FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Let's forget about numbers for a second.
Put aside the season-high 514 yards the No. 12 Gators (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) racked up in a 38-7 win against Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC), and wipe away the long touchdown runs by Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps in the final minutes that turned an unimpressive win into a rout.
And erase the notion that this was a bounce-back statement for UF after last week's stunning loss to Ole Miss. That upset was a wake-up call for the Gators, and it appears they groggily hit the snooze button Saturday.
"I don't think we played a great game," coach Urban Meyer said. "Obviously, that's very far from a finished product, but that's what happens in college football. We're trying to get a little better."
The offense went the way of the weather in Razorback Stadium - fluctuating between warm and chilly. The Gators piled up yards and moved across the field with the consistency of a lawn mower one some drives, but on others, penalties and poor execution left them stagnant.
On two possessions, UF faced 1st-and-35 and 1st-and-30 because of consecutive penalties, something Meyer said he had never seen.
The overall feeling was similar to UF's play against the Rebels, only against a lesser opponent and without the crucial mistakes that handed the game away.
The Gators didn't catch fumble-itis this week, but they didn't return to the form of a top-flight offense and dominate either.
"Mundane, that's a good word," Meyer said of his offense's play at times. "I would agree with that. I like to use the word awful. Can I explain it? No. You can't guarantee much, but you can guarantee that the personnel on offense is working really hard to get this thing right."
Indeed, Meyer and his players are in agreement that a lack of effort is not the problem. Quarterback Tim Tebow, who said last week he would work harder than anyone else for the rest of the season, performed much the same as the offense did.
He engineered some scores with ruthless efficiency, but some errant passes - including his first interception in 203 tosses and another that should have been picked off - and lack of explosive runs kept him from registering the eye-popping numbers he did last year.
Tebow was 17-of-26 for 217 yards and two touchdowns and had 12 carries for 39 yards. He converted twice on 4th-down runs, but something still didn't seem normal about his play, fueling speculation that he might be injured or sore.
Tebow didn't quite douse the flames that he's banged up, saying simply, "I was all right," and smiling.
The highlight for Tebow was a six-play, 83-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter that came minutes after his interception. He was 4-for-4 for 76 yards, polished off with a 21-yard strike down the middle to receiver Percy Harvin that sent Meyer onto the field to congratulate him.
"I just wanted him to feel good about himself, because that was his best throw, I think, of the season," Meyer said. "He let that son of a gun come out of his hand and split the middle of the field."
On defense, UF surrendered a season-high 361 yards, more than half of which came by way of running back Michael Smith. Smith ran for 133 yards and a touchdown, and he finished with 182 total yards.
The Razorbacks marched into UF territory on their first two drives but were held to no points both times after failing to convert on fourth down.
The Gators also ended a promising Arkansas drive when cornerback Joe Haden intercepted Casey Dick's pass at the goal line and snuffed out three points when safety Ahmad Black blocked a short field goal.
"We had a lot of blown assignments and a lot of guys didn't hit their gaps like they were supposed to," linebacker Brandon Spikes said. "We've got a lot of cleaning up to do before our next big game. Defensively, we're not satisfied, but hey, we got the win and we're going to ride that for the next week."
The Gators will take on No. 3 LSU at home next weekend.
