Sweet Sugar Bowl Victory

Sunday, 10 January 2010 13:06

Before Florida and Cincinnati took the field for the Sugar Bowl, the Cincinnati band made a crack about the lore surrounding Tim Tebow.

 By Patrick Annesty

In its pregame performance, the Bearcat band announced it would play the Superman theme in honor of “the real Superman, the 2009 Cincinnati Bearcats.” The roar of the angry Gator faithful immediately followed. By game’s end, it was clear the Cincinnati band made a mistake.

Florida’s legendary quarterback accounted for 533 total yards, a BCS record, and the Gators steamrolled the Bearcats 51 – 24. Tebow threw for 482 yards and three touchdowns, the best passing performance of his career, and added 51 yards and one touchdown on the ground.

From the beginning, Cincinnati struggled to match the Gators’ size and strength. The Bearcats had the ball first, and after gaining a short first down, they committed back-to-back holding penalties, clearly unable to contain Florida’s defensive line. The Gators declined the second holding call because the play still resulted in a two-yard loss. After a third-down completion was stopped short of the first down, Cincinnati punted, and Florida marched down the field on a 13-play, 84-yard touchdown drive.

On the second play of its next drive, Cincinnati resorted to trickery. Running back Isaiah Pead took the snap and threw a backward pass to quarterback Tony Pike near the sideline, who heaved the ball to a receiver open deep. Florida cornerback Joe Haden appeared beaten on the play but caught up in time to deflect the pass. The incredible speed of the Gators started to show.

Florida continued to spread the ball around and score at will. Tebow completed his first 12 passes, and the only first-half drive on which the Gators didn’t score ended in a missed field goal. Cincinnati’s star wide receiver Mardy Gilyard could not get behind the Gator secondary, and every time the Bearcats threw downfield, their receivers paid the price. On two occasions, a perfectly-timed hit by a Gator defender upended the receiver and jarred the ball loose. Cincinnati barely avoided a first-half shutout by hitting a 47-yard field goal late in the second quarter, after which Florida responded with an 80-yard touchdown reception by Riley Cooper on the first play of the next drive. By halftime, the Gators amassed a 30 – 3 lead, and playing another 30 minutes seemed like a mere formality.

Throughout the first half, Florida fans taunted the Cincinnati faithful with chants of “S-E-C,” declaring the conference’s perceived superiority over the Big East. Though many Bearcat fans stayed to the bitter end, a steady stream of red and black descended the escalators at halftime, eerily reminiscent of an earlier game this season in Jacksonville.

Tebow’s performance showcased his passing ability, as he completed 20 of 23 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone. This may silence some critics who say he is not an NFL-caliber quarterback, as Tebow made accurate throws both on the run and from the pocket.

Florida continued its rout in the second half, as Chris Rainey returned the kickoff 51 yards, starting the Gators in Cincinnati territory. An Emmanuel Moody rushing touchdown followed seven plays later. Cincinnati finally got into the end zone on the following drive, but still could not stop the Gator offense. The Gators didn’t punt until the fourth quarter, when they gained possession on their own 4-yard line. Cincinnati added two more touchdowns late, and the remaining Bearcat fans cheered in acceptance of defeat. Florida’s 51 points are the second-most in Sugar Bowl history behind the 52 the Gators scored in the 1996 national championship against Florida State.

While it was fitting for Tebow to finish with the best performance of his career, questions still surround when Florida coach Urban Meyer will return from an indefinite leave of absence. During the trophy presentation following the game, Meyer said he plans on coaching the Gators next year, but he’s “still got to work on [his health] a little bit.” But he clearly did not want to address the issue further, deflecting the next question. “This is all about our players and our senior class,” he said.

As victorious Gator fans streamed onto the streets of New Orleans and migrated toward Bourbon Street, the Cincinnati band played down the opposite sidewalk. Surprisingly, more red and black was seen on Bourbon Street than orange and blue. Perhaps this was due to Bearcat fans attempting to drown the misery of another BCS loss.

But maybe Gator fans were just worn out. In “the season of stuff,” as Coach Meyer termed it, perhaps the Gator faithful were just happy for it all to be over; from the expectation of an undefeated season, the somehow-disappointing victory against Tennessee, the frightening concussion Tebow suffered against Kentucky, the controversy surrounding Brandon Spikes’ eye gouge against Georgia, Carlos Dunlap’s DUI arrest before the SEC championship game, the devastating loss to Alabama and the questions surrounding Meyer’s health afterward, this season was an emotional rollercoaster. Finally, the Gator Nation could breathe a sigh of relief after finishing the greatest four years in the program’s history on a positive note. All that was left to do was go home and rest.