men's Basketball team beat Aubun last night 78-69 in the first round of the SEC tournament. Some say this puts them in the dance; here is one Gatorsfirst author's take on the matter. Either way, last night was a great win for the gators with many players stepping up to the challenge. The Gators played like it was a &must win& game, which it was. The first &must win& game of the season, despite many saying the last five regular season games were &must win&.

The big story for Auburn was Tay Waller going 0-6 with 0 points and 4 fouls. Waller averaged over 20 points a game in the final games of the regular season for Auburn, but could not connect against the Gators.

As I started earlier this season, throughout the offseason I'm going to give a quick rundown of the week's storylines, in case your not as OCD about Gators as those that get their up-to-the-second Gators news here. But even if you do, I hope I'll entertain you somewhat, give you some different perspectives, and throw in some other odds and ends to keep you interested.

Illinois State comes to town for a 2 game series on Tuesday and Wednesday. ISU is projected to finish 4th in the Missouri Valley Conference, behind Wichita State, Missouri State, and Creighton. The Redbirds are coming off an 0-3 performance at the Music City Invitational hosted by Vanderbilt. ISU lost 6-4 to Indiana, 9-2 to Vanderbilt, and 7-2 to Kent State. Despite those performances, ISU is averaging 9.6 runs a game in 9 games and has a very dangerous man in the leadoff spot.

Also with Game 2 starters at the end.

In a game dominated by pitching, Florida used two big innings to defeat Miami 7-1 in the series opener. Florida starter Alex Panteliodis went 5.2 innings and struck out a career high 8, while holding the Canes to 2 hits and 1 run. The sophomore had a no hitter going until the 5th and kept UM off balance with a combination of perfectly placed fastballs and solid off speed pitches.

So the other day, I started thinking about what, exactly, could be the problem with our basketball team.

We lack depth.  I studied the early departures during Donovan's entire tenure at Florida last summer.

We lack certain skill sets.  Again, is Billy Donovan's recruiting to blame?  Is Dan Werner just a bum with no business being on anyone's team?

Then I really started thinking: which team would be better off in 2009-10, our present rotation (we run 8 deep) or a 9-man rotation consisting of guys that either left Florida early or aren't playing now for other reasons?

Oh, and I'll answer those other questions, too...

The Gators fell last night in a 60-64 loss to #13 ranked Vandy. Some were considering this a &must win& game for the Gators to make the NCAA tournament, but at least one GatorsFirst author still thinks the team has a chance whose article can been seen here. The game was the total opposite of last game against Vandy where Macklin fouled out with 2 points and 1 rebound, and the team shot almost 50 percent from the arc. This game Macklin had 21 points with 12 rebounds and the team went 2 for 13 from the arc. The Gators had many chances to win this game, but its hard to win when you go 37 percent from the field, 15 percent from 3 range, and 66 percent from the line.

Let's get something straight: Tim Tebow will be drafted. Earlier than you think. Or Todd McShay thinks, for that matter. As a quarterback. And all that stands in the way of success is how he develops the NFL-ish skills he is lacking. Which can be said of almost every prospect, ever. A huge factor, which will help his NFL career be as successful as possible, is his initial destination.

The franchise which chooses Tebow will impact his long-term career by the expectations placed on him for 2010, the patience of the franchise with a young QB, and the quality of coaching he will receive.

So where will he go? How could he best adapt to the NFL game? Which franchises are a good mix of 'likely to draft Tebow', and 'could develop Tebow into an NFL star'?

After all, the Tim Tebow experiment is inevitable...

Siena comes into town tonight as classic small northern school fodder for a big southern team to feast on.  La Salle this weekend will be the exact same.  Northern schools generally play around 40% of the games at home and 60% of their games on the road, including usually a lengthy road stand to start the season.  Siena plays 21 of their first 23 on the road, while La Salle plays 16 of their first 17 on the road.  

I was one of the few in attendance Wednesday as rain fell and the temperature plummeted at McKethan stadium to see Florida outlast Central Florida.  Florida built an early 7-0 lead before holding on to win 7-6 over the Golden Knights.  With drizzling rain that forced a 30 minute delay and fell well into the middle of the game, Florida was able to get just enough from the bullpen to hang on, as Kevin Chapman struck out Chris Duffy (LF) with one on in the 9^th to end it and earn his first career save.  Duffy was 3-4 at the time, and had hit a two run homer in the 8^th to cut the Gator lead to 7-5.

If we got to pick, choosing Tennessee to blow out was a great choice (75-62). Especially with NCAA selection committee member Jeff Hathaway in the crowd. The first half was close with Tennessee hitting 6 threes and the Gators having to score the last 7 points to enter the locker room tied. The second half was all about the Gators where they hit four 3 point shots in two and a half minutes to jump ahead 70-50 with 3 minutes left. Overall, a lot of good came out of this game and the Gators tacked on another top 25 win.

The Gators welcome the University of Central Florida Golden Knights to Gainesville (barring rain) tonight. This game kicks off a five games in five days run to end the season starting home stand for Florida. UCF tonight, Sienna tomorrow, and a three game series with La Salle this weekend should definitely test UF’s deep pitching staff. The Knights are the most dangerous of the three and have won four of the eight games here since 1994.

Tim Tebow and 9 other Florida Gators (including 5 juniors) will be appearing at the 2010 NFL Combine, starting tomorrow. I've got all the info on which jersey number each will wear (Tim's going to be QB 19), and what the schedule for each group will be (when they'll be arriving in Indianapolis, when they'll be working out, etc.). I have a spreadsheet for the entire combine (courtesy friend of G1 Trey), but I've sorted it below to only show the Gators who will be appearing

Florida sweeps the South Florida in dramatic fashion with a walk off hit in the bottom of the 10^th. Mike Zunino (PH/C) knocked a two out single into right field to score Tyler Thompson (PH/LF) from 2B and win 7-6. This was only the final act of a game that got dramatic late. After USF scored 5 runs in the top of the 8^th to take the lead, Florida scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 9^th to force the extra frame.

Consistent scoring paced the Gators past the Bulls 9-1 Saturday, as UF scored in 5 of the 8 frames they batted in. The victory wins the series with USF, which hopefully by the end of the year will be a solid RPI opponent. The RPI counts series wins, so even if the Bulls win on Sunday, Florida will receive credit for winning the series. The offensive tide was barely kept in check at the start of the game, as Florida loaded the bases with the first three batters.