Tebow Returns Stuns LSU

NFL News - October 11th, 2009 - Written by John

The Florida Gators had never won under Urban Meyer when scoring less than 14 points. But when your defense is sizzling and the other team doesn't even consider getting into the end zone, it just kind of happens. The Gators only allowed 162 total yards and the SEC West-leading LSU Tigers were a mere 1-of-9 on third downs en route to a 13-3 win in Death Valley. It was the first time the Tigers lost at home in the last 35 and the Gators still hold to nation's longest winning streak at 15.

"Three points on offense," LSU head coach Les Miles said on ESPN.com. "We just got to play better."

A record-crowd in Baton Rouge saw Tim Tebow's return overshadowed by a great defensive effort by the Gators. The LSU Tigers only managed a field goal in the second quarter and crossed the 50 but three times. Tebow completed 11 of 16 passes but only had 134 yards on the night. He was, however, to manage the offense with play-actions and scripted runs he has become known for, bouncing off tacklers and never allowing a direct hit. He floated a 24-yard touchdown pass to Riley Cooper that broke a 3-3 tie, then marched his team down for another field goal two drives later.

"This place is one of my favorite stadiums to play in," Tebow said on ESPN. "It just gets your adrenaline going, then to play against a great defense like that. "On offense, we didn't execute the best but we played really hard."

Critics pegged this game to be the hiccup for the Gators in their quest for a second-straight National Title. No team in almost five years had won in Death Valley, certainly not at night, and Tim Tebow's status was up in the air after suffering a concussion against Kentucky.

"It was a tough deal and I kept saying, 'Would I play my son?'" Meyer said. "But you know Tim. It was, 'Let me play. Let me play.' Nonstop."

If the Tigers had any resemblance of an offense, it might have been an aforementioned trap. Instead, LSU did nothing to help it's basement ranking in the SEC in terms of yards per game and never threatened in the second half.

Tebow was medically cleared to play after benefitting from a bye week and said he felt fine after being hit for the first time. He seemed to be coddled a bit early on until he got his feet wet, but looked to regain some of his old form in on the Gators only touchdown drive. He had a long run on a broken passing play, then converted a third-and-short to keep the drive alive. That's when he hit Cooper on a fade route with 50 ticks left on the clock.

"Those guys have a pretty good defense," LSU receiver Brandon LaFell told ESPN. "We had a ton of chances, then we would get a mistake...Too many mistakes."

The Tigers now try to regroup and hope to play the Gators again. They still have a shot at winning their side of the SEC when they play Alabama on November 7th. If they avoid any more bumps, and beat the Tide, it could be a rematch in the SEC Championship game. If that's the case, it will secure a spot in the National Championship for either the Gators or Tigers for the fourth-straight season.

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