The Florida Gators Are Finally Here

Entering the season, Urban Meyer touted his team as the fastest in the nation and tonight gave us an idea of just what he meant.

We all know Florida has a stacked offensive roster, but we have been waiting to see something emerge from it.  Apparently, the fourth quarter of the Arkansas game when the Gators busted the Razorback defense for three touchdowns, opened the eyes of Florida’s Offensive Coordinator, Dan Mullen, and illuminated the possibilities.

All the hype leading up to Saturday night’s game encompassed Ricky Jean-Francois’ comments about how he wanted to “take him (Tebow) out” of the game if he managed a “good shot.”

Tebow only used the comments as fuel to get ready for the game.  He noted, “All it really does is fire your opponent up and at least I know that’s how it is for me and other people get fired up and are even more competitive because that’s how I am.”  That comment would only prove to be so true.

Tim Tebow demonstrated his Heisman poise by leading the 11th ranked Gators to a 51-21 shellacking of the No. 3 Tigers in the first matchup since 1990 of the previous two national championship teams.  The victory makes for the sixth straight time in such a matchup that the home team recorded the “W.”

Tebow completed 14 of 21 pass attempts for two touchdowns and added a two-yard TD run in the third quarter. 

The Gators experienced their greatest win of the season in front of 90,684 fans shouting at the top of their lungs, trying to show that Death Valley does not even compare to playing in the Swamp.

On just the third play from scrimmage, facing a 3rd-and-12, Tebow completed his longest career pass of 70 yards to Percy Harvin for what would be the first of many visits to the end zone for the Gators. 

However, Tebow was only the appetizer.  The freshmen duo of Jeffrey Demps and Chris Rainey combined for 195 yards and a TD on 21 rushes while junior Percy Harvin caught six passes for 112 yards and two scores.  Kicker Jonathan Phillips added nine points to the board with field goals of 20, 25, and 34 yards. 

The defense even took part in some of the scoring.  Brandon Spikes picked off Jarrett Lee twice, returning one 52 yards for a TD, but demonstrated poor discipline by punting the ball into the stands during his celebration.

Such a selfish act showed one of the few flaws in Urban Meyer’s squad.  The Gators committed six penalties for 58 yards on the night compared to LSU’s three infractions for 25 yards.

Florida led the game 20-0 late into the first half, demonstrating their defensive abilities against a shaky LSU offense.  Coming into the game, the Gators led the nation by allowing just 10 points in the first half through the first five games of the season. 

Florida kicked off to LSU with under a minute to play in the half and Trindon Holliday fielded the ball out of bounds at the Tiger’s 13-yard line.  After reviewing the play, the officials noted the rules state that if the player is out of bounds when the catch is made, the ball is thereby ruled out of bounds as well.

Lee then led his team on a six-play, 44-second drive down the field, capped with a six-yard pass to Chris Mitchell in the corner of the end zone, giving the Tigers momentum heading into the locker room. 

The Gators looked reminiscent of the 2006 squad that went on to win the National Championship by demonstrating their defensive dominance.  In this game, Florida allowed just 80 rushing yards on 25 rushes and held the passing game in check.

Florida took advantage of the national stage to make their case. It was a day when five teams in the Top 20, three of them in the Top five, were knocked off, which means Florida can only move up.

After the break, LSU received the kickoff and drove 80 yards to close the gap to 20-14, bringing some life back to the Tigers.  Tebow didn’t let the spark ignite anything as he took the field and orchestrated a 67-yard touchdown drive surrounded by a 37-yard completion to Louis Murphy, which set up Tebow’s two-yard TD run.

The Gators would go on to rack up 24 more points en route to the Tigers’ worst defeat during Les Miles’ tenure as head coach.