In an era of too much discussion, in a sports atmosphere that brings out the worst in fans and some of the more immature players, talk is not cheap. While the chatter may titillate and engage it detracts from the real beauty of competition at the highest level. It cheapens the razor-like efficiency of those performers who have learned to function at a near superhuman level in grace and concentration. In newspaper parlance it causes us to "bury the lead." It makes us miss the point. The chatter is expensive.

Here's the point: playing in this Saturday's game between the University of Miami and the University of Florida will be two of the most dominant quarterbacks in the history of college football. They will be leading two powerful, confident squads of superb athletes into one of the most imposing sports venues on the planet. What matters is not the talk, but rather the meeting between the winningest quarterback in the storied history of Miami football and the all-time leader in NCAA passing efficiency. As a player I had the astounding good fortune to snap the ball to Bart Starr and Johnny Unitas. Ken Dorsey and Rex Grossman make me think of them. The gameplans revolve around these two.

Game Plan: No. 1 Miami

Offense: Isolate the young corners on Johnson, Sands and company. Demoralize them. Wear down the DL with quick screens and sweeps. Having worked on the big guys' endurance, hammer at them with Geathers and McGahee. Defense: Play zone early, combo Taylor Jacobs and make them throw to someone else. If Florida makes a big play or has a long drive, have a plan to settle the youngsters before the next series. Test their young OL with stems and stunts. Get them rattled immediately. Special Teams: Roscoe Parrish looks to be another Santana Moss. Spring him! Get after young punter Jason Hunter early. Bring someone at him every punt. If Capshaw cannot go, get extra reps of pressure for backup P Jeff Peattic. Players: TALK IS EXPENSIVE. Brett Romberg: You are a fine player. Just play. Many of you played in the 2001 Sugar Bowl. Remember that the fourth quarter is yours. This will be the loudest place you have played. Feed off the energy, keep your helmet on while on the sideline! Coaches: Hidden yardage should be your advantage. Sell field position. The young secondary could be rattled quickly. Safe calls early. Remind the Sugar Bowl players: You saw these guys recently and handled them.

Miami will not be intimidated by the Swamp. The Hurricanes have won 27 games and lost one with Dorsey at quarterback. They have a 23-game winning streak, 11 of which were on the road. They met Florida in the 2001 Sugar Bowl and evened the interrupted series between the two rivals by dismantling the Gators in the fourth quarter. The score of that game was 37-20.

That result brought the rivalry to a 25-25 standoff. The tie will be broken in this game, and that will motivate the players far more than the chat room talk or the three different trophies associated with the rivalry that have been collecting dust since 1987.

Florida has some psychological edges of its own. The players are understandably proud of the records established on their watch, and are anxious to prove they can win without the genius of Spurrier. Immediately after last Saturday's game with UAB, Grossman was quoted as saying, "It looked like a Coach Spurrier offense."

History can be another motivator in that Miami's first national championship team, led by Bernie Kosar, was trounced 28-3 in Gainesville in 1983. If that team could be handled in Gainesville before it became the swamp, then surely this one can as well. (It actually smells like a swamp down there: clammy, dank, and menacing.)

The psychology of this contest is probably a toss-up, except for one detail that will be troubling to Gator backers. Each of these teams played poorly on two occasions last year. Miami was subpar against Boston College and Virginia Tech. Florida had bad games against Auburn and Tennessee. Each time Miami found a way to win ugly and Florida found an even more ugly way to lose. If both teams play well, this will not figure in the outcome. If either or both play badly, it will become something to remember. I promise you the players will instinctively revert to that habitual behavior.

Miami's plan is Larry Coker's offense. He has conducted one of the most balanced offenses in the nation since he arrived in Miami, and that is the strongest aspect of the Hurricane approach. It revolves around Dorsey, whose only loss came in his true freshman year at Washington. The capacity to run or throw in any situation is the most productive offensive advantage against strong defenses.

The cerebral aspect of football today has evolved into a mind game between the QB of the offense and the defensive coordinator of the opponent. When someone as brilliant as Florida defensive coordinator John Thompson knows when you are likely to run or pass, you are in trouble before you break the huddle. John will seldom know for sure in this game.

