2008 Florida Gators football team

Before the season

Entering the season as defending national champions, the Gators went 9–4 in the 2007 in spite of a prolific offense, primarily due to a defense depleted by graduation and departures to the NFL leading to the worst defense for a Florida team since 1971, closing out the year with a 41-35 loss to Michigan in the 2008 Capital One Bowl on January 1. Quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman trophy.

In the offseason, Florida coach Urban Meyer suffered the loss of assistant coaches for the first time in his tenure. Co-recruiting coordinator and safeties coach Doc Holliday left to become an assistant at his alma mater, West Virginia, running backs coach Stan Drayton took the same job with the Tennessee Volunteers, and co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Greg Mattison joined the new coaching staff of the Baltimore Ravens. Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen left to become the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the end of the 2008 season.

Schedule

Sources: 2012 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, GatorZone.com

Alabama

Pregame Line: Florida -10

The Florida Gators returned to the Georgia Dome after two years to play against #1 Alabama for the SEC title. This was the Gators' second visit to the SEC Championship Game since the 2006 game where they faced the SEC West champion Arkansas. The 2007 season SEC East representative in the title game was the Tennessee Volunteers. Alabama returns to the SEC Championship Game after a nine-year appearance drought. In the 1999 SEC Championship Game, the Crimson Tide defeated the Gators with a score of 34 to 7. Florida's last win over the Tide in the title game occurred in the 1996 SEC Championship Game where the Gators would end up playing Florida State in the Sugar Bowl and go on to win their first national championship. This game is Florida's ninth appearance in the game and have a record of 6-2 before kickoff. Alabama is 2-3 entering the game with their two wins over the Florida Gators in 1992—the first year of the championship game—and 1999. Alabama entered the game having been ranked #1 in the AP and USA Today Coaches poll for five consecutive weeks while the Gators entered the game ranked #2 in the AP Poll. This was the first time that the AP #1 and #2 teams have faced in the SEC title game. This was Urban Meyer's first time coaching against Nick Saban as well as the first meeting between the two programs since their regular season meeting in 2006 season where the Gators defeated the Tide and then went on to win the BCS National Championship. This was the fifth game of the season where the Gators faced a team coached by a national championship winning head coach. Alabama entered the game with a 21-13 series lead over the Gators.

After winning the coin toss, the Gators elected to defer to the second half and the Alabama offense took the field after the touchback kickoff. With just three plays and one net yard, the Gators defense forced Alabama to punt early. Although without leading Gator WR Percy Harvin, who sustained an injury during the Florida State game, the Gators acted quickly and put together a nine play drive that finished with a Tim Tebow touchdown pass to first year Gator WR Carl Moore. This was Carl Moore's first career touchdown reception as a Gator. The Florida defense wasn't as effective on the second Alabama possession as Alabama true freshman WR Julio Jones made a 64-yard reception ending at the Florida 18-yard line. The next play resulted in a touchdown after an 18-yard run by Tide RB Glen Coffee. It only took two plays and 54 seconds for the Tide to tie the game at 7-7. After the Crimson Tide forced a 3 and out on the Florida offense, Alabama's offense led by senior QB John Parker Wilson were unable to score another touchdown, but settled for a field goal after getting into Florida territory with Javier Arenas' punt return. This gave the Tide the first lead of the game, 10-7, and this was the Gators' first time trailing in the first quarter since their loss at home to Ole Miss earlier in the season. After another 3 and out for the Florida offense, the first quarter came to a close with the Tide maintaining their lead. Alabama opened the second quarter on offense and were able to move the ball 40 yards to the Florida 32 and elected to go for the first down on 4th and 9. Alabama's P.J. Fitzgerald was only able to gain one yard and the Gators gained possession of the ball with the turnover on downs. On the ensuing drive, Florida tied the game with a 19-yard field goal after getting as close as the 2-yard line. This tied the game at 10-10. Florida's defense was able to stop Alabama on the following drive after only three plays and the Gators regained possession a little less than half of the quarter remaining. The Gators were able to regain the lead after a Tim Tebow touchdown pass to junior WR David Nelson. This brought the score at halftime to 17-10.

