Gators Come Through in 'Tebow Time'

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It was less than 24 hours earlier during Florida's Gator Growl, claimed to be the largest student-run pep rally, when comedian Dana Carvey turned to Florida head coach Urban Meyer and quipped, "You freakin' rock. That self-tanner was working." Following a sunny but cool Saturday afternoon, Meyer's face, if not the face of the entire Gator Nation, was nearly drained of color.

That was OK, though, because the collective sigh of relief that bellowed from The Swamp meant that UF's perfect season and likely No. 1 ranking remained intact.

Tim Tebow led a 69-yard drive in the final minutes, culminating with Caleb Sturgis' 27-yard field goal with nine seconds remaining to lift the Gators past Arkansas, 23-20. The Razorbacks believed they should have won the game, and said as much, but in the end they couldn't overcome Tebow Time and the team's impressive spirit towards a second consecutive national championship.
"I didn't feel like we had to do anything extraordinary to win the game, just play Razorback football," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said.

The determined Razorbacks nearly pulled it off, too.

They sacked Tebow six times -- and pressured him countless others -- forced four fumbles, stuffed UF's ground game and led 20-13 with 9:40 remaining to put the homecoming crowd of 90,508 on the edge of its seat. Towering Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, the SEC passing leader, threw for 224 yards and cannonball running back Dennis Johnson rolled to 107 yards.

"They haven't seen an offense like ours all year and probably won't the rest of the year," Mallett said in his Texan drawl, a combination of frustration and anger still etched across his face.

"If we got to play again, I don't think they would agree to it, at least this year anyway. You see we are playing with the No. 1 team in the country and we are taking them to the last two minutes. I feel like we can play with anybody. We just can't kill ourselves."

Mallett was right. The Razorbacks were Gator Bait.

Post-concussion Tebow looked much like the pre-concussion Tebow, throwing for 255 yards, a touchdown and lowering his noggin for 69 rushing yards on a game-high 27 attempts. Of course, he saved the best for last, directing the Gators on a 14-play, 69-yard drive in a hair under three minutes for the dramatic homecoming victory.

Tebow threw for 30 yards and ran for 22 on the final drive. The best play was a 12-yard pass to roommate Riley Cooper on third-and-10 from the Razorbacks 40.

Cooper stumbled but still managed to catch the ball. Tebow then played caddie, rushing five consecutive times and putting Sturgis in position for a chip shot.

Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette, whose father played on the 1981 Arkansas team that beat top-ranked Texas on Oct. 17,1981, frowned when asked about the Gators' winning drive. Arkansas had just squandered an opportunity to take the lead when kicker Alex Tejada yanked a 38-yard field goal wide with 3:08 remaining. Instead, it gave Tebow the ball.

"We really have to concentrate on our assignments in crunch time," said Bequette, who had two sacks and forced a fumble for a defense that entered as the SEC's worst statistically.

"This hurts man. I thought we had them. We were right there with the No. 1 team in the nation, the defending champs. We have to take the positives from this. We know we can play with anybody, anywhere, anytime. This was a great environment and we rose to the challenge."

The Gators rose just a tad higher, barely avoiding a Bayou hangover and playing most of the game without their defensive leader, linebacker Brandon Spikes. Spikes suffered a groin injury in the first series and didn't return. UF's defense allowed a pair of touchdowns after it surrendered just two in its first five games.

"That was a great, tough win," Meyer said.

"First off, I have a lot of respect for that team we played. I knew it would be a tough one and I also got the feeling our players were fairly confident heading into it. But in most cases, if you turn the ball over four times, you usually don't win that kind of game. I think our players showed a lot of character by coming back at the end of that game."

At the 86th annual Gator Growl Friday night -- a crowd of 35,000 attended a pep rally at The Swamp that's associated with homecoming -- Meyer introduced what he proclaimed "the best senior class in the history of Florida football and possibly the Southeastern Conference."

Of course, Tebow headlines that group. His ovation was so long and so loud it simply carried into Saturday's game.

"It was an opportunity where we could have folded, started bickering amongst ourselves or let down but we didn't," said Tebow, who led the Gators to scores on three of their final four possessions and 391 total yards in the game, punctuated by 24 first downs.

"We had to just keep playing and grinding it out, When it came down to it, you knew we were going to play with a little bit more heart and our guys were going to dig a little bit deeper, and they did."



Heart size aside, the Razorbacks, who were coming off impressive wins over Texas A&M and Auburn and didn't look like the same team that was waxed by Alabama in September, showed they are making strides under second-year coach Bobby Petrino.

But they also missed a number of opportunities for their signature victory this season -- and to drain all the orange and blue from this city.

Mallett overthrew a wide-open Van Stumon in the end zone in the third quarter (Arkansas settled for a field goal) and they failed to register a first down following three of UF's four turnovers. Arkansas converted just 2-of-13 third downs in the game. The Razorbacks were also penalized 10 times for 92 yards, while UF drew just three yellow hankies for 16 yards.

"It was a tough loss," a stone-faced Petrino said.

"It's hard for coming out just a little short, but we competed and gave it everything we had. Our players were very convinced that we could come down here and win this game. We talked all week about having confidence, believing in each other and believing in what we're doing.

"We did that and we grew up."