Ever since Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy left Florida for the NFL, the Gators have been looking for a go-to wide receiver.
They've yet to recover the production those two left behind, but when the chips were down during Saturday's 23-20 win against Arkansas, it was clear who they trusted with the ball.
"Riley Cooper is our guy right now," UF coach Urban Meyer said.
On Florida's game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, quarterback Tim Tebow threw to Cooper four times, including a 12-yard connection on 3rd-and-10 that kept the drive and the Gators' hopes of an undefeated season alive.
The play was designed to go to Cooper if the Razorbacks used man-to-man coverage, which they did, but Cooper stumbled and fell coming off the line.
Knowing the ball was coming his way on the game's most crucial play, Cooper scrambled to his feet and outmuscled cornerback Ramon Broadway for the catch.
"I just remember throwing it, and I was like, 'Oh shoot, [Broadway] looks so close,'" quarterback Tim Tebow said. "I was hoping it wasn't a pick because it could have been a pick-six. Next thing I know, Coop just dove in front and I saw the sideline cheering that we had the catch."
Cooper also had grabs of seven and 11 yards on the drive, and he managed to save an interception when Tebow underthrew him on a jumpball into the end zone.
His performance late was his penance for dropping what would have been a 64-yard touchdown in the first quarter, when he lost control of a perfectly thrown pass down the left sideline.
"I definitely feel good, but that deep ball needs to be caught," Cooper said. "I take pride in those, and I think I'm kind of that guy, along with [Deonte Thompson]. I definitely have to come down with it."
Cooper finished with six catches for 58 yards, combining with tight end Aaron Hernandez for 13 of Tebow's 17 completions. He left the field early in the third quarter with a hip injury that required treatment in the locker room, but he returned shortly after and played through the pain.
