As I sat and watched Tim Tebow speak, his eyes bloodshot and his lips quivering in Saturday's postgame press conference, I thought this would likely be the defining moment of his defining season.
I know you'll say Tebow has already scored a national championship ring and a Heisman Trophy in his first two years, but that doesn't matter right now.
What does matter is that Tebow won that national championship as a backup - albeit an extremely important one - and earned that Heisman as the quarterback of a four-loss team.
What also matters is that Tebow is just 12-5 in his first 17 games as a starter, not much more impressive than the maligned Chris Leak's 10-7 record through his first 17 starts. And that was with Tebow having a much better coach in Urban Meyer and arguably more skill surrounding him.
Now, this isn't to imply that Leak was better or even as good as Tebow. There's no questioning that Tebow is a better talent.
The question that does remain after Saturday's embarrassing loss to Mississippi is this: How will Tebow's story read when it's all said and done, and he hangs up the orange and blue?
Currently, I'm inclined to believe Tebow when he says he's going to push himself and his teammates harder than any player in the country. He's just that passionate, and that illustrates one of the key differences between Tebow and his predecessor.
Leak was a quieter, more cerebral player who wouldn't try to use this loss as a rallying cry for his teammates, while I wouldn't expect anything else from Tebow. He's just that passionate.
But once again that leads me to ask if that passion will lead to a national championship with Tebow as the starter. From the moment he stepped onto campus in January 2006, the expectation was that he was destined to bring the Gators back to the championship heights they hadn't tasted in 10 years - instead of Superman, maybe Tim should be nicknamed "Neo." And the fairy tale played to form for that first season.
But no story is worth reading unless there is a struggle that defines the main character. And as UF's quarterback - and more importantly as the program's "Neo" - the struggle is taking place right before our eyes.
That struggle may be why those tears were welling up in Tebow's eyes on Saturday, as much as the lost opportunity for an undefeated season and the embarrassment of a home loss to the Rebels.
His popularity already rivals that of Danny Wuerffel and Steve Spurrier, but as the starting back who is believed to be the guy who is going to continue their tradition, things haven't gone according to plan.
And that begs another question. If Tim doesn't win a national championship as a starter, will his tenure be considered a disappointment? Is that fair?
Only time will tell.
But as Tebow stood there with bloodshot eyes, I knew how he would answer that question-even if I don't know the climax of his story.
