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Tebow, Harvin power Florida past LSU

Oct 12, 2008 - 5:15 AM GAINESVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- The only pain inflicted Saturday was the beating Tim Tebow and Florida administered to Louisiana State.

The 12th-ranked Gators stopped the third-ranked Tigers in an Southeastern Conference battle, 51-21, as the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and Percy Harvin put on a show in the first quarter and used a second-half surge to turn a close game into a romp.

A week that started with LSU's Ricky Jean-Francois saying the Tigers were targeting Tebow ended with the quarterback and the Gators blasting them from the unbeaten ranks.

Tebow, who was 14-of-21 for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and Harvin hooked up for two scoring passes as Florida roared to a 17-0 lead after 15 minutes. The first connection was 70 yards and the second was 7.

LSU was limited to four total yards in the first quarter, but mounted a rally at the end of the first half. Jarrett Lee found Chris Mitchell with a 6-yard pass to make the deficit 20-7 at intermission.

The Tigers (4-1, 2-1 SEC West) opened the second half with a 12-play, 80-yard drive that ate up almost seven minutes before Andrew Hatch scored on a 3-yard run.

Just as it appeared the Gators (5-1, 3-1 East) were reeling, Tebow led an eight-play, 67-yard drive that he capped with a 2-yard run on a beautifully designed play. Tebow appeared to be headed right but reversed his direction with a pivot step and rolled around the left side and into the end zone untouched to make it 27-14.

"That was a classic Tim Tebow performance on that drive," Gators coach Urban Meyer said. "We had a lot of discussions in the headsets about which way we wanted to go. We usually pass on third down and it kind of gets predictable. ... That was one of the biggest drives of the game."

The Gators opened the gap to 34-14 when Jeffrey Demps rushed 42 yards for a score with a minute left in the third quarter.

Brandon Spikes intercepted Lee 12 seconds into the fourth quarter and returned it 52 yards for a touchdown to make it 41-14.

"We knew they wanted to come in and play physical," Florida defensive tackle Lawrence Marsh said. "They have a couple good running backs, and a strong offensive line, but our game plan was to stuff the run and we stuck with it. We focused on penetration and getting off blocks, and that disrupted their running plays."

Jean-Francois did not play due to an injury.

"I don't know if it hurt us at all to be honest with you," LSU coach Les Miles said. "I know if Ricky Jean would've played, he would've played and played well. That's not the reason (LSU lost)."

Florida's offensive output was the most points a Miles team has allowed at LSU. The game marked the first matchup of the last two national champions in 18 years.

"They executed extremely well," Miles said. "We spotted them 20 points in the first half. We never got out of that hole."

Meanwhile, the Gators are back in the national picture despite a one-point loss to Mississippi earlier in the season.

"It was a great win for us. We knew it was a big game coming in," Tebow said. "LSU is a very good team. We wanted to start strong and we did that. They rallied back and made it a game, but we responded with maturity and took over at the end."