The Gators received the ball to start the second half and were unable to move the ball having to punt after just three plays on offense. The third quarter would turn out to be difficult for the Gator defense and the Tide scored on their first two possessions on offense in the half. Their first offensive possession totaled 91 yards and consumed nearly 7 minutes off of the game clock. John Parker Wilson was 4 of 6 passing in the drive with 3 of his passes connecting with freshman WR Julio Jones. Alabama RB Mark Ingram finished the drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown tying the game at 17-17. Florida's offense struggled on their next possession as they were forced to attempt a field goal. Florida kicker Jonathan Phillips had the opportunity to give the lead back to the Gators, but missed a 42-yard field goal. To close out the third quarter, Alabama was able to get the ball into Florida territory where they attempted, and made, a 27-yard field goal. This gave the Tide a three-point lead—20–17—entering the fourth quarter. The Gators started on offense in the fourth quarter and drive deep into Alabama territory. Florida ran the ball 8 times out of 11 plays, with the final rush being a touchdown from 1 yard out run in by true freshman Jeffery Demps. The Gators would take the lead following the extra point and would not give it back. Florida's defense proved to be more effective in the fourth quarter than they were in the third. Florida defensive lineman Jermaine Cunningham sacked Alabama's John Parker Wilson for 11 yards forcing Alabama to punt the ball. With the ball in the hands of the Florida offense, the Gators had the opportunity to take a two-score lead with a touchdown. They were able to get to the 1-yard line setting a 2nd and Goal situation, but Florida received a 5-yard penalty for sideline interference. On the second play following the penalty, Tim Tebow threw a touchdown pass to Riley Cooper to extend the Gators' lead and final score margin by 11–31 to 20. Alabama's response on the following drive was quickly quieted. On a 1st and 10, senior QB John Parker Wilson was intercepted by sophomore DB Joe Haden. The Gators ran out the clock after regaining possession and defeated the Crimson Tide by a score of 31-20 for the SEC Championship.

This was the Gators' seventh victory in the SEC championship game and Urban Meyer's second SEC title since becoming the head coach of the team in 2005. This was the Florida Gator's eighth officially recognized title with the first occurring in 1991 before the formation of the Championship Game. With the win over #1 Alabama, the Gators were selected to play in the BCS National Championship Game the following day where they would face against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Oklahoma

The Gators closed out the 2008 season against the Oklahoma Sooners for the 2008 BCS National Championship in Miami, Florida. Although this was the first time the two teams had played one another, there was familiarity between the two programs. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops played a critical role as defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators during the first national championship run in 1996. In addition, Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Sam Bradford met the previous month in New York for the Heisman Award ceremony where Sam Bradford took home the honors. Even though Tim Tebow received the most first-place votes, 309, to Sam Bradford's 300, he finished third in the final balloting, being surpassed by both Sam Bradford and Texas' quarterback Colt McCoy. Florida's staff also suffered an employment change when offensive coordinator Dan Mullen accepted the head coaching position at Mississippi State University replacing Sylvester Croom who resigned. Urban Meyer named Steve Addazio as the offensive coordinator shortly thereafter, but Dan Mullen would still coach in the game. Entering the game, Florida head coach Urban Meyer was 2–0 in BCS bowl games with his win as head coach at Utah in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and his second win coming two years ago to the day against Ohio State in the 2007 BCS National Championship Game. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops made his fourth appearance in the BCS national championship game. His first visit was to the same stadium where his Sooners defeated the Florida State Seminoles 13–2 in the 2001 Orange Bowl. However, the Sooners' last two appearances in the title game ended in defeat, losing at the hands of LSU in the 2004 Sugar Bowl and USC in the 2005 Orange Bowl. In addition, the Sooners lost two more BCS bowl games following their loss to USC. Those were to the Boise State Broncos in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and the West Virginia Mountaineers in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Bob Stoops and the Sooners looked to snap a four-game BCS bowl losing streak and Urban Meyer and the Gators aimed to add their third national championship in school history, and their second in three years.

