Entering Saturday's duel between Florida and Miami the prevailing logic was that redshirt freshman quarterback Robert Marve and freshman Jacory Harris would wilt under the bright lights of Florida Field.
Instead, it was the guy who owns a national championship ring and Heisman trophy who appeared the most uncomfortable for the better part of the game.
The Gators offensive line didn't resemble the unit that left QB Tim Tebow with a clean jersey in the opener against Hawaii just a week ago.
The state record 90, 823 fans that squeezed into Ben Hill Griffin stadium saw Tebow as they had never seen him. He was forced to hurry passes without his feet set, scramble when he wanted to pass and overthrow wide open receivers.
"There was some interior pressure, mixed blitz or Raider blitz just downhill attacking with their linebackers," Coach Urban Meyer said. "They did a good job mixing it up and if I had to do it over again I'd mix in some play action passes."
Tebow completed just 21 of 35 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite numbers and a final score most quarterbacks pray for there were only glimpses of the player who scored a ridiculous 55 touchdowns last season. A 14 yard touchdown pass to TE Aaron Hernandez on Florida's opening drive, a 20-yard run in the second quarter and a 28 yard pass to Carl Moore on 3rd and 9 on a play that had to be overturned after an initial ruling that the pass was incomplete.
"That was a great catch," Tebow said of Moore's acrobatic play. "I don't think he was supposed to be running that route and it wasn't planned for him to be there. I wasn't expecting him to be there so there was a little bit of miscommunication and he turned around and made a great catch."
That catch seemed to give UF some of the momentum it seemed to lose following its first drive.
"With 18 and 22 year olds momentum is everything," Tebow said. "When you lose it you have find a way to regain it and we were able to do that and get things moving again."
The Hurricanes certainly seemed to have the right type of Kryptonite that made Tebow seem more like Clark Kent than his usual Superman. Last season a Tebow rush up the middle meant that Florida was walking away with six points. But in the fourth quarter of a tighter than expected game Tebow was stopped twice. As if conceding defeat, the Gators ran receiver Percy Harvin up the middle for just their second touchdown of the night.
While Tebow's play has been less than spectacular this season, he has been successful at managing the game for a team with an improved defense and a wider array of playmakers than in 2007. Tebow set a new record for consecutive passes without an interception with 125.
For the first time in a long while an offense lead by Tebow had to carried by the defense. Something that was unheard of one year ago.
"It's probably the first time since my freshman year," he said. "It's great knowing that we don't have to force anything because our defense came through and special teams did a great job."
