Dr. Lou Says Gators Will Repeat

Dr. Lou made a house call Monday.

Lou Holtz, an ESPN college football analyst and spokesman for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team (just two of the many hats he wears), believes Florida will repeat as national champion and finish undefeated for the first time in school history. Holtz also thinks the collegiate player in history who best compares to Gator quarterback Tim Tebow in style and substance is Roger Staubach. And Holtz's surprise team thus far this season? Cincinnati.

Those are a few thoughts Holtz shared during a quick interview with FanHouse.

Up first? The nation's No. 1 team, Florida.

Showing no ill effects of his concussion, Tebow held his own and the UF defense rose to the occasion to help beat LSU 13-3 Saturday night in front of 93,129, the largest in the history of LSU's Tiger Stadium.

The victory snapped LSU's 32-game home winning streak in Saturday night games and extended UF's winning streak to a nation-best and team-record 15 games. The Gators' dominant defense limited the Tigers to just 162 yards of total offense and stopped them twice on fourth down in the fourth quarter.

"(Florida) is too good on defense," Holtz said.

"Offensively, with people like (Aaron) Hernandez, and (Jeffrey) Demps and Tebow -- they have skill people there. And Hernandez is taking a bigger and bigger role on this team. He had a major impact (last week). I think Alabama... I think Florida and Alabama are the two best teams in the country. They are very similar -- they both run the ball, they are physical, they play great defense, have good sound special teams and quarterbacks who makes good decisions."

Holtz, who led Notre Dame to a national title in 1988 and fell a victory shy of repeating as national champion in 1989, was impressed by UF's approach in preseason practice.

"I visited [Florida] during two-a-days and talked to them for about a half-hour about defending the championship. When I came back, I told everyone that never have I seen a football team as talented, having everyone coming back, and as motivated as they were during two-a-days," Holtz said.

"I am talking about coaches and players. You would think they were coming off a losing season and had something to prove. But then again, Florida has never had an undefeated season. That's motivating them."

Home on Saturday against Arkansas, the top-ranked Gators must guard against history. The Razorbacks have beaten the nation's No. 1 team four times in program history -- twice on Oct. 17 (1964 and 1981) and twice when unranked (1981 and 2007, when it beat LSU).

Behind strong-armed quarterback Ryan Mallett, the Razorbacks feature the top passing offense in the SEC (318.2 yards per game) while the Gators boast the top pass defense (115.2).

Of course, UF also has Tebow, one of 16 seniors on the AllState AFC Good Works team.

"I think Tebow is the most valuable football player I have seen in the game and I've been in it since 1960," Holtz said.

"The only other individual who I have seen come close to him is Roger Staubach. I thought Roger Staubach was a lot like Tim Tebow, except Tim Tebow has more talent around him. If they win the championship this year, here's a guy who has been on three national championships out of four. That's unprecedented -- to have one individual have that impact.

"As far as quarterbacks I've coached, he reminds me of Tony Rice, who won a national championship and just missed it a second time. They are good leaders, love the game, they are positive, they are upbeat, they are good in the locker room, they are good on the field. But, doggone it, at crunch time, they just seem to put the team on their shoulders and carry it."

Farther northwest in Tallahassee, Fla., Holtz, a good friend of embattled Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden, believes it's unfair for school administrators and alumni to force Bowden into retirement. Holtz also said he's not a fan of succession plans as designed by FSU and other schools that have designated a head-coach-in-waiting.

Bowden and the Seminoles lost to visiting Georgia Tech in a 49-44 shootout Saturday, dropping FSU to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in the ACC. Bowden has suffered just one losing season in 33 seasons at FSU, that in his first year in 1976.

"I haven't seen him make any bad decisions during the course of the game," Holtz said.

"When you score 44 points and gain 532 yards and lose a football game, that's hard to blame it on the head football coach. I do know this, he's alert, he's healthy, he's enthusiastic. I know he doesn't want to go out like this. He just has to get some things straight on the staff.

"I know schools are trying to keep good assistants, but I still think {head-coach-in-waiting) is a bad idea. It creates all kind of problems on the staff. Am I going or am I staying? Who is making the decisions? Are you serving, in FSU's case, Bobby Bowden or Jimbo Fisher (Seminoles' coach-in-waiting)? If the administration is going to name a coach-in-waiting, it needs to be a time limit not more than one year."

Nationally, the eighth-ranked Cincy Bearcats, who are at South Florida Thursday night in a key Big East showdown, have caught Holtz's eye. He also has favorable impressions of Iowa, Nebraska and Oregon.

The Hawkeyes are undefeated at 6-0, the Cornhuskers are one play away from being undefeated and ranked among the top-5 and the Ducks have rebounded from an opening defeat to Boise State.

"I think Cincy is for real," Holtz said.

Holtz, a College Football Hall of Fame coach, also believes the Good Works team is the real deal. The team recognizes and honors student-athletes for their off-the-field achievements and contributions to their communities.

The two 11-member teams are composed of players competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision and a combined team representing in the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, III and NAIA.

"There are so many players who do so many wonderful things off the field but you never read about them," Holtz said.

2009 Allstate AFCA Good Works Teams

Football Bowl Subdivision
Name Class Pos. School Hometown
Xavier Dye Jr. WR Clemson Greenwood, S.C.
Tim Tebow Sr. QB Florida Jacksonville, Fla.
Jeff Owens Sr. DL Georgia Sunrise, Fla.
Jammie Kirlew Sr. DL Indiana Orlando, Fla.
Darrell Stuckey Sr. DB Kansas Kansas City, Kan.
Zoltan Mesko Sr. P Michigan Twinsburg, Ohio
Andrew Brewer Sr. WR Northwestern Tulsa, Okla.
Taylor Kavanaugh Sr. WR Oregon St. Portland, Ore.
Travis Jones Sr. LB San Jose St. Atascadero, Calif.
Derrick Coleman So. RB UCLA Fullerton, Calif.
Chris Maragos Sr. DB Wisconsin Racine, Wis.


Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III, and NAIA
Name Class Pos. School Hometown
Joe Goldufsky Sr. DL Beloit Buffalo Grove, Ill.
Reid Velo Jr. WR Bethel (Minn.) Nashwuak, Minn.
David Pesek Sr. QB Colorado School of Mines Centennial, Colo.
Paul Hughes Sr. LB Cumberlands (Ky.) Montezuma, Ga.
Chris Owens Sr. WR Earlham Ft. Thomas, Ky.
Joshua Cain Sr. DB Jacksonville St. Wetumpka, Ala.
Tim Miller Sr. OL Johns Hopkins Ronkonkoma, N.Y.
Richard Bowman Sr. DB North Dakota St. Houston, Texas
Kevin Grayson Jr. WR Richmond Richmond, Va.
Jeffrey Hilliard Sr. DB St. Thomas (Minn.) Woodbury, Minn.
Jacob Rowe Jr. DL Tarleton St. Alvarado, Texas