With countless media pundits predicting that University X or College Y will win the national title, I feel compelled to write about various sports dynasties throughout history as it relates to this season of Gator football. More specifically, this is a discussion of the life and (somewhat far away) death of Urban Meyer’s juggernaut.

Much has been made of Tim Tebow’s stiff arm through the Gator record books; conversely, after his graduation, much will be made of the beginning of the end of the Gators’ greatness.

However, after Tebow takes his last snap in a Florida uniform, I feel that the program is in good hands. Some may make this out as heresy, but think for a moment.

Football has 22 starters - 11 on offense, 11 on defense. Baseball has 9 players on the diamond at a time. Basketball has 5 players who, in many cases, are not restricted to one position on the court. Basketball has tall players, baseball and football more average-sized.

Thus, in basketball, one good draft selection can compose one-fifth of your entire starting lineup, but have an impact far greater. In football, having a Tim Tebow only gives you one-eleventh of your offense, he still needs good offensive linemen, wide receivers, and a running back. And that doesn’t even include the separate defensive unit.

This is part of the reason why many NFL scouts are a bit worried about Tebow: He has gotten to play with an above-average group of offensive linemen and a glut of offensive playmakers in his career. As a result, it can be difficult to tell where Tebow’s contribution ends and Percy Harvin’s begins (and Louis Murphy’s, and Cornelius Ingram’s, and Chris Rainey’s, and Andre Caldwell’s, and…) And that can scare a team without a good supporting cast to give him.

In basketball, one top talent can change an entire franchise’s fortunes around. Consider:

1956: The Boston Celtics draft University of San Francisco center Bill Russell. He wins 9 titles as a player and 2 as a player-coach. (Length: 13 years [1957-1969])

1966: John Wooden gets the country’s top high school prospect, Lew Alcindor, to sign with UCLA. In three years of varsity play (Freshmen couldn’t play with the big boys, imagine that now.), he leads the Bruins to three national championships. (Length: 3 [1967-1969] of 12 years [1964-1975])

1979: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird lead their respective franchises to eight combined titles. (Length: 12 years [1980-1991 (Johnson’s last Finals appearance)])

1982: Patrick Ewing signs with Georgetown and leads the Hoyas to three national championship games in four years. (Length: 4 years [1982-1985])

1984: The Bulls draft Michael Jordan. Seven years later, they become the NBA’s juggernaut. (Length: 6 years [1991-1993/1996-1998])

Notice a pattern? Stars can positively impact a college team during their time on campus. In the NBA, one great player can positively impact a franchise into the next decade.

In football, it’s somewhat of a different story…

1970s: Terry Bradshaw, John Stallworth, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, and the Steel Curtain lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowls in the 1970s.

1980s: Joe Montana, Steve Young, and Jerry Rice, amongst others, help get the 49ers four rings in the 1980s, including a fifth in 1994.

1990s: Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith power the Cowboys to three Super Bowls in 1992, 1994, and 1995.

2000s: Tom Brady, Tedy Bruschi, Willie McGinest, and a ragtag group of Patriots win the Super Bowl in 2001. Two years later, they do it again. The next year, again. Mass hatred of New England ensues.

As opposed to hoops, football requires a higher quantity of impact players and franchise stars to take a title. Every pass that a quarterback throws, a receiver has to catch it. A running back has to carry the ball from time to time. Linebackers, linemen, and cornerbacks have to keep the opposing offense honest.

Also, in today’s NFL, free agency can spirit away a number of these important players, and careers do not last as long as those in the NBA - thus, most NFL dynasties do not last more than four or five years. Even the Patriots that almost won the Super Bowl this year had to do so with a somewhat different cast than those who won the first three - consider Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, and Junior Seau.

In college, a player does not last in the system for more than four years (excluding redshirts), and dynasties are even shorter than those in the pros.

However, top football and basketball programs can use their reputations to draw in enough top talent to keep a team at the top of their game - Florida included. And this should be very good news to the Gators if Urban Meyer stays in Gainesville.

Thanks to the Gator offense, Florida has become the place to be for fast athletes who want to play in the spread offense. Tebow has only enhanced Meyer’s reputation for cultivating top spread QBs.

Which means that when he leaves, a five-star quarterback recruit will almost certainly commit to UF in the hope of playing time. Plus, fast athletes come up in the system year after year.

Florida will be just fine.