TALLAHASSEE – There are college quarterbacks this wild 2008 season with more impressive statistics than Florida’s Tim Tebow.
But are there quarterbacks who have done more for their team than Tebow did Saturday for the No. 4 Gators in their 45-15 victory over their archrivals, the Florida State Seminoles, in the rain and on the slop of Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium.
Let’s see, Tebow accounted for four touchdowns (3 passing, 1 rushing) and 265 yards (185 on a 12-of-21 performance through the air and 80 more on 16 carries), made a block on another touchdown and made a tackle to prevent Florida State from scoring one after a teammate’s fumble.
Yes, that was Superman wearing Tim Tebow’s muddy No. 15 uniform Saturday as the 11-1 Gators won their eighth straight game of the season and fifth straight against the Seminoles.
Shouldn’t that be what you want in your Heisman Trophy winner? Glittering statistics, yes, but shouldn’t the most prestigious award in college football go to a player whose team has something meaningful to play for this college football season, as the Gators have next Saturday against No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game? Win that game at Atlanta’s Georgia Dome and coach Urban Meyer’s team possibly could be playing for its second national title in three seasons on Jan. 8 in the BCS National Championship Game at Miami’s Dolphin Stadium.
Besides, how can you justify voting against the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, which the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Tebow is?
Florida State coach Bobby Bowden, who has coached two Heisman Trophy winners (Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke) and probably seen enough of Tebow, believes you can’t.
“He deserves to be mentioned again for the Heisman,” the 79-year-old Bowden said after Florida evened its record against his Seminoles’ teams to 17-17-2. “I don’t know if I’ve seen a better leader. After Ole Miss beat them, he stood up and told the press, ‘I’ll never let this happen again’ or something like that. ‘Ya’ll won’t ever see this happen to us again’ or something like that. By golly, he lived up to it. He directed everything out there. He’s a tremendous player and a tremendous leader.”
The game was played on an afternoon more suited for duck hunting. A pregame downpour made the field, especially the painted areas, extremely slick and there were periods of heavy rains during the game.
Nevertheless, the Gators were on firm footing, thanks to their tank of a leader. With Tebow showing the way, Florida outgained Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles, 502-242, including 317-102 on the ground. The Gators’ defense came up with four turnovers – three interceptions and one fumble recovery – and Florida maintained possession of the ball for 33:36.
“If it was up to me, I probably would have run him (Tebow) 50 times,” said Meyer, who was concerned about the conditions.
Chris Rainey rushed for 97 yards on 8 carries, while Demps had 89 on nine rushes to go with Tebow’s 80 yards. Florida averaged 6.9 yards on its 46 carries. The defense limited the Seminoles to 10-of-32 passing for 140 yards by three quartersbacks – starter Christian Ponder and backups Drew Weatherford and D’Vontrey Richardson – and just 102 rushing yards on 33 carries (3.1 average). Antone Smith led the FSU rushers with 57 yards on 12 carries.
The defensive effort was led by middle linebacker Brandon Spikes and defensive backs Major Wright and Janoris Jenkins, who each had an interception.
The only downer in the game – and it’s a big one – was the high ankle injury that junior wide receiver/running back Percy Harvin suffered during the second quarter on a 5-yard run. Harvin limped off the field with the help of two Florida trainers and did not play again, and his status for Saturday’s game against the Crimson Tide is highly questionable.
Tebow was ticked off by the FSU and fans’ reaction to Harvin’s injury.
“That kind of irritated me,” Tebow said. “I told the coach to give me the ball because I really wanted to hit somebody.”
Tebow did better than that, pulling a bunch of his teammates and pushing several Seminoles into the end zone on a 4-yard score.
As it has in the eight games since its 31-30 loss to Mississippi on the last Saturday of September, Florida got off to a quick start, taking a 14-3 lead after the first quarter.
Harvin scored the opening touchdown, taking a direct snap and running right, getting a seal block from Tebow on the corner before scooting in untouched to complete a 9-yard TD run. Jonathan Phillips’ PAT made it 7-0 with just 4:08 gone in the game. Tebow accounted for 53 yards on the 65-yard drive, rushing twice for 32 yards and completing two more passes for 21 more.
A 52-yard kickoff return by Michael Ray Garvin set up the first of three first-half Graham Gano field goals for Florida State (8-4), this one from 37 yards with 9:20 remaining in the quarter. Those were the first points surrendered by Florida’s defense in the first quarter since that loss to Mississippi. When Tebow completed a 84-yard scoring drive with his 7-yard TD pass to Aaron Hernandez with two seconds remaining in the quarter, it brought Florida’s first-quarter advantage in its last eight games to 136-3 and 160-10 in 12 games.
