MIAMI—On Thursday night, the party was in Gainesville, not Norman.
Instead of OU head coach Bob Stoops posting a 110-23 record and hoisting his second National Championship trophy—the same 110-23 record former OU legendary coach Barry Switzer had when he won his second title—his team's trip to South Beach ended in a string of misfortunes.
Sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford found junior tight end Jermaine Gresham for a huge gain in the first quarter, but the play was negated because of a holding penalty.
The Sooners had third and goal from the one yard line midway through the second quarter, and the Gators held OU two plays in a row to preserve a tie game.
“We’ve got two downs from the one yard line, and we don’t get in,” Stoops said. “We complete a ball to Jermaine Gresham down to the five or so, and we get it called back on holding. Those are all opportunities for potential points that we didn’t get.”
But there were even more times the Sooners shot themselves in the foot.
In the final 10 seconds of the first half, OU once again had a goal-to-go situation, but this time Bradford threw a pick that tipped off the hands of senior wide receiver Manuel Johnson.
“Obviously, I wasn’t trying to throw an interception,” Bradford said. “But we called [the play], and actually it wasn’t the coverage that we were expecting to run that play, but that’s what got called, and I tried to force one in there when in all reality I probably should have just thrown it out of the back of the end zone and taken the three points.”
That was the story for the Sooners all night.
When it seemed like things were starting to fall the Sooners’ way midway through the fourth quarter, Bradford once again tossed a strike downfield that senior wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias had in his grasp, but sophomore safety Ahmad Black wrestled it out of his arms for an interception on the way to the ground.
OU just never really could get its high-powered offensive machine running, despite a strong defensive effort.
“I thought [the way] we handled the run in the first half was great,” Stoops said. “The pressure we got was excellent, really up through three quarters.”
The Gators broke a 0-0 tie early in the second quarter when junior quarterback Tim Tebow found senior wide receiver Louis Murphy for the 20-yard touchdown pass.
But OU bounced back on its next possession, driving 65 yards on six plays, capped off by a six yard touchdown pass from Bradford to Gresham.
That was all the scoring in the first half.
After a stalemate early in the third, Florida broke the tie when junior running back Percy Harvin scored on a direct snap, giving the Gators a 14-7 lead.
But the Sooners once again bounced back when Bradford and Gresham connected for their second score, this time an 11-yard pass with just more than 12 minutes left in the contest.
“Jermaine, again, you know, you’re talking about a great player for us,” Stoops said. “[He has] great hands, great ability to get away from people and he did. I thought he had another excellent game tonight.”
The Gators added a field goal, and the Sooners were driving to tie the game or possibly take the lead when Black picked off Bradford’s pass near the 10-minute mark.
Tebow and the Gators iced it up when he found junior wide receiver David Nelson for the four yard score with about three minutes left.
Junior running back Chris Brown led the Sooners with 110 yards on the ground, while Harvin had 122 for Florida.
Gresham had eight receptions for 62 yards and two touchdowns, leading all receivers in the contest.
Sophomore tight end Aaron Hernandez had five receptions for 57 yards to lead the Gators.
Tebow was 18-30 for 231 yards and had two touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions.
Bradford out-threw Tebow, completing 26 passes on 41 attempts for 256 yards and two touchdowns, while he also threw two interceptions.
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
jmorganz 3 years, 4 months ago
Fans shouldn't be too let down... here's a fun take on College football as a whole this year!!! Here's my take...and comment.
College football had some interesting twists and turns this season.
The mighty “Trojans” were outwitted by a “Beaver.” The “Gators” got lost in the “Swamp”. As for the Big 12 Title game- all I have to say is “Where’s the Beef?” Oh yeah that’s right they were too busy grazing under the Crab Tree. The “Red Raiders” lived up to their name and were no “Sooner” on the field than walking off a deeper shade of “Red” wondering where the last 60 points went. The Tide ended up getting turned by a “Yute”- what is a “Yute” anyway. Whatever they are- I’m sure “Bama” will be scouting a few of them next year. In truth there was only one picture of perfection- the greatest game played all season was in a 2nd rate bowl by a 2nd rate team who rose above their obscure “Mascot” to prove that true champions come and go from this game every season un-noticed by the media frenzy.
This years BCS Title game was like a perfect marriage- there was no need for “Birth Control” or expensive “Steak” dinners-
The “Sooner” everybody understands this simple truth we can put this crazy year behind us- when you play in Miami- it helps to bring your “Gator” aid. Make sure it is the “Official” brand-
http://simplystac.wordpress.com/2009/01/09/boomer-sooner/
jw190m 3 years, 4 months ago
"No defense Big 12" I believe OU held florida to the lowest point total all season. The next closest team was Alabama with 31.
mfhayes 3 years, 4 months ago
Hey mikemike, your team already won, why don't you just leave it alone.
The game was tied for a good portion of gameplay, so if you're saying that OU isn't a "great team", then neither is Florida.
Get over yourself.
mikemike 3 years, 4 months ago
I love how the last line states "Bradford out-threw Tebow" but there is no mention of Tebow's 22 carries for 109 yards. I thought I would take it upon myself to let the OU fans out there know the real stats..Bradford had negative 18 yards rushing for 238 yards total...TEBOW had 341 rushing and passing!
I dont think OU shot themselves in the foot at all, as the article states. They simply had no answers for the UF Defense, Tim Tebow, and (an inured) Harvin.
Lastly...As a UF fan I was disappointed Thursday night.I trully wish we would've played a great team like USC or Utah instead of anyone from the no defense Big 12 conference!