Game Plan: No. 6 Florida

Offense: Have a Jacobs plan ready for the young corners. Wear them out early. Have a plan to get Graham into the open field with misdirection, screens. Make him a factor early. Keep Rex Grossman clean. Do not let these guys hit him. Max protect if necessary. Defense: Go right after the young OL with stems and stunts. Get them confused and rattled. Find ways to hit Dorsey. He is not accustomed to it and might begin to doubt his young OTs A mixture of zone and zone blitz has bothered Dorsey. If he cannot throw on rhythm your pass rush can get him. Special Teams: Spend concentrated time with punter Jason Hunter under extreme pressure. Get him acclimated. Spend similar time with kicker Matt Leach in pressure situations that will build his confidence. Coverage units must think lane integrity against these returners! Players: TALK IS EXPENSIVE. Taylor Jacobs: You are a great player. Do your thing on the field. This is your bailiwick, your advantage. Defend it with all your hearts. Have a leadership plan. Communicate during the game. Let nothing demoralize you. Coaches: First impressions are crucial to building your program. Players will respond to your attitude. When Miami makes big plays, be ready with answers on the sidelines. Regardless of their performance, encourage Hunter and Leach. One of them may have to win the game for you!

Miami's numbers are splattered everywhere, and every football student knows them, but the ones that matter most are plus-26 and four. The first is the all-important turnover margin, in which Miami led the nation last year, and second is the number of times Dorsey was sacked. Those are incredible statistics, and as good as the offensive line was in 2001, the reason for each was more the Coker system than the protectors.

When a plan has been this good for this long, the only real detailing has to do with opponent personnel. New plays, formations, or strategies are unnecessary. Coker will go after Florida's inexperienced secondary with his big guns early and often. Andre Johnson, Kellen Winslow, Ethenic Sands, and Roscoe Parrish will soften up the Gator defense, and then the powerful running game will pound at the experienced defensive front. Jason Geathers, most recently a wide receiver, was moved to running back in time to gain 199 yards against Florida A&M, and Willis McGahee will play both fullback and tailback in the game.

If coaches were given their choice about having one dominant unit on a team, most would select the defensive front four. An almost-new secondary will be fortified by the best defensive line in college football, led by William Joseph. Joseph is thought to be the best DT at Miami since Warren Sapp. He led his nine-man rotation to 388 tackles, 81 tackles for loss, and 39 sacks a year ago. Obviously, they played a huge role in the previously mentioned turnover margin as well. Coach Randy Shannon has done an amazing job with a defense that led the nation last year with 9.4 points allowed per game.

Special teams figure to be Miami's biggest advantage. Freddie Capshaw, who did not play against FAMU because of a sore foot, will need to continue his record-setting punting. Kicker Todd Sievers, whom Coker credits with winning the two "ugly" games last year (8-of-9 FG, four in each game), will be back for his senior season.

Ron Zook has assembled a superb coaching staff at Florida. As surely as Miami will not be intimidated, neither will the Florida coaches. They know exactly what they are doing, and Zook's remarkable energy has been a tonic for the players.

Rex Grossman was on the bench as the Orange Bowl began last year, due to breaking training rules. The game was reasonable until he entered, but his presence was electric and the rout was on as Maryland defenders could only watch as his precision passing riddled their secondary. He is currently the NCAA career leader in passing efficiency with a rating of 167.63. His passing efficiency a year ago was 172.79 as he led the nation in that stat and total offense (405 yards per game). He is the first man since Steve Young in 1983 to pull that off. Florida was second in the nation in total offense with 527.5 yards per game, but had a very poor minus-4 turnover margin.

Running back Earnest Graham fits into offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher's plan to be more balanced. Florida won all ten games in which Graham participated last year, and lost the two he missed. A young offensive line will either grow up quickly or be devoured as Florida will need to begin the game with a balanced attack, mixing the run with the pass, with emphasis on first down play-action passing to blunt the pass rush of Miami.

Hidden yardage should favor Miami. Veteran kickers and punters tend to handle these situations much better than the inexperienced ones. Coach Zook is a special teams specialist, and has a substantial challenge before him in that area. Florida's kicking game struggled against UAB and the atmosphere this week will not have settled it down. Net punting, the return game and poise in the fine details of the kicking game should all favor Miami due to experience.

Finally, do not forget these compelling and conflicting facts. It is well nigh impossible for anyone to beat Florida in Gainesville. However, if the Gators are to win, they will need to put the Hurricanes away early. In the last 154 games in which they held the lead after three quarters, Miami has won 152. In both cases, folks, that is tradition.

ESPN College Football analyst Bill Curry coached for 17 years in the college ranks. His Gameplans for marquee matchups will appear each week during the college football season.