Urban Meyer Says It's Okay to Talk About Florida's Title Hopes

Standard coach-speak rules dictate that you focus on:

1) The next play.
2) The next game.
3) Nothing else.

But Urban Meyer recognizes that his talented Florida Gators, considered by many to be the "hottest team in college football" at present, are players on the grand stage. Win out, and they'll book a trip to Miami and a chance to add to Florida's crystal football collection. It's that simple. And there's no use avoiding the conversation.

"I'll go through that all with them because they're going to hear it," Meyer said. "And instead of from Uncle Jim or someone like that, they're going to hear exactly what's going on with the BCS. For us to just avoid that, I learned that's not the right way to do it. We're going to be talking about it, so let's talk about it, and then it's over, done."

"... There's a lot at stake. I don't mind mentioning it now; we're playing for a lot. The first goal is to get to Atlanta and the second goal is to be in the national picture. And we're in the national picture."

Timing is everything. Florida clinched a division championship with their win over Vanderbilt, but games remain against South Carolina, Citadel, and FSU before playing Alabama in Atlanta. Florida could lose all three of those games and still achieve goal number one, so for now, and to keep focus, it's kosher to talk about the BCS picture in Gainesville.