Gators take big bite out of Big Ten

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

In a desert that felt like a swamp, thousands of Florida fans greeted Ohio State with open arms. Then shut. Then open. Then shut.

For three dizzying hours Monday, the Florida fans mimicked the chewing motion of their carnivorous reptilian mascot.

It began as rhetoric. It ended as reality. It was a perfect embrace for plodding Midwesterners who were little more than, well, Gator bait.

Biting through some of college football’s greatest myths, Florida won the BCS championship with a 41-14 victory over shredded Ohio State.

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

“We thought we would win, but we never thought we would beat them this bad,” said Florida linebacker Earl Everett afterward, standing beneath a swirling storm of orange and blue confetti that darted and ducked like the Gators pass rush. “I mean, this is crazy.”

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Ripped apart, first, was the myth that the BCS cannot produce a true national champion.

Folks, Florida is it.

The Gators are faster than USC, more powerful than Louisiana State, more disciplined than Louisville and, dry your eyes, they would beat Boise State by 20.

“Nobody needs to give it to us, nobody needs to vote it for us,” shouted Florida’s all-purpose player Percy Harvin. “We just went out and earned it!”

Florida earned it by outgaining Ohio State, 370-82. Eighty-two yards? I gained more than 82 yards just walking in from the parking lot.

Florida earned it by holding Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith to four completions. Four completions? I watched an old man connect on that many passes to his middle-aged son at a tailgate party, and he was being blitzed by a barbecue grill.

Florida, finally, earned it with four different rushers, four different receivers, two different passers, dozens of different plays, and one really, really different linebacker.

Ohio State’s players were the tough guys, huh? Then what was Florida linebacker Everett doing in the third quarter chasing down and tackling Smith five yards after losing his helmet?

Caught him in mid-dreadlock. Threw him to the ground with his hair flying. It may have been the dumbest play of the year, but it was the symbolic play of the game.

“It’s the national championship, man, you leave it all out on the field,” said Everett, sporting a huge bump on his forehead. “You get a little bruised, big deal.”

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Also torn to pieces was the myth that the Big Ten is still a great football conference.

It is no coincidence that, of nine BCS champions, only one is from the Big Ten, and Ohio State only beat Miami in 2003 because of a referee’s error.

Earlier this season, everyone talked about Michigan-Ohio State game as a classic tribute to the late Bo Schembechler but, in hindsight, it was closer to being about Pop Warner.

Michigan was beaten by 14 points in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State was beaten by 27 points here, and both stories were the same.

“They weren’t as fast as us,” said Florida defensive tackle Ray McDonald. “We all hear about the Big Ten being so great, but they couldn’t keep up with us.”

Florida realized this soon after Ohio State’s Ted Ginn Jr. returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

On the Gators first drive, they covered half the field in seven plays with the Buckeyes barely touching them.

“We saw how we were running right past them,” receiver Jemalle Cornelius said.

Then, on the Buckeyes first drive, the Gators held them to minus-three yards, ending with Derrick Harvey’s sack, followed by a Harvey sermon.

“Derrick came to the sidelines and said to everyone, ‘They’re not quick enough to block us, we can get right around them,’ ” Everett said. “And you know something? He was right.”

Throw Notre Dame into the mix -- the Irish lost by this identical score to LSU of the SEC in the Sugar Bowl -- and football’s heart has clearly left the heartland.

Of the 109 players on the Florida roster, 81 are from the state of Florida.

This is not a coincidence.

“I remember watching film of Ohio State and thinking, ‘They don’t play our kind of football,’ ” McDonald said. “Coming in here, nobody believed that. I guess we showed them.”

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

Ripped, too, was the myth of Jim Tressel the Genius.

He was unbeaten in four previous BCS bowl games but faced with Florida’s relentless speed and athleticism, he acted like a rookie.

Nobody was spooked more than the guy in the sweater vest. He lost such confidence in his defense that he ordered his offense to attempt a first-down conversion on fourth and one from his 29-yard line late in the second quarter.

At the time, he trailed by only 10 points. At the time, he should have still been playing field position.

Instead, the ball was handed to freshman reserve Chris Wells and the game was handed to the Gators, with Wells being smothered by a Florida defense that seemingly spent as much time in the Ohio State huddle as Smith.

“We were all pretty shocked he was going for it,” McDonald said. “We thought it was a slap in the face to our defense. Like, everyone thought they were tougher than us.”

Four plays later, Florida kicker Chris Hetland bounded on to the field and kicked his second-longest field goal of the season -- 40 yards -- to give Florida a 27-14 lead.

“By stopping them there, that gave us all the momentum,” McDonald said. “I think it changed the game.”

The Gators were still riding that momentum afterward, bouncing around the University of Phoenix field with the same quickness and strength, chest-bumping in their T-shirts, sliding through the confetti, finally relieved, finally respected.

“We spent all year hearing about Ohio State and the Big Ten,” Everett said. “But we’ve always known where the best football is played.”

Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.