Once again on the drive, Tebow had the biggest plays when Florida needed them the most, rushing 24 yards on a third-and-9 play from Florida 17. Then one play after Jeffrey Demps blazed 44 yards to the FSU 8, Tebow rolled left and threw back to Hernandez, who was wide open after drifting back across the field.
With Florida leading 14-3, Tebow made a big play – tackling FSU defender Neefy Moffett at the Florida 14 after Demps had fumbled. The Florida defense held, bringing Gano in for a 36-yard field goal that cut the lead to 14-6 with 10:00 to go before halftime.
Tebow answered that field goal by directing a 10-play, 86-yard scoring drive, going the final 4 yards himself in a rugby scrum up the middle. The touchdown came shortly after Harvin suffered his injury and was his second third-down conversion on the drive – his 28-yard completion to David Nelson on a third-and-5 from the Florida 30 the first.
Gano kicked a 32-yard field goal on FSU’s next possession to cut the Florida lead to 21-9, leaving Tebow just 2:04 to get something going. Tebow needed just 1:07 of the time, completing five straight passes to five different receivers on a 76-yard scoring drive. Tebow found Hernandez for 24 yards on the final play, and Phillips’ conversion put Florida up 28-9 at the half.
FSU got the second-half kickoff and on the first scrimmage play of the third quarter, Ponder’s pass from his own 40 was intercepted by Brandon Spikes. The junior middle linebacker took his fourth interception of the season 26 yards to the FSU 20, and three plays later on a third-and-13 play, Tebow connected with Louis Murphy for a 23-yard TD and a 35-9 lead with 13:54 to go in the third quarter.
On Florida’s next possession, redshirt freshman Chris Rainey burst 62 yards to the FSU 12 on the first play. But FSU held its ground and Phillips came in to kick his 10th consecutive field goal of the season, a 29-yarder, that upped the Florida lead to 38-9.
The Seminoles finally got into the end zone on a 4-yard scoring run by Jermaine Thomas to complete an 8-play, 58-yard drive. It was the first touchdown that FSU had scored in the series since Florida’s 21-14 victory here on Nov. 25, 2006, their national championship season. Between that touchdown, a 25-yard scoring pass from Drew Weatherford to Greg Carr with 14:27 left to play that tied the game 14-14, and Thomas’ score with 7:17 gone in the third quarter, the Florida defense did not allow a touchdown in 111 minutes and 44 seconds over three games against the Seminoles.
Demps’ 2-yard scoring run with 11:48 to play ended the day for Tebow. When Florida next got possession of the football, redshirt freshman John Brantley was at the controls and Florida was thinking about its next game in what could be a magical season engineered by their true leader, Tebow, whose guaranteed following the loss to Ole Miss that he would play hard, his team would play hard and that Florida would not lose again.
As good as he is with his feet and his left arm, Tim Tebow is pretty good with his words, too.
HOW THEY SCORED
FLORIDA 45, FLORIDA STATE 15
At Tallahassee, Fla.
Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium
Scoring by quarters 1 2 3 4 — Final
Florida (No. 4 BCS) 14 14 10 7 — 45
Florida State (No. 20 BCS) 3 6 6 0 — 15
FIRST QUARTER
UF — Percy Harvin 9 run (Jonathan Phillips kick good) at 10:52. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4 first downs, 4:08 time elapsed following 28-yard return by Brandon James. Key plays: Tebow rushed twice for 32 yards, was 2-for-3 passing for 21 yards and also threw the last block which allowed Harvin into the end zone. Score: Florida 7, Florida State 0.
FSU — FG 37 Graham Gano at 9:20. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 0 first downs, 1:32 time elapsed following Florida kickoff and 52-yard kickoff return by Michael Ray Garvin, who was run out at the Florida 24 by Joe Haden. Key plays: On third-and-5 at Florida 19, Christian Ponder’s to Taiwan Easterling was dropped past the first-down marker, forcing the field goal. Score: Florida 7, Florida State 3.
UF — Aaron Hernandez 7 pass from Tim Tebow (Phillips kick good) at 0:02. Drive: 7 plays, 84 yards, 2 first downs, 4:20 time elapsed following tipped pass by Janoris Jenkins that was intercepted by Major Wright at the Florida 16. Key plays: Tebow had 24-yard run on third-and-9 play from UF 17 and Jeffrey Demps sprinted 44 yards on second-and-3 at Florida 48 to give Florida a first-and-goal at the FSU 8. Following a 1-yard Tebow keeper, the Florida QB rolled left and then threw back to a wide-open Hernandez, who had started at left end, blocked and then released behind the play. Score: Florida 14, Florida State 3.
