TALLAHASSEE – If Tennessee, Georgia and Florida State are indeed the three big rivalry games for the Florida Gators, then fourth-year head coach Urban Meyer is certainly earning his keep, as if he had to after winning a national championship in 2006 and having his No. 4 Gators in the hunt for another.
With their 45-15 victory over Florida State on a rainy and saturated Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium, the Gators are now 4-0 on Meyer’s watch against Bowden and the Seminoles. Meyer is also 4-0 against Tennessee and 3-1 against Georgia.
That’s 11-1 against the Volunteers, Bulldogs and Seminoles.
Meyer is now one of three coaches who have won his first two games at Tallahassee. Doug Dickey won his first four in Tallahassee and seven straight in the series, three more than Meyer. Galen Hall, now the offensive coordinator at Penn State, also won his first two games in Tallahassee.
Meyer is now 42-9 in his four seasons at Florida and is 81-17 overall during his eight-year career that began with two seasons at Bowling Green followed by two seasons at Utah.
THIRD TIME STILL CHARMING: For the third straight game, Florida rushed for more than 300 yards and totaled more than 500.
Florida had 346 rushing yards and 519 total in its 56-6 victory over South Carolina. Last week, Florida gained 394 yards on the ground and finished with 705 total yards in their 70-19 triumph over The Citadel.
Saturday against FSU, Florida rushed for 317 yards and totaled 502.
HEISMAN DEFENSE: Junior quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy last season on the strength 55 touchdowns (32 passing, 23 rushing), had a 265-yard, 4-touchdown performance against the Seminoles.
Saturday, Tebow completed 12 of 21 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, he is now 160 for 246 for 2,299 yards and 25 touchdowns against just two interceptions.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Tebow rushed 16 times for 80 yards and a touchdown against FSU. For the year, he has 507 yards on 137 carries (3.7 average) and 12 touchdowns.
That’s 2,806 yards and 37 touchdowns, which pales, of course, to last year’s 4,027 yards and 55 touchdowns.
Most important, of course, is his record. Last year, the Gators were 9-4. This year, they are 11-1 with Tebow behind center for Florida, which has a chance to win an SEC title next Saturday in Alabama and a possible BCS national title with two more victories this season.
SERIES NOTES: The 45-15 victory was the fifth straight for the Gators, who now lead the series 32-19-2. It also evened Florida’s record against FSU coach Bobby Bowden at 17-17-2 since 1976. The five straight victories are the most for the Gators since they won six in a row from 1981 through 1986. Florida’s record for most consecutive victories is nine from 1968-76, Bowden’s first season in Tallahassee as head coach.
Florida State’s last victory in the series came in 2003 at Gainesville, 38-34. Since then, won 20-13 at Tallahassee in Ron Zook’s last game as head coach in 2004, 34-7 in Urban Meyer’s first game in the series at Gainesville in 2005, 21-14 in 2006 at Tallahassee during Florida’s national championship series and 45-12 last season at Gainesville, the 33-point margin of victory the largest in the series for Florida.
The victories in Tallahassee in 2004, ’06 and ’08 marks the first time since it won three straight in 1982, ’84 and ’86. Florida is now 12-10-1 in Tallahassee.
The 30-point victory is Florida’s largest in Tallahassee and the 45 points scored are the most produced by Florida ever at Doak Campbell Stadium, eclipsing the 42 points scored in a 42-13 victory in 1972.
With their 317-102 advantage in rushing yards, the Gators helped continue a trend that the team which has rushed for the most yardage in the game has an 18-2-1 record. With their +3 turnover margin (four turnovers to one) the Gators improved the winning team’s record to 14-5-1 when it has the fewest turnovers. Plus, with their 28-9 halftime lead, Florida extended the winning team’s record to 12-1 when it has the lead at halftime.
GATOR STEAMROLLER: Saturday’s outcome was the eighth straight victory for Florida since a 31-30 home loss to Mississippi on Sept. 27. Since then, Florida has routed its eight opponents by no less than 28 points. Over the eight games, Florida has outscored its opponents 414-97, including 136-3 in the first quarter (for the regular season, Florida has outscored the opposition in the first quarter, 160-10).
The streak began with a 38-7 victory at Arkansas on Oct. 4 and continued with a 51-21 thumping of then No. 4 Louisiana State on Saturday night, Oct. 11 in “The Swamp.” After a bye week, Florida returned to rout Kentucky 63-5 at home before earning a 49-10 victory in the annual game with No. 8 Georgia in Jacksonville on Nov. 1. Then Vanderbilt fell, 42-14, in Nashville, Tenn.
Florida then routed No. 24 South Carolina, 56-6, on Nov. 15 and The Citadel 70-19 Nov. 22 to close out their home schedule before winning 45-15 over No. 20 FSU in Tallahassee Saturday.
With their 45 points Saturday, Florida now has scored 556 points this season, three short of the school-record 559 scored by the 1996 national championship team, and the Gators have two games remaining – next Saturday’s SEC Championship Game in Atlanta and a likely BCS bowl game, either the National Championship (with a victory over Alabama) or the Sugar Bowl (with a loss).
IMPRESSIVE STRING: With all the high-powered and high-scoring offenses both programs have brought to the series, Florida almost went two full games (over three contests) without allowing Florida State to get into the end zone.
When Thomas scored on a 4-yard run with 7:43 left in the third quarter, it ended a touchdown-less string of 111 minutes and 44 seconds for the Seminoles against the Gators dating back to the 2006 game in Tallahassee when Florida edged FSU, 21-14. The Seminoles’ last touchdown in that game came with 14:27 remaining in the game when Drew Weatherford connected with Greg Carr on a 25-yard touchdown pass.
Since that touchdown until Saturday’s touchdown, FSU managed just seven field goals against the Gators – four last season and three this season.
THIS AND THAT: Florida improved to 4-0 against teams ranked this season. … Florida had three interceptions – by Major Wright, Brandon Spikes and Janoris Jenkins – to give the Gators 23 interceptions for the season. Together with a fumble recovery (by Deonte Thompson) that offset a Jeff Demps fumble, Florida was +3 in turnover margin for the game and is now+21 for the season. … With his successful 29-yard field goal in the third quarter, senior placekicker Jonathan Phillips is 10-for-10 in field-goal attempts. With his six successful PATs, Phillips has now been successful of 71 of 72 extra-point attempts. The lone miss was the blocked PAT by Mississippi that was the difference in the 31-30 loss on Sept. 27. Phillips now has scored 101 points with his right foot this season. … Before his injury, junior wide receiver/running back Percy Harvin scored on a 9-yard touchdown run, his 16th touchdown (9 rushing, 7 receiving) this season. It was the 14th consecutive game that Harvin scored a touchdown, the longest active streak in the nation.
MULTIPLYING: After true freshman Jeffrey Demps ripped off a 44-yard run to set up Florida’s second touchdown of the first quarter, ABC play-by-play man Brad Nessler had this to say to his color analysts Paul McGuire and Bob Griese.
“He (Demps) is faster than a rabbit In love,” Nessler joked.