• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Tebow, Florida vanquish Vanderbilt

Nov 9, 2008 - 6:22 AM NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Tim Tebow and Florida are on the march, and Vanderbilt wasn't about to stop them.

The fifth-ranked Gators crushed the Commodores, 42-14, on Saturday to record their fifth straight victory.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Tebow is back in the race for the hardware after passing for 171 yards and rushing for 88 more against Vanderbilt. The junior passed for three touchdowns and ran for two more in less than three quarters as Florida took a 42-0 lead.

"It was a pretty good first half," Tebow said. "We came out and executed early and our defense came up with some big stops. We were able to manage our offensive drives well and we were able to put some points on the board so overall I think we had a good half."

The Gators (8-1, 6-1 SEC East), meanwhile, are back in the national title picture with a vengeance. Since a one-point loss to Mississippi, Florida has been unstoppable. The victory clinches the SEC East for the Gators and gives them a shot at Alabama in the conference championship game next month.

"I was really impressed with the way that we jumped out early," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "It was a product of a very good defense and very good special teams. If we play like that and the offensive line blocks for the quarterback, then we're great. The attention to detail and the fact that we represent the eastern side of the SEC as a champion is a great accomplishment for our players."

Vanderbilt was the latest school to feel the wrath of Meyer's attack, which went over the 400-yard mark for total offense despite basically shutting down after three quarters.

"It was a very good half. Tim Tebow came out and played tremendously," Meyer said. "It all starts with defense. I want to say we held them without a first down for four series. ... There were a lot of plays that weren't designed. They made decisions that forced them to run the ball and caused us to get a few hits on them."

The Commodores (5-4, 3-3 SEC East) started the season 5-0, but have lost four straight. Their best chance to become bowl-eligible in what was a once-promising season appears to be November 22 in the rivalry game against stumbling Tennessee.

"We played a really outstanding football team tonight," Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said. "Their speed is really impressive and we helped them out a whole bunch with an interception and a blocked punt. That's no way to compete in one of these games."

In the first half alone, Tebow threw three touchdowns passes and ran for two others. The southpaw accounted for 226 yards of total offense. By comparison, Vanderbilt had 93 yards in the first 30 minutes.

"The thing I like most about him is that he is a cool customer," Johnson said. "He doesn't get flustered even though he's getting pressured, people around his ankles, and we just couldn't tackle him. He comes out of it and makes big plays, looks like he's going to be sacked and they throw a touchdown. I think he's a really outstanding player."

Tebow came out blazing, hitting Louis Murphy with a 12-yard touchdown pass and running for scores from 26 and 8 yards before the game was 14 minutes old. In the second quarter, Tebow clicked with Riley Cooper from 11 yards and David Nelson from 41 to make it 35-0 at intermission.

The Gators tacked on their final score early in the third quarter when Percy Harvin scored from 1 yard out.

Meyer pulled Tebow and the starters, and Vanderbilit began to mount some offense against the reserves.

Chris Nickson threw two TD passes for the Commodores, hitting Jamie Graham from 2 yards and Sean Walker from 14 to complete the scoring.

"I think we moved the football pretty well in the first half, but we just had crazy penalties hurting ourselves," Nickson said. "In the second half, we came out and executed our plays, eliminated the penalties and just moved the football the way we know we can."