Gator Country

Florida senior quarterback Tim Tebow runs for an 11-yard gain to the 22-yard line during the second quarter of the Gators' 56-6 win against Troy on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

To whom much is given, much is expected. That’s Bible scripture, paraphrased, and Tim Tebow knows it well. The actual verse, from Luke 12:48, is “For everyone to who much is given, of him shall be much required.”

Those words come to mind today because when Tebow’s team stumbled, bumbled and fumbled its way through the first eight minutes of Saturday’s game, there was a bit of grousing going on among Florida Gator fans, who maybe were annoyed by rain that fell sporadically on their heads in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Yeah, of course I know the final score was Florida 56, Troy 6. That Florida is 2-0 headed into the SEC schedule. That the defense is playing superbly. But these are the No. 1 Florida Gators, the glamor team of the SEC, if not the country, and they are not supposed to be stinking up the joint. They are loaded with talent – much is given. And they are the nation’s No. 1 ranked team – much is expected.

And though he could see Troy’s different twist on defense was causing the Gator offense some early adjustment problems – “They were squeezing their corners” – Urban Meyer wasn’t thrilled with a 7-3 first-quarter score.

The rain was starting to fall hard at The Swamp and there was nothing slick about Florida’s offense except the slippery ball, which the Gators would have difficulty holding on to all day. Frankly, I thought the offense was tentative and the uptempo “Banzai” offense seemed to confuse the Gators more than it did their opponents.

And so here was the dilemma. Meyer and his coaching staff have promised themselves to unleash all of their offensive weapons this season and not to rely on that Timmy One Note offense. They can hand it off to the speedy Jeff Demps or the nifty Chris Rainey, or throw it deep to Riley Cooper or Deonte Thompson or Brandon James or short to reliable Aaron Hernandez. And they did.

The last thing Meyer needs this season in a championship run is to get his quarterback beat up. That’s why he’s only playing Tebow for a half in these so-called “preseason” games. That’s why Tebow took nearly a full week without snaps late in summer camp. And it’s why redshirt sophomore Johnny Brantley is getting so many reps.

Florida is trying to protect The Chosen One and, understandably, that means not having their quarterback carrying the football 25 times a game. Trouble is, when that happens, the wraps on Tebow seem to constrict him and inhibit his game. When he’s not running over and through people, Tebow doesn’t seem to be in the flow of the game.

So the Florida offense sputtered, coughed up the ball a couple of times – even Tebow fumbled it away – and it was about as ugly as, well, the weather. Even radio play-by-play house man Mick Hubert wasn’t feeling too good about things.

“My last memory of Tebow fumbling,” said Hubert, referencing the game he turned it over in the loss to Ole Miss, “is not a very pleasant one.”

This was the mood at Ben Hill Griffin on the rainy Saturday with the 12:30 start, which never seems to favor the Gators. In fact, it wasn’t until a little after 1 p.m., in the second quarter, when the wake-up call came.

Let’s face it: Tebow is the engine that drives the Florida offense and that engine needs to be going full throttle for the Gators to function efficiently. Besides, when you’ve got maybe the best power back in the country, one who has scored more touchdowns rushing than all but three other players in SEC history, it is pure nonsense not to utilize his legs.

The tape from Saturday’s game will forevermore be proof of that fact.

It wasn’t until Tebow starting running over people and reeling off the first of 13 carries that the Gators came alive. In fact, it was a busted play on a high snap that he turned into a 9-yard run which seemed to get him untracked. On the next snap Tebow rifled a high pass into the end zone that, despite running the wrong route, Riley Cooper reached up, caught and scored on.

A little bit later, Tebow tallied his 45th career rushing touchdown, tying him for third on the all-time SEC list with Auburn’s Carnell “Cadillac” Williams—just four behind the great Herschel Walker of Georgia.

And on the drive that produced Florida’s fifth touchdown, Tebow left a tattoo of his number on the chest of the Trojans’ Chris Bowens, lowering his head and knocking the Troy safety into the cheap seats. One of those is always good for a little jump start.

“I think I play more intense after I hit somebody,” Tebow said.

Before the half had ended, Tebow was gashing the Troy defense for big yards on the quarterback draw and Florida’s offense was back at full throttle. He wound up with 71 yards rushing in just over a half, plus 237 yards and four TDs passing. And that left plenty of apprentice time for the burgeoning star Johnny Brantley to once again sharpen his skills and add another touchdown pass of his own.

Once unleashed, The Tebow Show was good to go.

After all, it is the leg, the arm and heart of Tebow that provides the juice. And to think that he has amassed 117 touchdowns in three seasons and two games, which means he will become the most prolific scorer in the history of the SEC fairly soon, passing school and SEC leader Danny Wuerffel’s 122—that says so much about Tebow and his value as a cash-it-in money player.

What I saw was that when Tebow began running and decided to take the game was Troy finally put away. Meyer saw the same thing.

“He’s hard to stop,” said Meyer. “The Q draws we ran in the national championship game and today—that’s demoralizing when you play good coverage. I saw the same thing today. He’s starting to play like Tim. We didn’t let him play like Tim last week. Next week he’ll have to.”

Next week, of course, the SEC season begins with Tennessee coming to town.

For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required. Expectations of the Chosen One are off the charts.

And that is how Tim Tebow must be allowed to play.

About the author

BuddyShow

Buddy Martin is the author of seven books, including Urban Meyer's authorized biography, and was a recipient of an Emmy while working for CBS Sports on "The NFL Today." The native son of Ocala and Florida-educated journalist is the former sports editor of the New York Daily News, Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times and Florida Today. He has won more than 165 state and national awards for writing and editing. "Urban's Way" (St. Martin's Press) is now out in paperback. It can be purchased at all major book stores or by writing Buddy at buddyshow@aol.com.

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