MIAMI - The prevailing sentiment entering the BCS National Championship Game was that whichever team played defense would win the game.
What everyone failed to consider was the possibility that both defenses would show up and play well.
After weeks of hearing about the notion that both teams could combine for 100 points, neither team scored a single point in the first quarter of UF's 24-14 victory.
No play provided proof of this as much as Ahmad Black's fourth quarter interception with ten minutes remaining in the game. With the Sooners attempting to take the lead after a Jonathan Phillips field goal put the Gators up 17-14, Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford attempted a pass down the middle to Juaquin Iglesias. Iglesias appeared to reel the pass in, but Black came in at the last moment and stole the ball away.
UF's defense set a defensive tone early when Major Wright laid a big hit on Oklahoma receiver Manuel Johnson on what would have likely been a touchdown had Wright not come over.
Four plays later, Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford was sacked by linebacker Brandon Hicks.
There was a plethora of dubious firsts for Oklahoma provided courtesy of UF's defense. The Sooners were held without a score in the first quarter for the first time this season. UF's second quarter score also marked the first time Oklahoma was not the first team to score in a game this season.
But nothing set the tone quite like the Gators' second-quarter red-zone stops. When it appeared Oklahoma had finally figured out the Gators defense, as it got its up-tempo offensive attack going midway through the second quarter, UF made its first red-zone defensive stop.
With Oklahoma facing first and goal at the 9-yard line, the Sooners opted to run the ball four consecutive times with running back Chris Brown. The Gators defense held each time.
At the end of the second quarter, the Sooners began to move the ball down the field effortlessly once again - this time to the 6-yard line - until safety Major Wright snagged a tipped pass intended for Johnson on the final play of the second quarter.
