What Tebow Must Do to Beat LSU

The SEC has always been the conference that, above all others, doesn't allow for mistakes. After losing to Ole Miss two weeks ago, in what many consider his worst college game, no one knows this better than Tim Tebow.

Tebow's poor play, along with some poor play from every other Gator not named Harvin or James put Florida in a position where its next loss will undoubtedly squash any chance it has of fulfilling its 2009 national championship dream that looked rather reasonable when Tebow stepped to the podium to accept his Heisman Trophy last December.

This week, Tebow will venture to make up for that loss at Ole Miss and put the Gators back on track for a chance at the crystal football.

All he has to do is make it through the defending national champion, undefeated LSU Tigers. No biggie.

Last season when Tebow took on Les Miles' bunch, he had a relatively mediocre game by 2007 Tim Tebow standards. Tebow completed less than 50 percent of his passes in the game, throwing for under 200 yards and two touchdowns. He also carried for a nine-yard touchdown and ended up with 67 yards on 16 rushes.

Still the Gators led by 10 entering the fourth quarter and let a season-changing win slip away.

Fast forward and Miles' team looks different but the plan toward Tebow remains the same—as an LSU lineman said in less kind terms, the Tigers want to smash Tebow. Tebow needs to fight fire with fire, be the Heisman-winning, position-revolutionizing player he is, and hit back.

But what Tebow, first and foremost, needs to do is manage a good football game. He can't make the bonehead mistakes that plagued him against Ole Miss. This is his team, and if they have title aspirations, he's going to be the guy that puts them on his back.

That brings me to the other thing Tebow must do. Mix things up. Tebow hasn't even shown flashes this season of the superhuman player that ran threw the Swamp his freshman and sophomore seasons. For the Gators to pull out this upset, Tebow needs to have a special game. Anything less will leave the the Swamp filled with Gator tears come Sunday Morning.