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For the No. 9 Florida Gators, the hardest part about being defending national champions is just that - defending.
With offensive superstars like quarterbacks Chris Leak and Tim Tebow and receivers Dallas Baker and Percy Harvin, it is easy to forget the Gators were No. 6 in both scoring and total defense in 2006.
Tebow and Harvin, both sophomores, returned to Gainesville, Fla., in 2007, but the staggering defense did not.
The Gators' defense lost nine starters from a year ago, including four juniors who forfeited their final year of eligibility to go to the NFL following the Bowl Championship Series title game.
Reliable veterans like All-Southeastern Conference linebacker Earl Everett, first-round NFL safety Reggie Nelson and this past season's team tackles-leader Brandon Siler no longer don the orange and blue.
And Florida has felt the effects.
The Gators are 30th in total defense and are allowing 19.6 points per game through five games this season - good for 32nd in the country. The defense has also struggled with takeaways, forcing just seven turnovers in 2007 and ranking 83rd in that category.
With its high-powered offense averaging 42 points per game, the Gators did not run into any trouble until SEC play rolled around.
In three games against conference teams, Florida is allowing 338 yards per game. This past Saturday in Gainesville, the Gators were outgained for the first time all season 326 to 312 by a struggling Auburn offense playing without their starting tailback.
This past Saturday also marked the first time the Gators ost this season.
"The plan to win was to play great defense, and I do not really believe we did that," Florida coach Urban Meyer said in a Monday press conference. "We did have three sacks and allowed 326 yards so it was not awful, but when we need to get a stop at the end of the game, we can play better."
With the game tied at 17, Auburn - 21-point underdogs - got the ball on their own 39-yard line with a chance to win in "The Swamp" with 3:38 remaining in the game. Ten plays, three first downs and 35 yards later, Auburn freshman kicker Wes Byrum nailed a 43-yard field goal as time expired - shocking The Gator Nation.
"I thought our defense played very hard, but it just was not enough obviously," Meyer said.
Florida defensive lineman Javier Estopinan said the Gators, who fell from No. 4 to No. 9 in the Associated Press poll, cannot dwell on the 20-17 upset.
"It hurt," Estopinan said. "We were down and out after the game. Any loss is a big loss in college, but coach Meyer told us to pull together. We have a big game this week, and we just have to move on."
Senior defensive lineman Clint McMillan concurred with Estopinan, but said moving on is easier said than done in Tiger Stadium.
"I haven't really talked to [the young players] much about it yet, but I will," McMillan said. "It's very similar to 'The Swamp.' The crowd will be noisy, and we just need to find a way to focus and get the win." Early Tuesday morning the Florida defense took a major hit when senior safety and leadership committee-member Tony Joiner was arrested and charged with felony burglary for allegedly trying to take his girlfriend's car out of a towing company's impound lot.
Meyer has not made a decision about Joiner's status for Saturday's showdown, but he has stripped him of his captain title.
The Gator defense is already young with Joiner in the secondary, but saying they get much younger without him is a huge understatement.
Heading into the 2007 campaign, Joiner accounted for 15 of a total 36 career starts for the returning Gator defenders.
Tebow said Joiner means more to the team than just tackles and interceptions.
"He gave us a spark in the Auburn game, and he does a great job every week of getting us ready to play," Tebow said Monday. "He's just one of our big leaders that's more outspoken, but he'll talk and try to get guys fired up."
Meyer said sophomore safety Dorian Munroe would start Saturday in place of Joiner, who practiced Wednesday.
Munroe has played in all five games in 2007 and registered 13 tackles.
LSU sophomore receiver Brandon LaFell said the No. 1 Tigers are not concerned about who starts for the Gators but rather with executing their game plan.
"It doesn't matter who's out there - young or old - we're going to try to go after them every play," LaFell said.
---- Contact Keith Claverie at kclaverie@lsureveille.com
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