Lord, please let this SEC team beat Utah. Amen.
A. Leon Polhill FlaNative1845 330 NW 45th Street Gainesville, FL 32607 (352) 367-4642 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Oliver Barry Sent: Monday, December 08, 2008 12:03 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [gatornews] Tide perspective Tide lets game slip away to Gators <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060261/1016/NEWS?Title=T ide_lets_game_slip_away_to_Gators> Tuscaloosa News | Dusty Compton Tim Tebow splits Alabama defenders Javier Arenas and Justin Woodall. By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor Published: Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, December 6, 2008 at 11:58 p.m. TUSCALOOSA | All that stood between the University of Alabama football team and a chance to play for a national championship was 15 minutes - and Tim Tebow. Related Links: * Jones, <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060257> other freshmen, come up big in the clutch * Kicking <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060255> themselves * Tide <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060253> likely New Orleans bound for Sugar Bowl * Zoned out <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060219> * Tide <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060217> grabs momentum, but can't hold on * Loss <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081207/NEWS/812060215> tough on Tide players * CECIL <http://www.tidesports.com/article/20081206/NEWS/812060259> HURT: This one's going to sting for some time That proved to be too much. Alabama took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter of the SEC Championship Game on Saturday in the Georgia Dome, but watched its grasp on greatness slip away as Florida pulled away for a 31-20 victory, the first loss of the year for the Crimson Tide. The victory will put Florida in the BCS title game in early January, as well as giving the Gators the SEC title. Alabama is expected to take a bid to the Sugar Bowl, where it will face Utah and wonder what might have been. As in any classic game - and the contest did live up to most, if not all, of the pregame hyperbole - every moment, from Florida's opening touchdown drive to John Parker Wilson's late, coffin-closing interception, resonated in some way. But no sequence was more important than Florida's go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter. "I don't know the entire history of Florida football, but I can imagine that drive going down as one of the greatest ever," said Florida coach Urban Meyer. The Crimson Tide had just taken the lead by powering the football down the field on an impressive 65-yard drive, or, as Meyer described it, "jamming it down our throats." But the drive ended, not in a touchdown, but in a 27-yard Leigh Tiffin field goal, putting the Crimson Tide ahead 20-17. "I thought that would have been a big momentum thing right there, if we had scored a touchdown instead of a field goal," Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. Still, Alabama had taken the lead. Florida started its answering drive in good field position after Brandon James - a weapon for the Gators all day long - returned the UA kickoff to the 37-yard line. The Gators moved into Alabama territory and, on a crucial third-and-three, appeared to have been stopped short of a first down at the Crimson Tide 43-yard line. But UA freshman linebacker Donta Hightower was flagged for a facemask violation, putting the Gators at the Crimson Tide 28. Five plays later, Jeffery Demps scored from the 1-yard line to give Florida a lead it never relinquished. Saban described Alabama's attempt to answer on the next series as "not very good." "We tried a deep ball, didn't hit, didn't run very well on second down, couldn't convert (on a pass) on third down and had to punt," Saban said. "It was a really critical series for us." Florida's answering drive pushed the Tide's stalling from "critical" to "decisive." Powered by Tebow, the game's MVP, Florida marched 65 yards and scored again. Tebow hit a 33-yard pass to Louis Murphy to flip field position, then - after a penalty on the UF sidelines pushed the Gators back from the 1-yard line - the junior threw a six-yard strike to Riley Cooper to put UF ahead 31-20. Alabama managed one first down on its next possession, but a harried Wilson threw an interception that ended all Alabama hopes with 99 seconds to play. Tebow finished the game with 57 yards rushing and was 14 of 22 passing for 216 yards. "He's a great competitor, no doubt," Saban said. "I think he takes his team on his shoulders a lot. I think his leadership . really affects his teammates." Florida, a 10-point favorite, looked the part in the first quarter, stopping Alabama on the first possession, then driving 59 yards to take a 7-0 lead on the first of Tebow's three touchdown passes, a 3-yard toss to Carl Moore. Alabama came back with a lightning drive that consisted off a 64-yard Wilson-to-Julio Jones pass, followed by an 18-yard touchdown run by Glen Coffee. Despite nagging injuries, Coffee rushed for 112 yards on 21 carries in the game. Alabama got a 30-yard Tiffin field goal later in the quarter to take a 10-7 lead. Two special teams miscues by Alabama help set up two second-quarter Gator scores. First, with Tiffin feeling the after-effects of a blow to the head, Alabama, which had reached the Gators' 32-yard line, ran a fake field goal. It was a play that Saban later said "should not have been run" due to Florida's formation. It found no success. Florida took over at the Crimson Tide 31 and marched for a game-tying field goal. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Javier Arenas fielded the ball and stepped out of bounds at the 4-yard line. The Crimson Tide could not muster a first down, and punted the ball back to Florida at the Gator 43. The Gators then went 57 yards for a touchdown - a 5-yard pass from Tebow to David Nelson - that gave UF a 17-10 halftime lead. Alabama tied the game on Mark Ingram's 2-yard touchdown run with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter, then went ahead on Tiffin's field goal with eight seconds remaining in the period. But the fourth quarter belonged to Florida. "We're a tough team," said Meyer, whose Gators join Alabama at 12-1. "People talk about how we are fast and all that, but the Gators are a tough team." Saban congratulated Florida, but added that he was "proud of what our football team accomplished this year. "We didn't get the result that we hoped for today. We kind of ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. But I think both teams played extremely well in this game." --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY! 1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions 2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
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