Gator Nation

For months, I have looking forward to my first foray into SEC football. Even though I was a sportscaster for 20 years, I had never had the chance to cover a huge football game down south. And since my alma mater, Notre Dame, is so bad this season, I figured this was my one shot to see a decent college game in person as the Tennessee Vols went into the swamp to face their archrival, the Florida Gators.

The Vols got killed 59-20, but the fact that the game wasn't competitive was secondary. That's because the Gators were so much fun to watch. The defending national champs looked like the best team in the nation on Sunday, and The Gator Nation was rocking with the stadium of 93,000 filled with fans wearing bright blue shirts at the behest of their coach Urban Meyer.

Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was spectacular. And when he hooked up with receiver Percy Harvin, you knew you were seeing something special: two of the brightest young stars in the sport. Tebow throws with flourish and Harvin's speed is dazzling -- making Meyer's trademark offense so much fun to watch. I can't wait to see what the Gators do when they go down to LSU in a couple weeks. In the meantime, this Saturday at the swamp, they served notice they just might duplicate the feat of the Florida basketball team and repeat as national champs.