Gators kiss off Vols
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Florida safety Tony Joiner has a secret. Sometimes he just can’t help himself. He likes to kiss Tim Tebow. OK, not that often. The only other man he’s planted one on, Joiner said, is his dad.
But after a Tebow 7-yard run gave the Gators a 15-point lead in the second quarter of Saturday’s huge game against Southeastern Conference East rival Tennessee, Joiner rushed to his roommate on the sideline and planted one on the Gators quarterback’s left cheek. It got a good giggle out of the media.
Tebow gave the crowd of 90,707 plenty to cheer about in Florida’s 59-20 win. He threw for 299 yards and two scores and ran for another 61 yards and two more TDs.
Before it was over, Tebow did show he’s human – throwing an interception that the Vols returned 96 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-20 in the third quarter. Actually, it was receiver Riley Cooper who cut his route short and UT cornerback Eric Berry stepped in and took the ball away – Tebow’s first career interception in 79 attempts.
Other than that one mistake, for the most part, everything went about as well as the Gators could have dreamed in their SEC opener.
Percy Harvin had 75 yards rushing and 120 on four receptions. Brandon James had 193 total yards on returns – three kickoffs (including an 83-yarder for the game’s first touchdown) and four punt returns.
Tebow said every offensive play almost seemed perfect as it was sent into the game.
“It seemed like they were running the perfect defense right into our plays,” he said.
On defense, UF starts just two players from the national title team but held Tennessee (1-2 overall, 0-1 in the SEC) to 37 yards rushing and forced three turnovers.
“I didn’t see that one coming at all,” said Florida coach Urban Meyer, who remains unbeaten with 16 straight wins at The Swamp as the Gators’ head coach.
After Tebow’s first interception, the Gators’ defense got the points back on Dustin Doe’s 18-yard return of a fumble by UT running back Arian Foster. That extended Florida’s lead to 35-20 with 5:18 left in the third quarter.
It was Florida’s first defensive touchdown of the season.
The defense, which had been considered a major weakness going into this game, came up with the game’s most important play. Harvin’s 19-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter gave Florida some more breathing room.
That finished off a 99-yard drive that was keyed by Harvin’s 49-yard reception from Tebow on the first play from scrimmage. It is the first time since the 1996 season that Florida has scored 38 points or more in five consecutive games, dating back to last season.
“This offense is fun,” Harvin said. “Just throw it, catch it and run. We have so many playmakers on this team, you never know when someone will break it open.”
It’s also the first time UF has opened the season by scoring at least 45 points in its first three contests. The Gators also scored the most points against a ranked opponent so far this season. LSU scored 45 points against Virginia Tech in the first week of the season.
Florida (3-0, 1-0) stopped Tennessee on three plays to open the game and the Vols punted. James, who had a return for a TD called back in last year’s meeting, took the kick and broke right, reversed field back to his left and sprinted 83 yards untouched for the opening points of the game.