Urban Meyer again calls his 2008 Florida team 'the best team to ever play the game'
It's fitting that Florida's nickname is an animal.
Speaking at a football camp Thursday, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer again called his 2008 Florida Gators team the best ever. And he cited the instincts of a wild animal in doing so.
"Once again, I know some of you won state championships, I've been a part of a couple great teams," Meyer said. "I think the best team that's ever played the game in '08. That was because animal instincts took over on the field. They protected each other. What he said is 'Have you ever tried to reason with a wild animal?' Think about that. Think about what I just said. You try to reason with a wild animal, you can't reason with a wild animal. Have you ever tried to negotiate, evaluate, take a play off? If you're a wild animal that doesn't happen."
The 2008 Florida team won the 2009 BCS Championship Game over Oklahoma 24-14. The team included Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin and Tebow was the SEC's Offensive Player of the Year, losing out on a possible second-straight Heisman to Sam Bradford. However, that Florida team didn't go undefeated; it lost 31-30 at Ole Miss in its fourth game of the season.
Throughout the seven-minute video, you can tell why Meyer is an engaging speaker as a coach. Multiple times he instructs players to keep their focus on what he's saying, and even points at a couple specific individuals throughout the speech, which also had heavy references to his current Ohio State team.
It's not the first time he's said this about the 2008 Gators. He vocalized the same thoughts in May of 2013.
Is Meyer's claim legitimate? Well, has it ever been possible to clearly define the best team ever in any sport? It may not be fair, but some may want to discount Florida from any conversation simply because of the loss and the prestige that comes with running the table in a college football season. However, SEC defenders would certainly point to the depth of the conference as why Florida should be considered.
It's an endless conversation that has no "true" answer. But we're betting that if Meyer's Buckeyes would have won its final two games of 2013, he'd have them right up there with the 2008 Gators.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
