Championship Preview: 96 Florida vs 05 Texas

It's '96 Florida and '05 Texas in the championship game of the What If Tournament of Champions! Showing true championship form, both the Gators and the Longhorns showed their mettle with heart-pounding second half rallies in their semi-final matchups to set the stage for the finals.

The Gators of Coach Steve Spurrier, with their high powered offense that centers around the passing of Danny Wuerffel, will match up with Coach Mack Brown's Longhorns and their do-it-all quarterback Vince Young, maybe a bigger, stronger and faster version of what the Gators saw in the semifinals when they faced off against Nebraska's Tommie Frazier. This might turn out to be the best quarterback battle of the entire tournament with the classic pocket passer in Wuerffel and the master of the improv in Young, who can win a game with either his feet or his arm.

The Gators got to the championship game with the most dramatic rally of the entire tournament, wiping out a 21-point halftime deficit to slip past pre-tournament favorite '95 Nebraska, 35-34 in one semifinal. The Gators clinched the win with a dramatic 27-yard touchdown pass from 96 Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel to Reidel Anthony with 1:28 left in the game. Wuerffel showed remarkable composure, shaking off two second half interceptions as he completed 11-16 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He hit Taras Ross with a 26-yard scoring strike in the third quarter to really give the Florida rally some legs.

Fred Taylor turned in a heroic performance for the Gators, carring 39 times for 121 yards and a touchdown. His 21-yard touchdown run with 10:32 remaining in the game got the Gators within striking distance of the Cornhuskers, who built a 24-0 first quarter lead before the Gators could even catch their collective breaths. Lawrence Phillips was a one-man wrecking crew for the Huskers, scoring on runs of 55, 32 and 38 yards. Nebraska led 31-10 at the half but unexpectedly collapsed in the second half in this nail-biter.

'05 Texas was badly outgained by '91 Washington but the Longhorns came through with superb second half defense to keep the Huskies off the board as they rallied from a 16-3 halftime deficit to earn a 19-16 win and a trip to the championship game. In dramatic fourth quarter fashion, Vince Young took the Longhorns on an 8-play, 58-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a five-yard touchdown pass from Vince Young to Billy Pittman with 1:52 left in the game. Young completed only 7-16 passes for 152 yards in the game, but on the game-winning drive, he came up big, hitting all three of his passes. He hit Pittman for a 34-yarder on a third and five and connected with Quan Cosby for a 20-yarder to the Washington two on a third and 13 that set up the game-winning score.

There was still plenty of time for Washington to rally and the Huskies came very close to sending this one into overtime. Behind Billy Joe Hobert, who hit 5-7 passes on the drive, the Huskies got within field goal distance for Travis Hanson but his 31-yard atttempt as time expired sailed wide right, allowing Texas to escape with the win.

The second half story for the Longhorns was the defense keeping '91 Washington out of the end zone. That allowed the Longhorns to generate just enough offense for placekicker David Pino to knock down field goals of 42, 36 and 36 yards to help Texas close the game to 16-12. Although Texas was outgained in the game, 488-311, the Longhorns gave up just one touchdown in the game.

The championship matchup will feature Florida's air attack with Wuerffel throwing to an arsenal of fast, talented receivers and Young leading a Texas attack that loves to pound it on the ground to set up Young throwing hte ball deep. The key could be a couple of resilient defenses that have been bloodied throughout the tournament but in every situation when it called for a critical stop, they've come through.

CHAMPIONSHIP EDGE: The key number for Texas is 200. If the Longhorns rush for more than 200 yards, they can keep the ball away from Wuerffel and the Florida offensive juggernaut. Florida showed in the first quarter against Nebraska that it's vulnerable to pounding between the tackles. For Florida, the key number is 125. If the Gators rush for 125 or more yards, the Texas defense will not be able to pin its ears back and throw an all-out rush on Wuerffel. The numbers favor Texas in this one but never count out a Steve Spurrier coached team. It should be a nail-biter supreme.

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