As the final minute ticked off the clock in UF's 45-12 win against Florida State and chants of "Te-bow Heis-man!" rang out across The Swamp, his teammates urged quarterback Tim Tebow to join in the celebration.
BI told him to do the Heisman pose out there, but he didn?t do it,C receiver Andre Caldwell said.
BHe had all the fans crunked up, so I told him to go on and do it.C
Naturally, Tebow declined to make such a statement. His actions throughout the previous few hours seemed to say enough.
The super sophomore was 19 of 28 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns, and he added 89 yards and two scores rushing on 13 carries. His second rushing touchdown gave him 22 on the season, enough to tie the NCAA record for rushing by a quarterback.
It was also his 11th straight game with more than 200 yards passing, tying a school record held by Rex Grossman, Danny Wuerffel and Shane Matthews. In the fourth quarter, Tebow broke Grossman?s record for total offense in a season.
It was just another day at the office for Tebow and another win over the Seminoles for the Gators, their fourth in a row.
The 33-point win was the largest margin of victory in the series since FSU prevailed 52-17 in 1988.
BThat was the plan - to embarrass them,C Caldwell said. BThey would do it to us if they were on the other side. There?s a lot of bad blood between us two.C
The bad blood was evident early, as FSU linebacker Geno Hayes got in Tebow?s face following a delay of game penalty on the Gators? first drive.
Tebow answered with a 16-yard scramble on the next play for a first down, during which he juked Hayes - who boasted in the week before the game that his team would end Tebow?s Heisman Trophy bid.
Two plays later, Tebow found himself in the end zone after a 23-yard run, giving UF a 7-3 lead that it would never lose.
BThat was a stupid thing to do, to get Tebow fired up like that,C Caldwell said. BYou saw later on that drive that he scored the touchdown, so it wasn?t too smart on (Hayes?) part.C
Hayes finished the game with one tackle.
While Tebow shied away from celebrating his accomplishments, Caldwell had no problem doing so. The senior capped off his career at home just as he had promised a week before, by making a touchdown catch (a 31-yarder in the fourth quarter) and launching the ball into the stands.
BThis was the perfect ending to my career in Gainesville, with great fans, scoring a touchdown, throwing it in the end zone and whooping Florida State,C said Caldwell, who had four catches for 56 yards and a score.
UF?s all-time receptions leader continued a Gators tradition with the act, following in the footsteps of Travis McGriff and Carlos Alvarez, who did the same thing in their final home contests.
As explosive as the UF offense was, the defense deserves equal credit. The oft-maligned unit held the Seminoles without a touchdown, even without top cornerback Joe Haden.
Redshirt freshman Jacques Rickerson filled in for Haden, turning in the best performance of his career.
BI can?t say enough about our defense,C UF coach Urban Meyer said. BThey?re growing up. That?s the first time I saw them really grow up out there on the field.C
As he has all season, Meyer deflected questions about Tebow?s worthiness of the Heisman, but FSU coach Bobby Bowden had no problem giving the quarterback his endorsement.
BI knew before we played against him tonight that he was good, but after we played against him he was better than I thought,C Bowden said. BIf he doesn?t win the Heisman Trophy, it?s because of the sophomore thing. But if he doesn?t, he should win the next two years.C
