The gig was up for Florida International on the fifth play from scrimmage when Brandon Spikes drifted out in the right flat, picked off Paul McCall’s pass and coasted 41 yards into the end zone for Florida’s first of many touchdowns in the game. And as if that one touchdown wasn’t enough — the Gators scored nine in all — Tim Tebow’s 55-yard touchdown run down the East sideline certainly provided the dagger to the heart that killed off whatever hope remained and there was still 9:18 to play in the first quarter.
FIU was no match for the nation’s number one-ranked team and that came as no surprise. The Golden Panthers are a pretty good team within the confines of the Sun Belt Conference. Take them out of their element and they have to hope they can play error-free while an opponent like the Florida Gators shows up overconfident and lacking focus.
Six minutes into the game, it was perfectly clear the Gators showed up with their chinstraps buckled and their focus solely on FIU.
“Tuesday and Wednesday is when this game was won,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said after the Gators dismantled FIU to the tune of 62-3 before a crowd of 90,473 at The Swamp Saturday afternoon. “You see it all the time where you see guys don’t take whoever you’re playing seriously. When I showed them the film of how they played Alabama and how they [IFU] played Rutgers and the 98-yard kickoff return [by T.Y. Hilton against Alabama] … Tuesday and Wednesday was serious the way they came out.”
Those serious Tuesday and Wednesday practices turned Saturday’s game into another day at the office for the Gators, who ran their record to 11-0 this season and their nation’s best winning streak to 21 games. Even though the Gators scored on eight of their 10 possessions and only one — a missed 53-yard field goal in the first quarter — came up empty, this was hardly an emotional performance. The Gators simply took care of business, walked away with a win that can best be described as efficient and immediately turned their focus to Florida State.
Even in the post game locker room, there wasn’t much celebration. The usual singing, speeches and recognition of outstanding players was over and done within a matter of minutes and the clock started ticking on the next business week, which just so happens to be a big deal even if Florida State needed a come-from-behind win over a very bad Maryland team Saturday to get a game over .500 and bowl eligible.
The way the Gators go about their preparation this week will be the same way they prepped for FIU, but there will be a different edge because it’s a rivalry game. With Meyer every win is a must win, but a win over a rival — he’s 10-1 in rivalry games against Tennessee, Georgia and Miami, 4-0 against FSU — carries additional importance in terms of prestige and recruiting.
“It’s the world … it’s what makes this job the best job in college football,” Meyer said. “It’s what makes this stadium the best stadium in college football. It’s Senior Day at Florida. This is going to be a special week and in case you’re wondering, it’s started already. It’s going to be a special week. We have a plan and the plan is practice really hard on Tuesday. That’s our plan. No secret handshakes or anything like that. Just go as hard as we can on Tuesday and then come back and go as hard as we can on Wednesday.”
Going hard on Tuesday and Wednesday got the Gators prepared for their most efficient performance of the season against FIU. Florida scored 62 points with eight offensive touchdowns and one by the defense and they kept FIU out of the end zone. The Gators ran and passed for 584 yards while holding FIU to 189.
As impressive as those numbers were, however, the most important number of the day was zero — as in zero sacks allowed, only the fourth time that’s happened all year, and zero turnovers for the fourth straight game.
Tim Tebow played one half and one series in the third quarter, racking up 102 yards rushing including the 55-yard touchdown run, the longest of his career, and 215 yards and two touchdowns passing. There was no dropoff when he left the game after guiding the Gators on a five-play touchdown drive that ended with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper on the first drive of the second half. John Brantley came in and threw three touchdown passes to three receivers who caught their first scoring passes in a Gator uniform. Brantley connected on a 20-yarder to Omarius Hines, a 31-yarder to Frankie Hammond and a 16-yarder to Justin Williams.
Chris Rainey scored on two dazzling plays, a 29-yard shovel pass from Tebow and a 20-yard option pitch, both in the second quarter. On both plays, Rainey spun out of tackles, juked past flat-footed opponents and then turned on the jets to reach the end zone. Jeff Demps got the other touchdown on a three-yard run just before the first half ended.
The Gators re-introduced David Nelson (three catches for 46 yards) and Deonte Thompson (five catches for 66 yards) to the passing game and in the process, re-discovered the crossing route and the middle of the field. Getting them going once again will take the pressure off Cooper and Aaron Hernandez, who have carried the receiving load all season, and force FSU, Alabama and whoever is next to defend the entire field.
When Maurkice Pouncey (bone bruise) and Carl Johnson (sprained ankle) went down, the offensive line didn’t miss a beat with Sam Robey taking over at center and James Wilson and Mo Hurt sharing time at Johnson’s guard spot. Other than a false start, true freshman Xavier Nixon gave another fine accounting for himself in just his second start.
Over on the defensive side, Spikes set the tone with his interception return for a touchdown, the second pick he’s taken back for a touchdown this year and the fourth of his career. The Gators held FIU to 136 passing yards and only four pass plays of more than 10 yards. On the ground, the Golden Panthers managed only 53 total yards and only one running play of more than seven yards.
The Gators allowed FIU inside their 20 twice but the Golden Panthers only had a 37-yard field goal to show for it. This was the fifth game of the season in which the Gators have held an opponent without a touchdown.
This was a dominant win but it was far from flashy. If there is such a thing as a blue collar win by a 59-point margin, this was it. The Gators came to work, got the job done and then began the shift of focus to next week’s game with FSU. The Gators won the national championship last year by eliminating distractions and narrowing their focus, living in the moment and never looking past an opponent. Alabama looms on the horizon in two weeks and if both teams show up in Atlanta unbeaten, the winner will play for the national championship but these Gators won’t start thinking about Alabama until they’ve put FSU away next week.
If there was a defining characteristic of the Florida team that won the national championship last season it was their ability to take it one game at a time. Meyer is starting to see that same characteristic in this year’s team.
“This team is getting pretty serious too by the way they’re handling their business,” Meyer said.
The way the Gators came prepared to do their business Saturday, it wouldn’t have mattered if FIU were from the Sun Belt or from the SEC. The Gators played with the steely-eyed focus of an experienced, professional hit man. They fired their shot, dropped their opponent in its tracks and then walked away ready to move on to their next assignment.
Do that three more times and the Gators will win another national championship. Numbers two and three of that three-game set will have to wait, however. The next order of business is Florida State.