2013 BCS Sugar Bowl Settle It: Who would you want as your D-coordinator, Strong or Quinn?

Ben Cornfield | December 3, 2012 at 2:51 pm | 1 Comment

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn during the second quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)

Gators fans find themselves in a very interesting Sugar Bowl predicament after finishing No. 3-overall in the final BCS standings.

As the SEC’s at-large invite, Florida will be taking on the champions of the weaker Big East conference, the Louisville Cardinals, led by none other than Charlie Strong.

Strong actually served as the Gators’ head coach for one game: A 27-10 Peach Bowl loss to Miami following the firing of Ron Zook.

After that, Urban Meyer was brought in from Utah and Strong was kept aboard as the defensive coordinator.

Strong was at Meyer’s side for both the 2006 and 2008 BCS National Championship runs, heading up some of the most dominant defensive units of the decade. In 2008, the Gators, led by Brandon Spikes, finished ninth in the nation in giving up a stout 285.3 yards per contest. In terms of points, Florida fared even better, only giving up 12.9 per game.

Very little to complain about there.

[Check out the 2013 Sugar Bowl preview here]

After Meyer high-tailed it on out of Gainesville, athletic director Jeremy Foley went out and plucked himself a fruit from the Nick Saban coaching tree in Will Muschamp.

In turn, Muschamp brought in Dan Quinn, a no-nonsense type, to run his defense. In 2011′s debacle of a 7-6 season, Quinn’s defense was pretty much the only thing keeping the Gators in games in the first place. In 2012, Quinn’s unit has help carry the Gators to entirely different level.

In terms of yardage, the Gators finished fifth-overall in total yardage per game, only giving up a stout 282.6, three yards better than Strong allowed in 2008.

Ready for this? Back in 2008, the Gators gave up the aforementioned 12.9 points per game.

In 2012?

You guessed it, 12.9 points per game.

The numbers are there, as are the dominant victories and of course, the BCS Bowl invites.

So now it is up to you, the erstwhile member of Gamedayr Nation to decide.