There is a true David and Goliath story playing out on grid iron this weekend. The stage will be The Swamp in Gainesville, Florida. By consensus the number one team in the nation, the Florida Gators, will host one of the financially poor I-AA or FCS programs in the country, Charleston Southern.

Charleston Southern is relatively new to the football scene. It is hard to imagine any I-A or I-AA program having a smaller budget or poorer facilities than CSU. Yet, here they will be, a small Christian school taking on the most powerful college football team in the land.

The Gators could score 100 points, led by an outspoken Christian quarterback, Tim Tebow. And they might as they are favored by 70 points. No one expects the game to be competitive, but Charleston Southern will leave Gainesville with a healthy paycheck that will help their program. They also hope to leave with a healthy roster.

On opening weekend, there are a lot of one-sided games scheduled. But there may never be more of a David vs. Goliath matchup in college football history than Charleston Southern at Florida on Saturday night.

Frank Giardina