Even by Tim Tebow standards, the LSU game was on another level. Florida’s Heisman Trophy quarterback is well known for raising his emotions over and above but even by his own very high standards, last Saturday was uncharted waters. It started even before the bus dropped the team off in front of The Swamp for the Gator Walk.
Riding in the team bus down University Avenue just before 6 p.m., Tebow saw the huge crowds of Gator fans jamming the sidewalks and spilling over onto the street. That increased the flow of adrenaline that was already flowing at near record levels. By the time he stepped off the bus, Tebow’s emotions were soaring. He delivered high fives by the hundreds as he made his way through the throngs of Florida fans cheering the team as they made their way into The Swamp, but when Tebow reached the gate he turned around and went back into the crowd, almost as if he was absorbing their energy for use later on in the game.
“I was pretty jacked,” said Tebow after Wednesday’s practice.
Jacked is probably the understatement of the football season.
“I was boiling a little bit with excitement,” said Tebow, who led the Gators (5-1, 3-1 SEC East) to a 51-21 win over then third-ranked LSU. “When you make that drive and you see all those fans and it starts going. I can’t help it. I have to try to keep myself calm walking down the Gator Walk. I just get so excited and sometimes it overwhelms me.”
The excitement was like mercury in an old-fashioned thermometer, rising steadily to the heat and looking for a place to spike. Just before the opening kickoff, Tebow walked up to Florida strong safety Ahmad Black and delivered a head butt. Black is lucky he didn’t have whiplash at the very least. Lesser folks would have suffered a concussion.
Once the game began, Tebow played like a Heisman Trophy winner. You don’t want to say that Tebow played like a man possessed because for all the emotion, he was the picture of cool and calm on the field. When the Gators needed plays he made them. Most of the time he was content to do his part and let his teammates take over.
Tebow helped stake the Gators to a 17-0 first quarter lead with touchdown passes of 70 and seven yards to Percy Harvin. Tebow finished the game with 210 passing yards but more than half came in that first quarter when the Gators did a slash and burn on LSU’s vaunted defense.
Tebow also scored a touchdown on a bootleg from the two-yard line in the third quarter but the play that stood out the most was his third and three conversion right after LSU had scored to close Florida’s once formidable lead to 20-14. This was a Tebow moment, one of those times when everybody in the ball yard including the LSU defense knew he was going to run the ball straight up the gut.
Tebow simply followed the lead block of left guard Carl Johnson, plowing into the LSU secondary with a four-yard gain to give the Gators the most important first down of the entire game.
“That third and three that we ran for the big third down when we were winning 20-14, we kind of ran behind him (Johnson) on that play,” said Tebow. “I cut behind him and he made a great block.”
Great blocks were the norm for the Gators, who racked up an unheard of 475 yards including 265 rushing on a team that came into the game giving up only 69 rushing yards per game. Entering the game all the talk had centered on LSU’s defensive line, called by Tony Barnhardt of the Atlanta Constitution-Journal the best in the nation.
There wasn’t a whole lot of respect shown the Florida offensive line and that played right into the hands of the Gator linemen.
“They might have had a little bit of a chip on their shoulder because of what they were going through,” said Tebow. “They just wanted to prove something. Their (LSU) defensive line is one of the best in the country and that just proves they can be a good offensive line.”
Florida’s offensive line wasn’t the only unit playing with somewhat of a chip on their collective shoulders. Tebow had one. So did everyone else on both the offensive and defensive units.
“I think we had a rhythm but I think we had a sense of determination and a chip on our shoulder and just something to prove coming out there,” said Tebow. “We played with a little bit of a swagger and a bit of an edge. That’s something we probably have to try to get up more. That’s something we had Saturday night for sure.”
The Gators practiced Wednesday and Thursday this week, then they’ll shut things down and take a well-deserved weekend off. They resume practice Sunday night when they regroup and begin preparation in earnest for Kentucky, a tough SEC East opponent that took second-ranked Alabama to the wire before dropping a 17-14 decision.
The open date and relaxed practice schedule will allow the Gators to heal a few wounds before the Kentucky game next Saturday.
“It’s nice getting a little opportunity to relax, rest some bodies and get healthy and get ready for Kentucky,” said Tebow. “I think there are some guys that are sore. I think you’ll find that in any team. Some guys are banged up but that’s just college football. Nothing too big but I think it will be nice having everybody that much healthier come Kentucky.”
Tebow will spend his weekend catching up on some college football on television. There’s a chance he might take in the Nease-St. Augustine high school football game Friday night although that’s a bit of a sore subject. Tebow closed out his high school career with a state 4A championship but his Nease Panthers never did find a way to beat St. Augustine, which won the 3A state title that same year.
“We lost every game,” he said. “I never beat St. Augustine so there aren’t too many fond memories.”
This is a week when those not so fond memories will be dredged up by teammates Brandon James, Jacques Rickerson and Caleb Sturgis, all St. Augustine alums who helped Tebow go 0-4 in the rivalry.
Asked how he will counter the St. Augustine trash talk, Tebow grinned and asked, “What do I say? I’m 0-4. How can I say anything? They have the edge.”
He’s hoping the Gators have the edge the rest of the way. They control their own destiny as far as getting to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. The next four games (Kentucky, Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina) are all against SEC East opponents. If the Gators go 4-0, they win the SEC East and play for the conference championship.
Winning the championship might require the Gators to show a few things they haven’t shown so far this season. Asked if there’s something new in the Florida playbook, Tebow grinned. It was a grin that exuded a quiet confidence, almost as if he was hinting that the best is yet to come for Florida’s offense.
“You haven’t seen everything,” he said. “I’m sure you’ll see a few wrinkles.”