Superman might still wear Tim Tebow pajamas in tribute to the Florida quarterback's brawny reputation, but the image of Tebow in a flimsy hospital gown is the one that nobody can quite swallow. Saturday night in Baton Rouge, the myth might slip a little more, and that's all right. The No. 1 team in college football isn't really worth its ranking unless there's significant depth at every position. That includes quarterback, the ultimate leadership position. If Urban Meyer made a poor choice in signing and grooming John Brantley as Tebow's backup, we'll know it from the very first snap. If Tebow is the one who takes that snap against No. 4 LSU, returning in a rush from a frightening concussion, it will mean that Meyer doesn't trust anybody else to continue Florida's national championship mission. Considering all the astonishing skill players at Meyer's disposal, that would be a serious jab at the ingenuity of this highly successful coach, who won his first national title with creaky Chris Leak at quarterback and beat No. 1 Alabama in last year's SEC title game without Percy Harvin. My belief is that Florida can win this game with Tebow on the sideline, and should take the field with nothing else in mind. After all, the Gator defensive unit, No. 1 in the SEC, isn't hurting. The challenge is finding new and potentially unfamiliar ways to utilize Florida playmakers. The standard plan of forcing opponents to stop Tebow first on the quarterback keeper before worrying about all the other deadly options won't work with any consistency. Les Miles' defensive ends will be instructed to blanket the Gators' speedy backs, inviting Brantley to tuck the ball away and lumber into the chaos whenever he wishes rather than pitching it off. If Brantley wants to avoid an ambulance ride of his own, or if Meyer isn't eager to use punter Chas Henry or cornerback Joe Haden as emergency quarterbacks, that won't happen much. Meyer's had a bye week to work on all of this so there should be enough screen plays and shovel passes and end-arounds to keep LSU guessing and to open up a few deep balls as well. The biggest problem in missing Tebow, though, is having nowhere else to turn on third-and-short and goal-line situations. Would there be anything wrong with putting Brantley under center and handing the ball to Emmanuel Moody, the Gators' underused bruiser, with a lead blocker and a fired-up offensive line collectively charged with saving the day 1 or 2 precious yards at a time? Nothing revolutionary about that. In fact, it's practically Neanderthal. Might be the best way, though, for several of Tebow's teammates to take ownership of a moment that usually belongs to him alone, and to pay tribute to the singular toughness of an inspirational leader who for one time in his life is just not up to snuff. Besides, if the Gators are going to lose a game, this is the one that hurts the least. On the road against a No. 4 team and, probably, without Tebow in the lineup, there are far worse ways to stumble. Florida can bounce back from something like that to win the SEC and the national title, too. Twice in the last three years it's gone pretty much that way. The heart and the soul of the Gators, that's Tebow, but now we're talking about his brain. As little as the guy has practiced, Meyer won't feel good about taking that risk, and I'm guessing he won't. A coach can't do his job on the sideline if he's cringing every time his best player gets hit. He would pull punches with his playcalling. He would show weakness, which on a Saturday night at Tiger Stadium is a sure recipe for disaster. Give the myth a rest, for safety's sake, and give every man on the team more motivation than ever to avoid letting Tebow down. Dave George writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: dave(underscore)george@pbpost.com. 