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		<description>RUWT? News for Florida vs. Oklahoma 1/9/2009</description>
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		<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:52:07 GMT</pubDate>
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				<title><![CDATA[Florida stifles Bradford, beats Oklahoma for national title]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[MIAMI (Ticker) -- Florida chomped down on Sam Bradford, slowing 
Oklahoma's record-setting offense to a virtual crawl.

In doing so, Tim Tebow and Urban Meyer were able to bring 
another national championship trophy home to "The Swamp."

Tebow threw two touchdown passes and the second-ranked Gators 
intercepted Bradford twice en route to a 24-14 victory over 
top-ranked Oklahoma in Thursday's BCS championship game at 
Dolphin Stadium.

"I'm so proud of my teammates (that) came out here and battled 
for four quarters and played with so much heart," said Tebow, 
who was named the game's MVP.  "I wanted to do whatever I could 
to help my team win this game."

It was the third national championship in Florida school history
and the program's second under Meyer, who has brought the Gators
back to the top of the college football world since arriving in 
Gainesville less than five years ago.

"I'm going to enjoy this one," Meyer said.  "You know why, 
because I've got a team I can trust.

"Some guys are going to make some decisions on their careers 
here in the next few days.  I know one thing, we've got a very, 
very good team coming back.  So we're going to get to work but 
we're going to enjoy this one.  They deserve it."

Conversely, it was another big-game flop for coach Bob Stoops 
and the Sooners, who have lost their last three bids for the 
national title and fell to 0-5 in their last five BCS bowls.

"We came up a play or two short, they made them," Stoops said.  
"But it was a heck of a game, and I'm just proud of our 
players."

Stoops did not acknowledge being disappointed in his recent BCS 
record.

"In the end, I'll be glad to try it again next year," he said.  
"If that's the biggest burden I have to bear in my life, I'll be
a pretty lucky guy."

Billed as a potential shootout between two of the nation's top 
offenses, the game was scoreless after one quarter, setting the 
stage for what would become a slugfest dominated by the Gators' 
defense.

The slow-paced contest undoubtedly opened the door for further 
debate regarding college football's process of determining a 
champion.

Although the Gators (13-1) were the best team at Dolphin 
Stadium, supporters of undefeated Utah or fans of one-loss 
powerhouses like Southern California or Texas certainly will 
claim that Florida is an undeserving BCS champion.

Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, for one, is satisfied with 
the current BCS system.

"We played in the national championship game today," Spikes 
said.  "That's the way the bowl system is set up.  It is what it
is, and I think the best team won tonight."

Hours after their victory, the Gators were installed as a 
near-unanimous No. 1 in the final coaches' poll, claiming 60 of 
a possible 61 first-place votes.

The season-ending balloting, however, meant little to Meyer.

"We're going to enjoy a big win, we're going to enjoy the 
national championship," he said. "Let someone else worry about 
(the rankings.)"

Oklahoma scored an NCAA-record 702 points during its first 13 
games and put up at least 60 points in each of its previous five
contests, also a national record.

But the Gators completely stifled the Sooners, holding them to 
just 363 yards from scrimmage by constantly harassing Bradford.

"Obviously they're a great defense," said Bradford, who was 
sacked twice.  "I don't know if it's one thing that they did 
tonight.  I think there were a couple times where we got 
ourselves in trouble by getting ourselves behind the chains, 
forcing ourselves into bad situations."

"We really wanted to stop their run, and we had some success 
with that," Spikes said.  "When they tried to pass the ball, we 
got them out of that early."

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Bradford passed for 256 
yards and two touchdowns for Oklahoma (12-2), which was held to 
its lowest single-game point total in over 15 months.

The redshirt sophomore threw a pair of costly interceptions, 
including one with 10 minutes remaining in the contest that 
halted a potential go-ahead drive.

Tebow, who won the 2007 Heisman, outplayed his signal-calling 
counterpart, passing for 231 yards while grinding out 109 on the
ground.  The junior also was a major contributor as a reserve on
Florida's 2006 national title squad, which won the championship 
in its second season under Meyer.

"They were hitting to the whistle, that's for sure," Tebow said.
"They were doing a good job of getting to me and trying to get 
some licks.  But I felt my body was able to withstand it, and I 
felt pretty good when the game ended."

"(Tebow) is a great guy, a great character guy," Oklahoma 
defensive back Nic Harris added. "He can beat you with his feet,
obviously, which you just saw.  He's one of those guys that you 
give him your best shot, he's going to get back up."

The Sooners forged a 14-14 tie with 12:13 remaining when 
Bradford capped an eight-play drive with his second TD pass of 
the game, an 11-yard catch-and-run to tight end Jermaine 
Gresham.

But Florida responded quickly thanks to speedster Percy Harvin, 
who ripped off runs of 52 and 12 yards to advance the Gators to 
Oklahoma's 11-yard line.  Jonathan Phillips' 28-yard field goal 
with 10:45 remaining gave Florida the lead for good at 17-14.

