Florida beats Ohio State with ease

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Let no one doubt Urban Meyer's football genius, the skill and will of his players and the overall greatness of the 2006 Florida Gators.

The Gators barked back at their critics with action rather than talk and proved to a national TV audience and to previously unbeaten Ohio State which team is best in the land.

That would be Florida, which scored the first three times it had the ball on the way to a stunning 20-point halftime lead and overwhelmed the Buckeyes 41-14 on Monday night in the Bowl Championship Series title game.

"That's the main reason you go to Florida," Gators wide receiver Andre Caldwell said before the game, "to play in the big games, play in the national championship."

In the final Associated Press poll of the season, Florida received all but one of the 65 first-place votes. Boise State (13-0) got the other, from Greg Archuleta of the Albuquerque Journal in New Mexico.

Ohio State finished No. 2, and Louisiana State, USC and Boise State rounded out the top five.

Florida received all 63 first-place votes in the final coaches' poll.

A crowd of 74,628 at the University of Phoenix Stadium saw senior quarterback Chris Leak run Meyer's diverse offense splendidly and outduel Ohio State's Troy Smith, the Heisman Trophy winner. Leak completed his first nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown, and finished the decisive half 16 for 24 for 150 yards as the Gators built a 34-14 lead.

"I am a Chris Leak fan," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said before the game. "I happen to think he is good. He has done it year after year."

Smith finished 4 for 14 for 35 yards with an interception.

"Not everything in life is going to go the exact way you want it," Smith said. "I don't have any regrets, though. ... Sometimes you have great games and sometimes you don't."

Florida (13-1), which for weeks was barraged with questions about its worthiness as an opponent against the Buckeyes (12-1), won with stunning ease.

"We are the type of team that always stayed hungry throughout the season and for every game," Leak said before the game. "And this is one of those things that we just approach it the same way. This is where we expected to be in the beginning of the season."

Only one question remains: What about Boise State?

The Broncos have something not even the national champions can claim — an undefeated record.

"Let's go play 'em next week," Meyer said with a laugh. "I love Boise State, but I wouldn't want to do that. We're done."

Some of the Broncos were looking for more recognition after the Fiesta Bowl.

"We went 13-0 and beat everyone on our schedule," quarterback Jared Zabransky said. "We deserve a chance at the national title."

Boise State coach Chris Petersen wouldn't bite when asked about the national title after the Fiesta.

"Hey, we don't worry about that," he said. "We just go and play who they tell us to play. The pollsters vote how they want to vote. We're just happy to control what we can control."

Boise State was the second team from outside the big six conferences to play in the BCS, joining Meyer's 2004 Utah team.

Florida's got the national championship, but no team in Division I-A has a better record than the Broncos.

"There's only one way to figure out who the better team is," Meyer said, "and that's go play the game."