by Ron Higgins rhiggins@commercialappeal.com , The Commercial Appeal

Those were the days after No. 2 Florida (12-1) and No. 1 Oklahoma (12-1), participants in tonight's BCS national championship game here at Dolphin Stadium, lost their only games of the season.

"It was like the worst feeling I've ever had playing football," said Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes of the then-No. 4 Gators' 31-30 loss to unranked Ole Miss . We never thought we would be beaten in The Swamp again, and we underestimated Ole Miss. We needed a reality check. It let us know we were beatable."

Ditto for the Sooners, after their 45-35 loss to then-No. 5 Texas in Dallas, when OU was ranked No. 1. Oklahoma led 21-20 at the half but gave up 25 second-half points.

"We were on top of the world, we thought we couldn't be beat and then we got beat," Oklahoma linebacker Travis Lewis said . "We weren't what we thought we were, but that loss was a great learning tool."

Since then, the Gators and Sooners have gone on a couple of the most devastating runs in recent college football history.

In its nine-game win streak, Florida has averaged 49.4 points and 479.3 yards total offense, scoring 40 or more points in seven straight games.

The Sooners have been even more impressive. In its seven-game win tear, Oklahoma is averaging 59.9 points and 596 yards total offense, scoring an NCAA-record 60 or more points in its last five games.

So for all the talk that maybe Texas should be in the BCS game or possibly USC or Utah, the overwhelming numbers indicate this is a dream match-up of college football's two hottest teams.

"We consider Oklahoma a great offense and we consider the Gators a great offense," said Florida coach Urban Meyer , whose Southeastern Conference champs are gunning for their second BCS national title in the last three years. "This game will be all about making a team drive the length of the field and not giving teams a short field."

Oklahoma, which last played for the BCS national title in 2003 when it lost to LSU in New Orleans, is trying to win its first national title since 2000. That's when Bob Stoops , in just his second season at OU, guided his team to a 13-2 win over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

Since then, the legacy of Stoops, who's nicknamed "Big Game Bob," has waned. He's 1-4 in BCS bowls since his national championship conquest of the Seminoles, including back-to-back national championship game losses in '04 and '05.

"Initially, I thought it was pretty easy," Stoops said of winning a national title so quickly. "Then you lose one, and then another one, and you realize it's not so easy. But it's always incredibly exciting chasing them."

This season's chase culminates tonight, with two hot teams led by superstar quarterbacks - Sam Bradford of Oklahoma and Tim Tebow of Florida, Heisman Trophy winners from the last two seasons, respectively.

Tebow already has one national title ring from two years ago when he was a backup QB for the Gators when they pounded Ohio State. In that game, in situational duty behind starter Chris Leak, Tebow ran 10 times for 39 yards and a touchdown, and he threw a TD pass just before halftime.

But this time around, Tebow is the undisputed leader of the Gators.

"The leadership, the preparation, the expectation is completely different (than two years ago)," Tebow said. "I didn't feel like I was along for the ride, but I had one role to play and I played it. Now, my role is much bigger."

- Ron Higgins: 529-2525

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BCS national championship game

Who: Florida (12-1) vs. Oklahoma (12-1)

When, where: Today , 7 p.m. CST at Miami Dolphin Stadium

TV: WHBQ (13)

INSIDE

Who's No. 1? As usual, some teams feeling left out.

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