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Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Swamp Swagger is back.

From Mississippi Melancholy to Tiger Triumph.

In a contest it had to have to stay in the national title picture, UF did not just win a football game.

With the nation watching, the Gators made a statement.

They handed Les Miles his worst loss since coming to Baton Rouge and hung more than half-a-hundred on the Tigers for only the fifth time since the inception of the Southeastern Conference in 1933.

The 51-21 thrashing brought the believers back, as UF rose to No. 5 in the Associated Press poll released Sunday and jumped into a three-way tie atop the SEC East with No. 10 Georgia and No. 22 Vanderbilt. Now talk will return to where it was preseason: a possible trip to Miami, site of the BCS National Championship.

The stable of undefeated teams in BCS conferences has dwindled to five occupants, including possible SEC Championship opponent No. 2 Alabama.

For now, the national analysts will continue to heap love on the three Big 12 unbeatens - No. 1 Texas, No. 7 Texas Tech and No. 8 Oklahoma State. And don't forget the ever-present undefeated Big 10 team - No. 3 Penn State.

But after a game like this, UF will take on all opponents.

The chants by the 90, 684 fans of "overrated" began in the first quarter, after the Gators jumped out to a 17-0 lead after 15 minutes.

"Overrated" became such an understatement that fans quickly tired of the cheer and turned to another staple: "Tebow! Tebow!"

The junior quarterback had been criticized for not living up to his Heisman billing. He answered with 210 passing yards and three total touchdowns, including an 8-for-10, 149-yard-and-two-touchdown Superman-like performance in the first quarter.

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"We heard the talk all week," Tebow said. "So we wanted to come out and be physical and dominate."

Mission accomplished.

A win like this might even get him a spot back at the table for Heisman consideration.

Texas' Colt McCoy will likely take over the frontrunner's spot after leading his Longhorns to a 45-35 upset over previous No. 1 Oklahoma. But with Missouri's Chase Daniel, the presumed favorite, throwing three picks in a home loss, Tebow's stock certainly soared Saturday

"It's great for him to get this performance under his belt, just relax, be the leader and be the energizing Tim Tebow that we need him to be," UF offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said.

Of course, Tebow's biggest competition might be a teammate - wideout Percy Harvin. After Saturday's 112-yard, two-touchdown performance, the junior speedster has 586 all-purpose yards and seven scores through five games. Certainly not jump-off-the-page flashy, but his first-quarter performance against LSU (four catches, 102 yards and two touchdowns) was one of his best stretches as a Gator.

And it was his hauling in a pass tipped by LSU safety Danny McCray that kick-started the rout.

"I knew once he jumped he had mistimed it," Harvin said. "I was just trying to time it up so I didn't miss it too."

A year ago, LSU challenged the Gators' manhood by converting five of five fourth downs. Last week, LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois re-ignited the fire with his comments about taking out Tebow.

Well, UF's third-string safety Cade Holliday and offensive lineman Jason Watkins ended up with more tackles than Jean-Francois after a groin injury kept him from making the trip.

Now the biggest challenge for the Gators appears to be staving off injuries - Harvin, Chris Rainey, Louis Murphy and Caleb Sturgis were all examined at some point Saturday night - and not overlooking Kentucky before a date with Georgia on Nov. 1.

UF controls its own destiny. Win six remaining games and book a trip to Atlanta - with a national title game berth likely on the line.

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