Bradford and the Sooners quickly moved the ball to midfield on 
the ensuing drive.

But the tide turned when Bradford's long pass over the middle 
went through the hands of wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias and was
intercepted by safety Ahmad Black, who made an acrobatic move to
cradle the ball in his right arm and retain possession before 
hitting the ground.

"The play of the game was Ahmad Black snatching the ball away 
from the receiver," Meyer said. "We're up by three and that's a 
potential go-ahead touchdown."

That set the stage for Tebow, who orchestrated a game-clinching 
drive with his arm, legs and uncanny decision-making.  He 
completed all six of his pass attempts on the 11-play march and 
helped the Gators convert a pair of long third downs.

After hooking up with tight end Aaron Hernandez for a 9-yard 
shovel pass on 3rd-and-6 from the Oklahoma 16, Tebow gave 
Florida a 24-14 lead two plays later with one of his patented 
moves, a 4-yard rollout jump-throw to David Nelson with 3:07 
remaining.

"It's a perfect ending to a perfect season," Nelson said.

Harvin, who missed the SEC championship game with a high ankle 
sprain, did not appear hampered by the injury.  The junior ran 
for 122 yards, hauled in five receptions for 49 yards and gave 
Florida a 14-7 lead with his 2-yard TD run late in the third 
quarter.

"That was one of the guttiest performances I've ever been 
around," Meyer said.  "And to look at the statistics, (Harvin) 
had almost 200 yards of total offense for us."

Oklahoma's Chris Brown also was productive on the ground, 
finishing with 110 yards on 22 carries.

But the high-powered Sooners were kept in check, largely because
Florida dominated time of possession.  The Gators held the ball 
for nearly 35 minutes and converted 12-of-17 third downs.

"(Going) 12-of-17 on third down, 4-of-4 in the red zone, that's 
where the game was won," Meyer said.

The teams entered halftime tied at 7-7 in an opening 30 minutes 
highlighted by two crucial stops from Florida's defense.

Oklahoma appeared to gain momentum when defensive tackle Gerald 
McCoy intercepted Tebow at the Gators' 26-yard line.  But after 
moving the ball to within inches of the goal line, Oklahoma came
up empty on the drive when Brown was stuffed on two consecutive 
running plays.

The second tackle was made by defensive tackle Torrey Davis, who
tripped up Brown at the 2-yard line.

After forcing Florida to punt on the ensuing possession, 
Oklahoma turned to Bradford, who completed seven straight passes
and drove the Sooners to the Gators' 6 following an 11-yard 
strike to Gresham.

But with 10 seconds left in the first half and the score still 
tied at 7-7, Bradford was intercepted near the goal line by 
safety Major Wright.

"I tried to force one in there," Bradford admitted.  "I probably
should have just thrown it in the back of the end zone and taken
the three points."

"Those were big factors in the game, being down in the red zone 
in those two occasions and end up with nothing," Stoops added.

After a scoreless first quarter, Florida took the first lead of 
the game when Tebow hooked up with Louis Murphy for a 20-yard 
touchdown less than a minute into the second quarter.

Facing a 3rd-and-9, Tebow evaded a defender and rolled to his 
right before finding Murphy, who broke Dominique Franks' tackle 
before stretching the ball across the goal line to give Florida 
a 7-0 lead with 14:02 left in the first half.

The touchdown punctuated a 12-play, 86-yard drive in which the 
Gators converted three third downs.

Oklahoma was not nearly as deliberate, answering with a 
lightning-quick, six-play drive capped by Bradford's 6-yard 
scoring strike to Gresham.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[ncaaf]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/ncaaf/news/84973-Florida-stifles-Bradford-beats-Oklahoma-for-national-title</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/ncaaf/news/84973-Florida-stifles-Bradford-beats-Oklahoma-for-national-title</guid>
				<pubDate>Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:08:09 GMT</pubDate>
			</item>
		
			<item>
				<title><![CDATA[Bradford, Oklahoma take on Tebow, Florida for national title]]></title>
				<description><![CDATA[(2) Florida (12-1) vs. (1) Oklahoma (12-1), 8:00 pm EST

MIAMI (Ticker) -- Oklahoma and Florida, two of college 
football's most successful programs in recent years, will meet 
for the first time - with a national championship on the line.

After dominating their respective conferences over the last two 
months of the regular season, Sam Bradford and the top-ranked 
Sooners will square off with Tim Tebow and the second-ranked 
Gators in Thursday night's BCS championship game at Miami's 
Dolphin Stadium.

Oklahoma (12-1) climbed to No. 1 in the rankings following a 
62-21 thrashing of Missouri in the Big 12 Conference 
championship game.  It was the third consecutive Big 12 title 
for the Sooners, who set an NCAA record by scoring at least 60 
points in five consecutive games.

Florida (12-1) vaulted to second by virtue of a 31-20 victory 
over then-No. 1 Alabama in the SEC title game.

