Tim Tebow is setting personal highs in multiple statistical categories this season - unfortunately, they're not the categories he would hope.
Florida's senior quarterback has thrown four interceptions and lost four fumbles through his first seven games, putting him in unexplored territory.
Until this year, Tebow had never turned the ball over more than six times in a full season (2007, 2008) and he had never lost more than three fumbles in a full season (2006).
Making matters worse, the former Heisman Trophy winner lost fumbles in the red zone against Tennessee and Arkansas and committed his third red-zone turnover this weekend against Mississippi State when cornerback Johnthan Banks returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown.
"It's kind of new and it is frustrating," Tebow said. "I'm not going to lie to you and say it's not frustrating because obviously we want to score [touchdowns] every time we get in the red zone, and the turnovers are frustrating, just things that we're not used to doing.
"It could possibly be a good thing because that could give us a little bit of edge of, 'Hey, we haven't arrived and we've still got a lot of work to do.' That's something to really motivate us because that's not us, that's not the way we've always played and it's just frustrating."
Banks later took another interception back for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, this time for 21 yards.
Prior to Saturday's game, only Tennessee safety Eric Berry had ever returned a pass thrown by Tebow for a touchdown - Banks topped that in one game.
Regardless of his NFL prospects or his tendency to tuck the ball and run when the pocket starts to collapse, one thing that has never been a knock on Tebow is ball security. The lefty threw just 11 interceptions in his first three years.
Fumbles lost can often be a deceiving stat, as recovery is largely dependent on circumstance and luck, but Tebow is putting it on the ground at a faster pace than ever before.
He has been "unlucky" this season, as the opposition has recovered all four of his fumbles, but the only season in which he put the ball on the ground more than four times was 2008, when he lost two of his five fumbles.
"Tim Tebow is not playing at his highest level," Meyer said. "He's playing as hard as he ever can. But it's a multitude of stuff. We've got to do a better job of getting him in successful positions, and everybody else has to pick up their level of play."
The defense has certainly done that this season, holding four of UF's seven opponents without an offensive touchdown, but the turnovers have made its job more difficult, often setting up opposing teams with momentum or a shorter field.
Two weeks ago, the Razorbacks scored one of their two touchdowns after they recovered a Tebow fumble on the Gators' 31-yard line, and the Volunteers scored 10 of their 13 points off turnovers by Tebow in Week 3.
