No time for slow starts

OCALA, Fla. » As first steps go, this one's a doozy.

HAWAII AT NO. 5 FLORIDA Kickoff: 6:30 a.m. TV: PPV, Dig. 255 Radio: 1420-AM The line: Florida by 341/2

With Florida waiting to greet the Hawaii football team at "The Swamp" tomorrow, there's no easing into the season for the Warriors, nor for Greg McMackin into his role as the Warriors head coach.

Facing the fifth-ranked team in one of college football's storied venues, simply doesn't allow much room for reflection on your head-coaching debut.

"I've been thinking of the team and the things we need to get done, just trying to set the last-minute details," McMackin said yesterday after the Warriors completed their final full practice in preparation for the matchup with the Gators. "I haven't even thought about that."

Tomorrow's game will be the second straight matchup against a Southeastern Conference power. In the last, the Warriors were hammered by Georgia, this year's preseason No. 1, 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.

But McMackin played down talk of playing for redemption against the similarly loaded Gators, just two years removed from a national championship, as the Warriors begin a new era.

"That's last year, that's a whole different team," said McMackin, the Warriors' defensive coordinator in that game. "Every team has its own personality, so this is a whole different team than the team that played in the Sugar Bowl. A lot of the defensive guys are the same, but a lot of the offensive guys weren't even there."

Those new faces on offense are part of the reason the Warriors enter the game as 341/2-point underdogs against the Gators, who are 31-8 in three seasons under Urban Meyer.

With Colt Brennan and Co. gone, the Warriors will be breaking in a largely new cast of quarterbacks and receivers tomorrow with first-year offensive coordinator Ron Lee calling the plays.

The following is a look at the matchup as the Warriors venture into Gator Country for the first meeting between the programs:

When Florida has the ball: ... the Gators usually score.

OK, maybe not all the time, but still pretty close.

Florida finished third in the country in scoring last season thanks in large part to Heisman Trophy quarterback Tim Tebow's 55 total touchdowns.

Tebow is equally dangerous throwing or running, and has the luxury of distributing the ball to a speedy group of backs and receivers. The Gators' standard alignment is a single-back look with three receivers and a tight end, which will test the Hawaii linebackers dropping into coverage.

The Gator offense will likely be without one of it's top playmakers, with receiver/running back Percy Harvin out of action as he recovers from offseason heel surgery. But the Gators remain close to coach Urban Meyer's stated goal of being "the fastest team in America."

Florida will face a linebacker corps led by senior outside backers Solomon Elimimian and Adam Leonard. Brashton Satele had a strong fall camp to claim the middle linebacker spot.

Hawaii's experience on defense is among the team's strengths and the Warriors will try to learn from recent history in tackling another high-powered offense.

When Hawaii has the ball: McMackin has maintained since Tuesday that the starting quarterback will be a game-time decision, but junior Greg Alexander has been running first in the rotation in the practices leading up to the game.

Whether it's Alexander or sophomore Brent Rausch, whose arm injury last week reopened the competition, taking the first snaps of the season, the successor to Colt Brennan will face a stern initiation to Division I against an athletic Gators defense.

"Their speed is probably the biggest thing," Alexander said. "Everything's going to have to happen that much faster as far as reads and getting the ball out."

The timing with a new quartet of starting receivers - wideouts Malcolm Lane and Greg Salas and slotbacks Aaron Bain and Mike Washington - may also take time to mature.

Florida opponents completed close to 60 percent of their passes last season and the Gators are expected to start three sophomores and a junior in the secondary.

Florida will likely be without its top defender as linebacker Brandon Spikes, the Gators' leading tackler last season, reportedly won't play due to a foot injury suffered in practice last week.

Special teams: The Warriors are taking a more aggressive approach to the kicking game than in past years, and face a Florida unit that has thrived on big plays on special teams under Meyer.

Dan Kelly has proven he can make the clutch kicks, and the protection units will try to hold off a Gator rush that blocked four kicks last season after snuffing eight in the national title season.

Brandon James was among the SEC's top kick returners and can exploit breakdowns in coverage. He averaged just over 18 yards on punt returns last year, ranking him second nationally.

Key matchup

Hawaii offensive line vs. Florida front seven

For eight months, John Estes has carried memories of the Warriors' last performance. It was New Year's Day when wave after black wave of Georgia defenders crashed over Colt Brennan in a Sugar Bowl wipeout.

For the Warriors offensive line, tomorrow's game presents a similarly formidable challenge.

"I thought about it every (day), at least one time a day" said Estes, the anchor of the Warriors line.

"For the last five, six, seven years, the O-line has been the strongest point of those teams and we just have to bring that back this year. We were good last year and the Sugar Bowl we didn't play well at all. We have to bring that swagger back to the O-line."

Two other UH linemen started in the Sugar Bowl, guard Keith AhSoon and tackle Keoni Steinhoff. The other two spots were decided this week when senior Lafu Tuioti-Mariner and junior Laupepa Letuli nailed down the starting assignments at right guard and left tackle.

With an inexperienced quarterback at the controls, Hawaii's hopes of sustaining drives against the Gators depend on the line holding off the Gator front.

Jermaine Cunningham, an end in Florida's 4-3 alignment, led the Gators in sacks with 6.5 among his 12 tackles for loss last season.

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HOW THEY COMPARE

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