GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida coach Billy Donovan believes No. 4 Ohio State will be better off without All-America guard Evan Turner.
Sound crazy? Not to Donovan, who witnessed a "complete" Buckeyes team dismantle his ninth-ranked Gators on Tuesday night.
Jared Sullinger dominated inside and David Lighty broke guys down outside as Ohio State beat Florida 93-75 in an early season matchup of teams with national championship hopes.
The Buckeyes (2-0) used a nearly flawless second half to turn a small deficit into a double-digit lead that sent fans scrambling for the exits with about 5 minutes remaining.
"Ohio State has a better chance of being a better team this year than they did a year ago," Donovan said. "Evan Turner's a great player, the player of the year in the country and they won 29 games and did a great job.
"But when you have that kind of player, you really kind of become a little more one-dimensional. They are a complete team that probably has a chance to do a little more this season because there's going to be a lot more balance to their team."
Although Sullinger and Lighty did most of the damage, they got plenty of help.
William Buford had 16 points, eight assists, three steals and just one turnover. Jon Diebler added 14 points and four assists. Reserve Aaron Craft finished with seven points and five assists. The guard trio beat Florida's press early and often, creating easy baskets for Sullinger and open looks for Lighty.
Neither team played much defense.
The Gators shot 61 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range. The Buckeyes were slightly better at 63 and 43. The real difference came after halftime, when Ohio State hit 24 of 34 shots and sliced through Florida's press with relative ease.
"That's ungodly," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. "We did a great job finding the open man."
The Gators (1-1) led by seven points in the first half and were up 41-38 at the break thanks to 60 percent shooting, a 19-8 rebounding advantage and a 24-14 edge in the paint. Matta made it clear in the locker room that his guys needed to get tougher.
"We challenged our guys to get in there and rebound the ball better," Matta said. "We just weren't as physical as we needed to be."
Ohio State turned things around in the second half.
Sullinger finished 13 of 17 shooting and had 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards. He abused Vernon Macklin and Alex Tyus in the paint, scoring on layups, dunks and short jumpers. His only weakness came at the foul line, where he missed both attempts.
Hack-a-Sully? It might happen down the road.
"He had a great demeanor coming in here," Matta said. "He knew he was going to half to play well for us to have a chance to win."
Lighty was just as important to the game plan. Florida rotated several defenders on the senior, but none had any success. Lighty hit 9 of 11 shots and made 6 of 7 from the free throw line. He drove to the basket repeatedly, getting fouled or forcing defenders to leave Sullinger alone under the basket for dunks.
"In the second half, we kind of knocked them around a little bit and went after the ball," Lighty said.
The Buckeyes outscored Florida 30-15 over the final 10 minutes, taking advantage of poor shot selection and 11 second-half turnovers.
"They started jumping on us," Florida's Chandler Parsons said. "They started hitting some shots. We didn't start executing. We weren't very disciplined on offense. It's early and it's a learning experience. To play a team that good early on, hopefully it turns out to be a good thing us."
Parsons had 13 points and seven rebounds for Florida. Erving Walker added 15 points, but had seven turnovers. Macklin chipped in 12 points and five rebounds.
Ohio State returned four starters from last season's team that advanced to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. Florida returned five starters from its NCAA tournament team. Both were popular picks to win their conferences and maybe meet in the Final Four.
To Donovan, the Buckeyes clearly looked like the more well-rounded team.
"To lose the last 10 minutes just hopefully helps our guys understand how far we have to go to be a complete team for 40 minutes," Donovan said.
Heisman Watch
1. Cameron Newton, QB, Auburn: As long as Newton is eligible, his Heisman candidacy should be based solely on his performance between the lines. Through 11 weeks this season, it is hard to make an argument for another player being more outstanding. Newton has the stats (leads SEC in rushing and passing efficiency), the wins and the on-the-field charisma of a Heisman Trophy winner. Plus, no player means more to his team than Newton does to the 11-0 Tigers. It's not as though Auburn has a bunch of All-Americans surrounding Newton on offense, and its defense is vulnerable -- and that's putting it kindly.
2. Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State: Moore moved up from No. 3 in my rankings this week in part because of his continued effectiveness and in part because of LaMichael James' substandard performance (by his standards, at least) in Oregon's near miss versus Cal. Moore leads the nation in passing efficiency, a formula that includes his remarkable touchdown-to-interception ratio of 24-4. Every time I consider knocking him for the level of competition that Boise State faces, Moore's clutch fourth-quarter performance in the Virginia Tech game pops into my head. In Boise State's two closest games this season (Virginia Tech and Oregon State), Moore completed 65 percent of his throws for 503 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions. No. 11 simply delivers in the clutch.
3. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: James turned in a gutsy performance in a 15-13 win at Cal. It was the first time in six games that James failed to hit the century mark in rushing yards (91), but the Bears had their way with Oregon's offensive line and James showed a lot of grit battling through a second-half ankle injury. His 7-yard run on third-and-5 in the game's final minutes sealed the deal for the Ducks, who will be bound for Glendale, Ariz., if they take care of business in their final two regular-season contests (Arizona and at rival-Oregon State). James still leads the nation in rushing yards per game (158), and he's the most dynamic weapon in the nation's most explosive offensive attack.
4. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: Luck and TCU QB Andy Dalton are on the outside looking in at this point. The loss to Oregon all but prevents Luck from taking home the hardware next month. However, the junior has performed well enough to earn a trip to Manhattan. Luck is completing 69.6 percent of his throws for 2,511 yards with 22 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions. Should Luck elect to leave school early, his next trip to New York could be in April, when he has a legitimate shot at becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NFL draft.
5. Andy Dalton, QB, TCU: The No. 5 spot has been a fluid situation for me the past six or so weeks. Michigan QB Denard Robinson, Oklahoma RB DeMarco Murray, Baylor QB Robert Griffin III and Oklahoma State WR Justin Blackmon have all come and gone. Dalton and TCU were a bit underwhelming in their scare versus San Diego State, but Dalton's season-long résumé is strong enough to keep him in the mix. The senior ranks sixth nationally in passing efficiency and has chipped in with 415 yards and five scores on the ground. His steady play and unassuming leadership are playing a big role in TCU's undefeated run and ascent to No. 3 in the BCS standings.
College Football Power Rankings - Week 11
RK (LW) TEAM REC PTS COMMENT
1 (1) Oregon (12) 10-0 492 Its offense largely grounded, Oregon proved it could win without its A-game. A 2-point conversion and a missed Cal field goal proved to the difference in a 15-13 win at Cal as the Ducks enter their bye week with their No. 1 BCS ranking intact.
2 (2) Auburn (4) 11-0 473 Speculation as to whether or not Cam Newton would play turned out to be exactly that as Auburn's playmaking QB turned in four touchdowns to punch the Tigers' ticket to the SEC championship after a 49-31 win over Georgia.
3 (4) Boise State (4) 9-0 465 The Broncos did in this week's Power Rankings what they narrowly missed out on in the BCS standings, that is, overtake TCU at No. 3 after a week that saw them beat Idaho for the 12th consecutive time.
4 (3) TCU 11-0 450 San Diego State jumped out on top of TCU early but the Horned Frogs righted the ship thanks to Andy Dalton and Jeremy Kerley to record a 40-35 win. The Aztecs scored more points against TCU than its previous six MWC opponents combined.
5 (5) Stanford 9-1 404 The Cardinal followed a script similar to Oregon in a 17-13 win at Arizona State. The defense provided the stops and the offense engineered a scoring drive before running out the clock on ASU's upset bid to record Stanford's first 9-1 start since 1951.
6 (6) LSU 9-1 393 The last time LSU lost a regular-season nonconference game was in 2002, a streak of 32 games. Louisiana-Monroe was not going to stop the Tigers from extending the streak to 33, and didn't even come close to troubling LSU in a 51-0 win.
7 (7) Wisconsin 9-1 392 The ugliest scoreline of Week 11 belonged to Wisconsin as it rolled to an 83-20 win over Indiana. Even with John Clay sidelined, the Badgers owned the ground game with Montee Ball and James White combining for 311 yards and 5 TDs.
8 (8) Ohio State 9-1 357 It was a tale of two halves in Columbus, as Ohio State turned a 14-3 deficit into a 38-14 win over Penn State after the intermission. A pair of interception returns for touchdowns gave the Buckeyes the cushion they needed. A visit to Iowa is next.
