Newly hired Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has decided to help Florida through the national championship game.  Gators coach Urban Meyer said Tuesday that Mullen will call plays in the Bowl Championship Series national title game January 8th in Miami.

Mullen was still in Mississippi and not planning to return to Gainesville until after Christmas, Meyer said. The Gators held their first bowl practice Tuesday, but with final exams scheduled all week, it was mostly conditioning drills. Meyer said detailed game-plan preparations for No. 2 Oklahoma won't begin until after Christmas.

Meyer also said he recognizes that Mullen still has work to do with the Bulldogs - Mullen is assembling his staff and recruiting - but he's confident the rest of Florida's offensive assistants can pick up the slack.

"The good thing is we have one of the best coaching staffs in the game," Meyer says "This is not a dictatorship or one-man circus. The plays are scripted. Dan does a tremendous job. "It's taking on a life of its own - what's going to happen, what's going to happen? We'll be OK. We're still going to run the same offense."