The last time the Gators took the field without Urban Meyer roaming the sidelines was the 2004 Chick-Fil-A Bowl.
That also happens to be the last time UF and Miami played each other, a special teams disaster for the Gators.
The Hurricanes returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown and blocked a field goal returning it 78 yards for another score. Miami had 112 total return yards on six combined punts and kickoffs en route to a 27-10 victory.
"It was not a bad offense. It was not a bad defense. It was about as bad as you get in the kicking game," Meyer said. "All I remember is the defense going out about the 40-yard line every time instead of playing field position."
The first time Meyer was asked to coach special teams, when he was working under famed Notre Dame coach Bob Davie, he admits he wasn't all that excited.
Meyer wanted to draw up flashy pass plays and concentrate on the parts of the game that gain fame.
A small statistic changed his mind.
"If you block a punt, then you win a game 90 percent of the time," Meyer said. "I'm not real smart, but go block punts then."
And block punts his teams did.
In the last four years, teams coached by Meyer have blocked 18 punts. Teams under his control are 17-2 when they block a punt, including a 10-0 mark at UF.
His focus went broader than just that aspect of special teams, as Meyer-coached teams have had standout return games.
In Meyer's two years at Utah, 2003-04, the Utes ranked first and fifth in kickoff returns nationally, respectively.
"Our special teams, you better come with your hard hat on every day now," said assistant coach Steve Addazio, who works with the kickoff return unit. "They're coached hard. They're practiced hard. Their meetings are hard. … It's an edge. It's something we have a lot of pride in."
Having junior Brandon James, this week's Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week, returning punts and kickoffs doesn't hurt. The 5-foot-8 tailback had a 72-yard punt return for a score Saturday against Hawaii.
"Players are so much smarter than all of us," Meyer said. "They give that little extra sting when they know a guy can bring it to the house."
Backup linebacker Brandon Hicks is proof that producing on special teams is the quickest way to get noticed. Meyer named Hicks co-special teams player of the game against Hawaii along with James. The coach made special note in Monday's press conference that the sophomore participated in 19 special teams plays against the Warriors, causing him to run 895 yards. Because of his due diligence, Meyer said he plans to take him off a few special teams units to ensure he gets more playing time at linebacker.
"You got to make special teams a special thing for you," Hicks said. "You start off as special teams, and then you work your way up. … A lot of great players that have played here - they started off on special teams and worked their way up to starting positions and NFL futures."
But Meyer remembers when he was first assigned to coach special teams. Now he's made special teams the unit guys want to be on and commitment is the biggest key.
"You've got to be extremely unselfish, tough as nails, buy in," Meyer said on what makes a good special team player. "You got to drink that Kool-Aid. You don't walk in that door unless you've got Kool-Aid all over your face."