9 (9) Nebraska 9-1 336 The nation's longest uninterrupted series has been a decidedly one-sided affair. Nebraska and Kansas have played every year since 1906, with the Huskers winning 40 of the lsat 42 meetings, including Saturday's 20-3 win.
10 (12) Alabama 8-2 308 Big-play touchdowns from Marquis Maze, Mark Ingram and Julio Jones powered Alabama to a 30-13 win over Mississippi State. The Tide face a Thursday night tune-up against Georgia State this week before hosting Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Nov. 26.
11 (11) Oklahoma State 9-1 297 The Cowboys ended a 12-game losing streak to Texas with a 33-16 win fueled largely by Brandon Weeden's 409 passing yards. A trip to Kansas is all that separates Oklahoma State from a visit from Oklahoma to end the regular season.
12 (10) Michigan State 9-1 294 Michigan State saw its Big Ten title hopes bolstered without even playing as Northwestern's win over Iowa dropped the Hawkeyes from the ranks of the one-loss league teams. The Spartans close the regular season with Purdue and Penn State.
13 (14) Arkansas 8-2 264 Ryan Mallett turned in a school-record 5 touchdown passes and even ran for a score in Arkansas' 58-21 win over UTEP. It was the fourth straight win for the Razorbacks, who close the regular season with Mississippi State and LSU.
14 (15) Virginia Tech 8-2 227 The beat goes on for Virginia Tech as the Hokies cruised to their eighth straight win and added to their cushion atop the ACC Coastal standings with a 26-10 win over North Carolina. A visit to Miami looms large on Saturday.
15 (17) Oklahoma 8-2 209 Oklahoma rebounded from last week's loss to Texas A&M with a 45-7 rout of Texas Tech. With visits to Baylor and Oklahoma State to close the regular season, the Sooners' Big 12 South destiny remains firmly within their grasp.
16 (20) Missouri 8-2 199 Missouri ensured its fifth-straight eight-win season with a 38-28 win over Kansas State, ending a two-game skid for the Tigers. They close the regular season with Iowa State and Kansas.
17 (22) South Carolina 7-3 183 Steve Spurrier delivered on his long-awaited promise and did so on his old stomping grounds as South Carolina clinched its first SEC East title with a win at Florida. Dates with Troy and Clemson stand between the Gamecocks and their trip to Atlanta.
18 (24) Texas A&M 7-3 137 Texas A&M has suddenly emerged as one of the hottest teams in the country as the Aggies collected their fourth straight win, beating Baylor 42-30 on Saturday. It came at the right time too, with a visit from Nebraska on Saturday.
19 (21) Nevada 9-1 133 The Wolf Pack have rediscovered the scoring form since their sole loss to Hawaii. They clipped Fresno State 35-34 on Saturday for their third straight win, scoring 154 points during that span.
20 (28) USC 7-3 117 A stretch of three losses in four games had some writing USC's epitaph but consecutive wins, including Saturday's 24-21 win over Arizona, have breathed new life into the Trojans' campaign.
21 (13) Iowa 7-3 95 Iowa became the first of the one-loss Big Ten dominoes to fall after the Hawkeyes tripped up at Northwestern Saturday. They can still play spoiler however, with a visit from Ohio State looming large on Saturday.
22 (18) Arizona 7-3 58 The Wildcats limp into their bye week after losing their second consecutive game, 24-21 to USC. Arizona has 11 days to plug the leaks in its defense, with a visit to Oregon on Nov. 26.
23 (19) Mississippi State 7-3 53 The Bulldogs' six-game winning streak came to an end at the hands of Alabama on Saturday. Mississippi State closes the regular season with Arkansas and Ole Miss.
24 (29) Miami (FL) 7-3 41 Miami kept its ACC Coastal hopes alive with a 35-10 win over Georgia Tech, but needs to win out and have Virginia Tech drop its last two in order to get to the ACC championship game. They can get halfway there when the Hokies visit on Saturday.
25 (27) Florida State 7-3 29 Kicker Dustin Hopkins redeemed himself after missing two fourth-quarter field goals in last week's loss to North Carolina with a 55-yard FG that pushed Florida State past Clemson 16-13. The Seminoles close the regular season with Maryland and Florida.
Others receiving votes: North Carolina State (24), Northwestern (21), Utah (21), Northern Illinois (15), Maryland (5), San Diego State (5), South Florida (2), Michigan (1)
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