SECOND QUARTER
FSU — FG 36 Gano at 10:00. Drive: 4 plays, -4 yards, 0 first downs, 00:38 time elapsed following Jeffrey Demps fumble and FSU recovery by Neefy Moffett at the UF 14. Key plays: Ponder got a yard on first-down carry and then threw two incompletions in the end zone. Score: Florida 14, Florida State 6.
UF — Tebow 4 run (Phillips kick good) at 5:33. Drive: 10 plays, 86 yards, 5 first downs, 4:27 time elapsed following FSU kickoff. Key plays: Florida was 2-for-2 on third-down plays – Tebow hit David Nelson for 28 yards on third-and-5 from Florida 30 and then scored on a third-and-1 play at the FSU 4 in what looked like an old-fashioned rugby scrum. Tebow accounted for 21 yards on three rushes and 42 yards on two completions. Plus, the Gators picked up a first down on a pass interference call on FSU’s Tony Carter against Percy Harvin, who later injured his right ankle on a 5-yard rush to the FSU 8. Score: Florida 21, Florida State 6.
FSU — FG 32 Gano at 2:04. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 3 first downs, 3:29 time elapsed following Florida kickoff. Key plays: FSU gained 30 yards on four straight carries to start off the drive but then went to the pass and Ponder went 1-for-3. Score: Florida 21, Florida State 6.
UF — Hernandez 24 pass from Tebow (Phillips kick good) at 00:57. Drive: 5 plays, 76 yards, 4 first downs, 1:07 time elapsed following FSU kickoff. Key plays: Tebow was 5-for-5 on the drive for 76 yards, completing a pass to five different receivers – Brandon James (13 yards), Riley Cooper (5), David Nelson (8), Louis Murphy (26) and Hernandez (24). Score: Florida 28, Florida State 9.
THIRD QUARTER
UF — Louis Murphy 23 pass from Tebow (Phillips kick good) at 13:54. Drive: 3 plays, 20 yards, 1 first down, 00:57 time elapsed following Brandon Spikes’ interception of Ponder and return of 26 yards on the first scrimmage play of the second half. Key plays: Following an incompletion, Tebow recovered a fumbled handoff to Emmanuel Moody, who was hit by FSU defensive tackle Mincey . So on third-and-13 at the FSU 23, Tebow took the snap, shuffled to his right and found Murphy wide open along the sidelines in the end zone. Score: Florida 35, Florida State 9.
UF — FG 29 Phillips at 11:10. Drive: 5 plays, 62 yards, 1 first down, 1:30 time elapsed following FSU punt. Key plays: Chris Rainey raced 62 yards on the first play of the drive from the UF 26 to the FSU 12. Score: Florida 38, Florida State 9.
FSU — Jermaine Thomas 4 run (Gano kick blocked) at 7:43. Drive: 8 plays, 58 yards, 4 first downs, 3:27 time elapsed following Florida kickoff. Key plays: Score: Florida 38, Florida State 15.
FOURTH QUARTER
UF — Jeffrey Demps 2 run (Phillips kick good) at 11:48. Drive: 3 plays, 38 yards, 1 first down, 1:21 time elapsed following Janoris Jenkins’ interception at the FSU 38. Key plays: Emmanuel Moody rushed 36 yards on two carries, the final one 30 yards down to the FSU 2. Score: Florida 45, Florida State 15.
SUMMARY
Officials: From the Atlantic Coast Conference. Referee, Ron Cherry; umpire, Tom Laverty; head linesman, Troy Gray; line judge, Rick Page; Mike Safrit, side judge; Mike Cullin, field judge; Pat Ryan, back judge.
Attendance: 83,237.
Time of game: 3:28. Kickoff: 3:37 p.m. End of game: 7:05 p.m.
Weather: Periods of heavy rain, 66 degrees, winds from the West at 8 miles per hour.
Coin toss: Florida State (represented by captains Antone Smith, Tony Carter and Benjamin Lampkin) wins toss, elects to defer until second half and defends South end zone. Florida (represented by captains Louis Murphy, Brandon Spikes and Phil Trautwein) receives kickoff.
Records: Florida 11-1, Florida State 8-4.
Next game: Florida vs. Alabama Dec. 6 in SEC Championship Game at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, 4 p.m. (CBS); Florida State in postseason bowl game to be determined.