On the cover of our Championship Preview Issue, we asked: Can Defense Still Win Championships? The answer, although we had the team wrong, is a resounding, Yes!"

There is little question that Tim Tebow was terrific at times, particularly in the second half, but the credit for the University of Florida’s second BCS Championship in three years (and the SEC’s third in a row) rests squarely on the shoulders of Charlie Strong’s defensive unit. Unfortunately for the rest of the SEC, not a single Florida defender that made an impact in Miami last night is slated to graduate.

Sophomore safety Major Wright set the tone for the Gators’ defense, and for that matter the tenor of the entire game, with a punishing hit on Oklahoma wide receiver Manuel Johnson on the Sooners’ third offensive play of the evening. It was a hit that caused former defensive players watching the game to move to the edge of their seats with an ear-splitting “ooooooh” bouncing off their living room walls. It was at that moment many of us recognized that no open receiver would go unpunished. Even the oft-maligned Oklahoma defenders had their share of teeth-rattling hits when the Gators were on the offensive.

Shortly thereafter, on second and 10 at the Gators’ 38-yard line, sophomore linebacker Brandon Hicks sacked Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford for a 14-yard loss, which virtually ended the Sooners’ chances for extending the drive.

Those weren’t the only big plays by the Gators’ youthful defensive unit.

With the Sooners at Florida’s one-yard line in the second quarter, reserve sophomore Torrey Davis stopped OU’s running back Chris Brown on consecutive goal-to-go situations on third and fourth down that preserved the 7-7 tie at that point in the game. And with the score still tied with three seconds left before halftime at UF’s six-yard line, three Gators tipped a Bradford pass that landed in Wright’s clutches turning the expected gun-slinging shootout into nothing more than dueling pea-shooters. Thus, the Gators turned away two Sooner forays inside their own seven-yard line in the first half, a foreshadowing of more Florida defensive heroics after the break.

With the Gators holding a 14-7 advantage inside of two minutes left in the third quarter, redshirt junior Ryan Stamper knifed through the OU line and stopped Brown for a four-yard loss on third-and-one from the Gators’ 28. On fourth down with five yards to go, Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops elected to try a 49-yard field goal by Jimmy Stevens. The attempt was batted down by Florida sophomore Carlos Dunlap and was recovered by junior linebacker Dustin Doe.

After the Gators went three-and-out and punted on the first play of the final stanza, Bradford, Brown and Jermal Gresham led the Sooners on an eight-play, 77-yard drive to knot the score at 14-14.

Percy Harvin responded on the Gators’ subsequent drive with two carries that yielded 64 yards deep into Sooners’ territory. OU held once Florida reached the 10-yard line, and the Gators’ offense settled for a Jonathan Phillips’ 27-yard field goal and a 17-14 advantage with 10:45 remaining in the game.

A few plays after the subsequent kickoff with the ball resting at midfield, Bradford tried to connect with wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias on second down. Despite a well-thrown ball, Gators’ sophomore Ahmad Black stole it from Iglesias, signaling to all that there was no forthcoming Sooners’ rally led by Heisman winner Bradford with less than 10 minutes on the scoreboard clock.

Holding an Oklahoma team that averaged 55 points and 79 offensive plays per game to 14 points, 70 plays and 363 total yards was testament that the Gators’ defense was one of the most underrated units in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The architect of the defense was once again Charlie Strong, with contributions from coaches Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney and Vance Bedford. The unit allowed just 131 points during the 10-game winning streak en route to the national championship.

“Yeah, what a job tonight,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “I was looking at their stats, and to hold that outfit to whatever, what is it, two touchdowns and 363 yards, that’s one of the great coaching jobs of the year and certainly of the last 10 years, and he’s done it many times.

“What a great ambassador for college football and a great ambassador for the University of Florida.”

The BCS title game was Strong’s 20th bowl game during his coaching career with 13 of those coming Jan. 1 or later. The 48-year-old from Batesville, Ark., has interviewed for several head coaching jobs during the past few years and likely remains one of the top three defensive coaches in the FBS (along with Virginia Tech’s Bud Foster and Florida State’s Mickey Andrews) not to be offered a head coaching position.

Two days prior to the title game, Strong told the Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi the fact that he is black and his wife Victoria is white, could be a major factor in why he hasn’t landed a coveted head coaching job. Buffalo head coach Turner Gill’s wife, Gayle, also is white and he was passed over by Auburn for Gene Chizik.

Strong told Bianchi that his wife “makes no calls and she plays no defense.” But his Gators sure do, and Oklahoma and future SEC opponents are the worse for it.

13 key defensive players for the Gators and none are seniors
Janoris Jenkins    freshman    Pahokee
Ahmad Black    sophomore    Lakeland
Brandon Hicks    sophomore    Jacksonville
Carlos Dunlap    sophomore    North Charleston, S.C.
Joe Haden    sophomore    Fort Washington, Md.
Justin Trattou    sophomore    Ramsey, N.J.
Major Wright    sophomore    Miramar
Torrey Davis    sophomore    Sefner
Lawrence Marsh    redshirt sophomore    Augusta, Ga. 
Ryan Stamper    redshirt junior    Jacksonville
Terron Sanders    redshirt junior    Bradenton 
Brandon Spikes    junior    Shelby, N.C.   
Dustin Doe    junior    Jasper
Jermaine Cunningham    junior    Stone Mountain, Ga.

• Florida rushed for 249 yards on 44 carries last night, or 5.66 yards per carry