GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- OK, so now we finally know why the Miami Hurricanes have been gushing about Willis McGahee these last three years. Saturday night, he gutted the Florida Gators for 204 yards, upstaging everyone -- Dorsey, Grossman, Zook, Coker.

"Tonight, Willis won the game for us," said Miami offensive guard Sherko Haji-Rasouli. "It's that simple."

New Florida coach Ron Zook called Miami's power-running attack the thing that surprised him the most Saturday night in The Swamp. "They did an excellent job of running the ball and cutting back," Zook said. "We were overpursuing them a little bit too much and when you play a team like them you have to be able to play on the line of scrimmage."

The Gators' approach was, said Miami center Brett Romberg, to scheme them to death. "We knew they couldn't line up and play football against us," he said. Florida did a ton of bouncing around and disguising things early on and Romberg admitted it was a puzzling at first. That's why McGahee proved to be a real force.

	“	We never were worried because we knew what Willis could do. You guys might be surprised, but we're not. ”
		— Miami WR Andre Johnson

"He made runs that were supposed to be 2-yard losses into 4-yard gains," Haji-Rasouli said. "That is what gave us confidence."

That was the plan, according to Miami offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski. He went to McGahee before the game and stressed to him "positive plays."

"I told him, 'If it's blocked to get no gain, then get 2. And if it's only blocked to get 2 yards, then get 5,' and that's exactly what he did," Chudzinski said. "He ran determined and he ran physical. And we couldn't be happier because he's really worked his tail off."

It's been a long road to this for the redshirt sophomore from Miami. He has heard people doubt him, questioning his heart and his toughness, even though those on the call-in shows have never seen him work or run through Miami's vaunted defense as he does daily. No problem, he says now. He knew in the Battle of the Heisman Frontrunners that he not only seized the spotlight, but he blew it up. And afterward, he just giggled as he tried to answer every question about who he was and where he's been all this time.

"Yeah, this was pretty sweet," he said beaming. "Really sweet."

It was the breakout performance for a guy whose breakthrough has been predicted ever since he showed up in Coral Gables three years ago running 4.3 40s at a jacked 225 pounds. Trouble is, stars have to shine in the stadium not in the weight room or on the practice field. And for McGahee, getting the carries has been half the battle, which isn't easy because UM's backfield has been jammed with thoroughbreds (James Jackson, Najeh Davenport and Clinton Portis).

Going into last season, many of his teammates expected McGahee to emerge as the team's star running back. But McGahee got derailed for a couple of reasons: First, by letting the pompous Portis play head games with him, trying to undermine his confidence. Then, by injury, after a knee injury sidelined McGahee for half the season, giving stud freshman Frank Gore a shot. But after a stint a fullback, McGahee was moved back to tailback after Portis opted to leave early for the NFL. Gore ended up blowing out his knee last spring, leaving McGahee as The Guy.

"We never were worried because we knew what Willis could do," said WR Andre Johnson, who runs track at UM with McGahee and has seen the big man's burst up close. "You guys might be surprised, but we're not."

For McGahee, as much as for Miami, this was a statement game. "Tonight, you all saw what No. 2 is all about," said Miami center Brett Romberg. "He put his head down and ran hard."

McGahee said he has learned to become more patient. It's see hole. Hit hole. No more dancing or goofing around or trying to be Portis or someone he is not.

"He used to catch tacklers," Haji-Rasouli said. "Now he's attacking them."

McGahee's style also seems to suit this offense well because everyone around the program says this O-line is actually a much better run blocking unit that last year's fabled front wall. They're aggressive and he's aggressive. It's a pretty lethal combination. Just ask the Gators.

Bruce Feldman is a senior writer at ESPN The Magazine. He can be reached at bruce.feldman@espnmag.com.