The Gators, who rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit against 
the previously undefeated Crimson Tide, will play in the BCS 
championship game for the second time in three years.

"We have not faced a team quite like Oklahoma this year," 
Florida head coach Urban Meyer said.  "We have great respect for
Oklahoma, but the Gators are pretty good, too."

To say that the Sooners and the Gators have been "pretty good" 
over the last two decades would be a drastic understatement.

Oklahoma has won a national championship and six conference 
titles since Bob Stoops, a former Florida assistant, arrived in 
Norman 10 years ago.  The Gators also have been a national 
powerhouse, winning two national titles and eight SEC crowns 
since 1991.

But these two programs have never played each other - a 
coincidental occurrence that will end Thursday night.

In typical fashion, the BCS title matchup did not come without a
bit of controversy.

Oklahoma earned a berth in the Big 12 title game by virtue of 
its superior rankings in the penultimate BCS standings, which 
allowed the Sooners to win a three-way tiebreaker with Texas and
Texas Tech for the conference's South Division crown.

BCS bashers bemoaned the Sooners' No. 2 ranking, pointing to 
Oklahoma's 45-35 loss against Texas on a neutral field earlier 
this season.

But Stoops believes that the hottest team in the country right 
now is Oklahoma, which broke a Football Bowl Subdivision record 
by piling up 702 overall points this season.

"We beat five ranked teams and three ranked teams as the last 
three games of the year," Stoops said.  "That decided (the BCS 
rankings)."

Stoops also has downplayed the importance of Oklahoma's loss to 
Texas, arguing that head-to-head records became insignificant 
when the Longhorns were upset by Texas Tech on November 1.

"Some people in the media want you to believe that head-to-head 
is all that matters," Stoops said.  "But in the end, 
head-to-head didn't matter because Texas lost to Texas Tech."

Since their loss to the Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry game,
the Sooners been dominant thanks to the outstanding play of 
Bradford, who passed for a school-record 4,635 yards and 48 
touchdowns en route to winning the Heisman Trophy.

Despite playing with torn thumb ligaments in his non-throwing 
hand, Bradford passed for 384 yards and two TDs against 
Missouri, punctuating a phenomenal season that ended with the 
redshirt sophomore winning the Heisman.

The Gators also have been led by an outstanding quarterback in 
Tebow, last year's Heisman winner.  The junior threw three 
scoring passes in the SEC title game to cap a season in which he
passed for 28 TDs against only two interceptions.

Although he delivered his second consecutive stellar season, 
Tebow clearly has not impressed Oklahoma defensive back 
Dominique Franks, who made headlines earlier this week when he 
claimed that the southpaw would only be the fourth-best 
quarterback in the Big 12.

Franks emphasized the quality of Big 12 quarterbacks during 
media interviews Sunday, ranking Tebow behind Oklahoma's Sam 
Bradford, Texas' Colt McCoy and Texas Tech's Graham Harrell.

"I'd say (Tebow) would probably be about the fourth-best 
quarterback in our conference," Franks said.  "I really think 
with those three guys, it's a lot harder to prepare for those 
guys."

Tebow laughed at the comments, refusing to give the Sooners 
bulletin-board material.

"That might have been a compliment," Tebow said.  "I'm thankful 
for being fourth.  There's a lot of good quarterbacks in the Big
12."

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables did not agree with
the assessment made by Franks, a sophomore.

"I don't know, maybe it's just a young guy who doesn't know any 
better," Venables said.  "He doesn't watch enough tape.  I 
really mean that.  But I think he's going to bat for a lot of 
guys who he has a lot of respect for."

Franks, Venables and the Sooners have been forced to answer 
questions regarding an Oklahoma defense that ranked 63rd overall
nationally and 98th against the pass.

Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes fired back at the Sooners, 
saying that Oklahoma's defense is a "joke."

"That's what it is," Spikes said during Monday's media day.  
"When I watch SportsCenter, I look at the scores and it's 56-49,
just basketball scores.

"Ole Miss ran up and down the field on a Big 12 defense (Texas 
Tech in the Cotton Bowl).  It's just crazy.  That's just my 
perception of the Big 12 defenses."

Florida's defense, on the other hand, allowed just 12.8 points 
per game - the best mark in the rugged SEC.

The Gators also will not have to worry about Oklahoma running 
back DeMarco Murray, who suffered a torn hamstring on the first 
play of the Big 12 title game and will not play Thursday.

Florida also was without its top speedster, Percy Harvin, in its
conference championship game.  But Harvin, who is nursing an 
injured ankle, expects to play Thursday.]]></description>
				<category><![CDATA[ncaaf]]></category>
				<link>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/ncaaf/news/84714-Bradford-Oklahoma-take-on-Tebow-Florida-for-national-title</link>
				<guid>http://areyouwatchingthis.com/ncaaf/news/84714-Bradford-Oklahoma-take-on-Tebow-Florida-for-national-title</guid>
				<pubDate>Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:30:52 GMT</pubDate>
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