Mandel: Texas-Florida Would Be The Ultimate Clash

by Peter Bean on Aug 11, 2009 4:53 PM CDT in Football Comment 18 comments

SI's Stewart Mandel weighs in on why he thinks a Texas-Florida Rose Bowl would be the granddaddy of them all.

Mark it down: On Jan. 7, 2010, the Florida Gators and Texas Longhorns will meet on a football field for the first time in nearly 70 years.

The teams' anticipated showdown in Pasadena, Calf., will be more than a battle for the BCS National Championship. It will be an epic clash between the two flagship universities from the two biggest football states in the country. It will be Urban vs. Mack, Tebow vs. McCoy, Albert vs. Bevo and jean-shorts vs. Cowboy hats.

For the most part, the article is standard fluff, but it's worth reading, if only to get a glimpse of just how incredible would be the hype should these two teams run the table and meet in Pasadena. A repeat of 2005 -- when Texas and USC ran the table at 1-2 to meet in the Rose Bowl -- is far from a sure thing, but certainly from my perspective, as a fan, it's a match up I'm absolutely craving.

Talking football over drinks in Atlanta this past weekend, Spencer Hall (of EDSBS) and I all but drooled on the bar anticipating how much fun Longhorns and Gators fans would have should the two teams get to Pasadena unscathed. And if you think the hype surrounding Matt Leinart, Reggie Bush, and USC was incredible, just wait until you see what ESPN has in store for a 12-0 Florida team for the month of December. It won't just be Shelley Smith trailing the team: it'll be Shelley Smith, Mark May, and Pedro Gomez trailing Tim Tebow in a tour bus with foreskin-cover seats.

Texas fans had better prepare themselves for the most hype-filled season in memory. The hoopla leading up to Texas-OU will be like nothing the rivalry has seen. Ditto the Heisman race. And hopefully, if we're lucky, the race to the Rose Bowl.

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"Foreskin-Cover Seats"

PB, I will never forgive you for this image, just as I will never forgive Stewie Mandel for sharing my fantasy of a Roommates vs. Filipino Circumciser cage match for a MNC.

proud to swim home

by learned hand on Aug 11, 2009 5:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I longed for this matchup last season...

and I still long for it today. I would say we have about a 20% chance of it coming to reality for if the Buckeyes knock off USC, they will vault up the polls. Still, if the horns take care of business and Mack drives it up (he has to this season), then I see the horns in Pasadena taking on the Gators who will go unbeaten this year leading up to the bowl season.

"Stats are for losers. I like winning games." - Will Muschamp

by Mulliganville on Aug 11, 2009 8:36 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Jean Shorts

How funny is it that even Mandel calls out Florida fans for being a little bit trashier than average?

by atxdman on Aug 11, 2009 8:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I remember this from last fall

He could do a similar compare-and-contrast if we meet in Pasadena.

by Hopkins Horn on Aug 11, 2009 9:49 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Florida fans wear jorts! That's freakin great!

That’s bad when Bud does a commercial about your favorite article of clothing…

by SneezyBeltran on Aug 12, 2009 9:39 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

One more sidenote about jorts...

At the camp I work, our theme for one week was “Jorts Week” and encouraged all the kids to wear jorts……

by SneezyBeltran on Aug 12, 2009 12:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

According to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football, Texas has produced more D1 signees than any other state every year for about the past 20. I do not know where Mandel gets his statistics but Florida is not even #2 on the list. California is #2 for producing D1 football players.

by miketag on Aug 11, 2009 10:23 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Per capita, Florida is probably #1or 2.

Mandel didn’t exactly say that, certainly, but I think it’s a reasonable thing to say Florida is in the top 2.

by billyzane on Aug 11, 2009 10:57 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Slightly different stat

but Mississippi usually leads in the NFL players per capita statistic.

FWIW, a very good coach who coached in both states once told me the best high school football is played in Texas—coaching, schemes, etc., but the best players are in Florida.

by DoubleB on Aug 12, 2009 8:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

FTFA

BCS Conference signees, not D1.

Thanks for your additional interesting stat though.

by UTeze on Aug 12, 2009 12:33 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

according to sbnation..

..the auto-tag of shelley smith says she is an offensive linemen..lol

by vy til i die on Aug 11, 2009 11:56 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Colt is tebows daddy

El numero doce tiene la mano de dios.

by Can I get some Chiles with that? on Aug 12, 2009 1:33 AM CDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs

if texas played Florida

the two leading storylines going into the game would be:

Coach Boom at Auburn vs. Urban Meyer’s Gators

and

If texas wins, does Mack retire?

I Am The 12th Man.com

by Beergut on Aug 12, 2009 6:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Gotta disagree here,

The two leading story lines would be

A. Is Tim Tebow the greatest player ever?
B. Is this a repeat of ’05, Texas beating “greatest team ever”?

by ctex80 on Aug 12, 2009 8:15 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's Texas you ass

Now go away

by UT2001 on Aug 12, 2009 8:33 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

Can you imagine the BCS Title Game introduction?

Given McCoy’s and Tebow’s well-documented Christian faith, instead of Will Ferrell & Mathew McConaughey circa 2005, it will be James Earl Jones doing a voiceover from “Gods & Generals” – (picture clips of McCoy and Tebow game clips from the 2009 season mixed in video of their respective missionary trips) -

“They carried the same Bible. They believed in the same God. One side fought for God’s Glory. The other for His Kingdom on Earth. But for the duration of the war, God refused to take sides …”

Gives me chills thinking about it…

Also, no way if a team from the Big 12 and a team from the SEC goes undefeated that another conference leap frogs into #1 or #2 spot. There are too many Top 25 teams in both conferences, which will make their percentages too high to pass.

by Robertpz on Aug 12, 2009 9:17 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Meh. Trying to brand the 2009 season

The article is Stewart Mandel looking over the last few years of football, comparing the ever fluctuating top spots with the constants of 2005, realizing that 2005 was the more enjoyable season, and trying to recapture that feel of giant vs. giant that the last few years have lacked.

by OJsApprentice on Aug 12, 2009 10:30 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

This is a dream matchup

That I thought we would see last year, but this year, I have different feelings about it. Which team is more likely to make it there? OK-Lite is the team that I think may have a chance to ruin our chances, but who is that team on Florida’s schedule that could ruin this dream matchup?

Throw Ya Horns, Mayne

by texasboi01 on Aug 12, 2009 6:54 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs