All photos from the Enquirer
When I wrote the
preview for the Sugar Bowl, I said that one of the 3 possibilities for the outcome of this game was a Florida blowout victory. Sadly for the Cincinnati Bearcats and the fans, that was the case. The Florida Gators curb stomped the Bearcats all over the SuperDome to win the Sugar Bowl 51-24. In case you missed it, relive it in the
live blog.
The story of the game was Tim Tebow.
And Tim Tebow.
And Tim Tebow.
Did I mention Tim Tebow?
In his last game in the blue and orange, the 1 time Heisman winner and 3 time finalist put a whopping 533 yards of offense on the Bearcats. 533! Tebow was phenomenal through the air going 31-35 for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran for 51 yards and a touchdown. It was all out domination by Tebow and his teammates. It was like you were playing NCAA 10 on easy mode, or against a DII school. I've never seen a quarterback dominate so much. In fact, no player has put up that many yards in a bowl game ever. His 31 completions and 482 yards are Sugar Bowl records. It was his last game as a Florida Gator, and it was great to be a Florida Gator Friday night.
The Bearcats had nothing going on Friday night. After a penalty stopped the first drive, Florida marched down the field and scored on a Tebow touchdown to Aaron Hernandez, who had 9-111 and torched UC all night. The Bearcats blocked the extra point. That was the only first half highlight. After the second drive failed, the Gators got a field goal. UC needed to do something here down 9-0, and when they didn't Tebow and the Gators marched down the field and got a TD pass to Deonte Thompson. The first quarter ended with Florida having 159 yards and UC 19. A 3 and out, and Florida would score in about a minute as Emmanuel Moody walked in from 6 yards out. Down 23-0, the Cats had a scoring drive. Jake Rogers, who did a wonderful job punting putting 3 inside the 20 with a 42 yard average, hit a 47 yard field goal to get the Cats on the board. The UC 'comeback attempt' didn't last long. Tim Tebow hit Riley Cooper (7-181) with a 80 yard touchdown pass where Cooper blew by whoever was supposed to be covering him, and the rout was on in full. Tebow was 18-20 297-3 TDs in the first half. It was a show.
This was an utterly disappointing effort on the biggest stage of the season. The Bearcats had a magical 12-0 regular season, and ended in a way that will sadly tarnish the season. You can blame Brian Kelly. You can blame Jeff Quinn. You can blame Butch Jones for not coaching. You should not blame the players. They tried the whole game, they just didn't have the talent, or the game plan. There were no adjustments by the offense. There sure as shit weren't any adjustments by the defense. The Cats played the same way all 4 quarters, and you really have to blame the coaching staff for not setting things up better. The same goes for the offense. We all knew Brian Kelly had a lot to do with the offensive machine, and it showed Friday night. Jeff Quinn was in over his head going up against Urban Meyer. After UC was shut down the third time, it was over. The Bearcats couldn't stop the Gators, and falling behind 23 was the death knell. It was a terrible, terrible way to go out. Andre Revels said this after the game. "Don't take anything away from our credibility. Our record speaks for itself." I agree with that statement. People are going to say, "how were they #3?" "This team could have played for the National Title?" And to that I say fuck you. The Bearcats had a great, great regular season and their worst game in years against an elite team who took advantage of every failed drive, who had a QB have the game of his life, doesn't change that. I think they wouldn't have gotten so disheartened after 3 drives in the National Title game. They definitely wouldn't have had a lame duck coaching staff. Some of that, ok most of that, is anger about the outcome. But, I don't think you can discredit going undefeated because of 1 game. A game that everyone decided meant nothing beforehand. I doubt Iowa, or Georgia Tech, or Boise State, or TCU is going to take this much a beating if they get blown out, but oh well. We had a great season, and we'll always remember it.
A final note on things. I kind of liked the white helmets. They did give off a stormtrooper look, and that's never a good thing. Stormtroopers weren't good warriors. Isaiah Pead ran hard. He had 48 yards, and he earned every one. Tony Pike was alright. He a couple of drops hurt, and he didn't have a game from hell like the Orange Bowl. Tony went 27/45 170 3 TDs. There was nothing going downfield. Would have liked Tony to be more accurate. 3.8 an attempt is bad too. Armon Binns made a spectacular touchdown catch. He was running towards the corner of the end zone, Pike threw it to the pylon. Binns leaped left and turned all the way around to his right to pull it in. Great catch. Binns had 5-29. Mardy Gilyard set a Sugar Bowl record for return yards with 209. He also tied the school record for catches. He may have broken it, I'm not sure, I didn't see anything official. He had 7-41. Mardy took a lot of hits. He also laid out Florida stud linebacker Ryan Stamper on a nice block. Tough way to go out 1. The defense played in the game. 659 yards, a Sugar Bowl record, is fucking embarrassing. I blame the system more than the guys on this one though. Florida took advantage of every opening and there was always someone open. This one made me, and Tony Pike, a sad Panda.
