It’s here. The Ewe brings a young but talented squad into Gainesville. The world expects a beatdown; the college football institution says Florida rolls the ‘Canes by at least 23 points.

Winning this game is vitally important for all the usual reasons, plus 23 years of pent-up frustration. Yes, the last Gator squad to defeat the ‘Canes was led by Kerwin Bell in 1985. Therefore, I’ll be happy with a one-point victory, but I won’t kick a 3 to 4 TD win off the stoop either.

Urban Meyer says his boys are sky-high for this game and that no one is overlooking Miami. I’m inclined to believe him. Meyer might be “new” to the Miami-UF rivalry but he’s not new to recruiting against Shannon and co. in South Florida. Meyer lives to recruit, and as evidenced by his Top 3 classes two years running, he’s pretty darn good at it. He knows the kind of talent Randy Shannon has brought into Miami and he is also fully aware of the impact this game will have on future recruiting efforts. A nasty beatdown of The Ewe would pay many dividends on the recruiting trail, and Meyer is the kind of opportunistic guy who can take full advantage of such a win.

I think we saw a watered-down version of the Gator offense against Hawaii last week. Despite the 56-10 score, Florida’s offense only notched 35 points. That was due in large part to a scoreless first quarter and a 4th-quarter filled with second and third-string players after the game was already out of hand; I also believe, however, that Meyer and Mullen were pulling back on the reigns of what many believe is the most powerful offense in college football. And they were doing it specifically to keep Miami guessing.

Here’s what we can expect to see today:

1) Watch Timmy run, throw and catch. (Okay, maybe not catch… but he HAS lined up at receiver a few times, always as a fake.) Mullen kept Tebow in pocket almost exclusively against Hawaii and Tebow’s rather pedestrian numbers are almost surely by design. When 6 different players score touchdowns, you can be sure the offensive coordinator has played a role in distributing the ball. Expect to see Heisman Timmy today, dragging linebackers five yards past the first down marker, tossing 50-yard bombs, and lasering passes his to his speedy backfield mates.

2) Murderer’s Row. Jersey numbers. Percy Harvin: #1. Jeff Demps: #2. Chris Rainey: #3. Any or all of them could be on the field at the same time along with with #15 — imagine Demps and Rainey lined up in the backfield with Harvin, Murphy, and Cooper spread out at the LOS. That’s a nightmare for any defensive coordinator.

3) Aggressive, hard-hitting, opportunistic defense. If he wasn’t a ‘Cane, I’d feel sorry for Robert Marve, whose first collegiate snap will come in the Swamp. Oh, woe be to you, young man. Woe be to you. We’re looking for big games out of Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Spikes, Joe Haden, Major Wright, and — if I dare say so — Ahmad Black, whose performance against Hawaii might be indication of stability and strength in the secondary. Today’s performance won’t be a final verdict, but we’re about to find out if this defense has truly upgraded from the ‘07 version. We’re looking to see balls knocked loose, swarms of orange hats streaking to the football, and ball-hawking corners.

4) Block that punt! Meyer loves special teams emphasis and blocking a punt against Miami will show that this unit is capable of being gamechangers, like their ‘06 predecessors. Caleb Sturgis’ big leg on kickoffs will also be on display. (Boot it out of the endzone, my man.)

5) Relentless pursuit until the final snap of the game. Don’t let up on these guys. Not even with a big lead in the 4th. Bring down the hammer, Coach Meyer.

O&B Hue predicts:

UF: 42
Miami: 13