Guess again.

The Gators are 8-0, have clinched the SEC East and are ranked No. 1 going into Saturday's 7:15 p.m. ET game against Vanderbilt (2-7) on ESPN2. But it's one of the most pressure- and drama-filled 8-0 starts in college football history.

Urban Meyer wouldn't have it any other way.

"This program, if you want to relieve pressure, you might transfer somewhere and go have some fun and play some ball," Meyer said. "If you want to play in pressure-packed situations on national TV each week with a lot at stake you are in the right place."

But this year it's been a bit much. Just a few of the highlights: It started in February, with Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's accusations that Florida cheated in recruiting, which caused a tense build-up to the Gators' 23-13 win against the Vols in the third game of the season.

In week four, Tim Tebow went down with a concussion and started a two-week debate whether he should play at LSU. That was followed by bitter comments by Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen that officials blew calls against the Gators.

The Mullen drama was already in full swing because he was the Gators' offensive coordinator the previous three years. And the latest is video tape wars, as fans go back and forth on the internet posting dirty plays from the Georgia-Florida game, after which Brandon Spikes was suspended for appearing to try to poke a Bulldog player's eyes in a pile-up.

And even that led to more drama, as a nation-wide debate rages as to whether a half-game suspension is enough for Spikes' actions.

Through it all, coaches and players point to Meyer as the soothing force.

After the Mississippi State game, Meyer was in the middle of a vocal discussion about the team's play. He then spoke to the team the night before the 41-17 win against the Bulldogs and drew raves from those in attendance.

"I had hair standing up on the back of my neck and there were goose bumps up and down my arms," UF defensive line coach Dan McCarney said of the speech. "And I've been around this for a long time and I've heard a lot of coaches talk, and I've heard myself talk a lot, too much. I thought he did an unbelievable job. I was ready to go play Friday night. It was big-time. It was an A-plus speech."

McCarney, a former Big 12 coach of the year while at Iowa State, says Meyer has been aggressive in keep his players focused through all the storms. He also has never seen a team that feeds off drama as much as this one.

"I think part of it is just the personality of this team and the leadership of this team," McCarney said. "When you're very, very successful, which we have been, you're always looking for another challenge out there, and something that we can feed off of and motivate our team.

"It's not phony. There's real substance to everything Urban puts in front of this team. Real substance to the motivation and the goals and the things we have to do to win. He just does a marvelous job and I think our guys understand that and they know that what he's talking about comes from the heart. And if we follow this plan, there's going to be highs and lows, there will be some mountains, some valleys along the way, and there's going to be some real tough things. But if we keep staying on course and following his words and his plan, we're going to be fine."

Gators offensive lineman Mike Pouncey agrees that maybe drama is just what the defending national champions need every week.

"Everybody plays better with a chip on their shoulder and that gives us a little edge for the game," Pouncey said. "Tebow had a lot of criticism and he played real well (against Georgia)."

So the Gators seem to hope the "haters" keep hating, the controversy continues. Count Tebow among those.

"All those things, yes, they are hard. Or, yes, why did you have to go through them?" he said. "That's frustrating. Why isn't it easy? But without that, without the bad times the good times wouldn't be as special. If everything came easy then you wouldn't have to depend on one another. But when times are tough you have to lean on your brother more and that makes you closer as a team."

For those who would rather have had a nice, quiet peaceful 8-0 start?

"There's going to be a lot of pressure," Tebow said. "That's Florida. It's going to have much more pressure than any other school in the country."

Enlarge By Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images Head coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow embrace after Florida's 41-17 victory against Georgia last Saturday, the chippy drama from which continues to play out this week.