After winning the coin toss, the Oklahoma Sooners elected to receive the ball and put the Gators on defense to start the game. Oklahoma started the game at the Sooner 24-yard line and was only able to gain 31 yards on 8 plays before having to punt the ball to the Gators. This was a rare punt by the Sooners this season, with the team breaking an NCAA record for most points scored in a season with over 700. The Gators' first offensive possession ended in just 8 plays similar to the Sooners', but this one finishing on a Tim Tebow interception. Coming into the game, Tim Tebow only had thrown two interceptions all year. Fortunately for the Gators, the Sooners were unable to capitalize off of the rare Florida turnover. Before the start of the game, the Sooners led the NCAA FBS with the fewest turnovers in a game with 9. The Gators were tied for second with only 11 turnovers. Florida's second offensive possession was more productive with the Gators getting to the Oklahoma 21-yard line by the end of the first quarter. This brought the score at the end of the quarter to 0–0. This was the first time in the Sooners' season where they were unable to score in the first quarter.

The Sooners had scored an average of over 50 points per game and the Gators over 40 points per game, but neither was able to put points on the board. However, needing only three plays in the second quarter, the Gators scored a touchdown with a pass from Tim Tebow to senior WR Louis Murphy. This gave the Gators the lead, 7–0. In response, the Sooners put together a drive initiated with three running plays by RB Chris Brown totaling 45 yards. The next two plays capped off the drive with a Sooner touchdown tying the game at 7-7 and taking only 2:13 to respond. The Gators received the ball with 11:49 left in the half and were able to move the ball 21 yards to the Florida 36 where Tim Tebow threw his second interception of the game and this one to Sooners' defensive standout Gerald McCoy—Big 12 defensive player of the year. The Sooners' ensuing drive called for four running plays by RB Chris Brown who was able to take the ball one yard shy of the goal line on a 4th and goal. The Sooners elected to go for the touchdown, but were stopped at the 3-yard line by Florida DT Torrey Davis. Florida's offense stuttered on their next possession and eventually punted the ball back to Oklahoma who had 2:32 left in the first half. Sam Bradford led his team down the field and in scoring position with a 1st and Goal at the Florida 6-yard line. Sam Bradford's following pass was tipped by Florida DB Joe Haden and intercepted by Florida safety Major Wright. This was the third interception of the game; the first for Sam Bradford in the game. The Gators took a knee to close out the half tied 7–7.

The Gators opened the second half on offense, but struggled to move the ball and were forced to punt back to Oklahoma after a 3 and out. The Sooners didn't fare much better on their opening possession of the half. After just nine plays, Oklahoma punted the ball back to Florida where the Gators would start a drive taking over 5 minutes. Starting at the Florida 25-yard line, the Gators moved the ball effectively, needing only three plays to get to midfield. On a 2nd and 4 at the Oklahoma 13, true freshman RB Jeffery Demps ran the ball to the 2-yard line before Oklahoma was called for a facemask while tackling Demps. This put the ball at the 1-yard line and the Gators had a fresh set of downs on which to score. After failing to run the ball in from one yard, Tim Tebow attempted a pass to TE Aaron Hernandez, which was nearly caught. The next play called was a direct snap to WR Percy Harvin, who made his first appearance since getting injured against Florida State two games earlier. Harvin was able to rush from two yards out and score a TD, putting the Gators up 14–7. Oklahoma's following drive did not move as much down the field as their previous drives. On the first play of the drive, Dustin Doe and Carlos Dunlap sacked Sam Bradford, dropping him for a four-yard loss. After getting to the Florida 32-yard line, the Sooners attempted a field goal, which was blocked by the Gators. After the change of possession, the Gators went 3 and out to close the third quarter. The Gators entered the fourth quarter with a lead of 14-7. Florida's defense was able to shut out Oklahoma's offense in two of the three quarters played up to that point.

The Sooners received the ball to open the fourth quarter after forcing a punt by Florida at the end of the third quarter. Oklahoma was able to put together another quick scoring drive. This one took only 2:36 off the clock and 8 plays to go 77 yards down the field. The Sooners tied the game at 14–14 after a Sam Bradford pass to Jermaine Gresham, who lost his shoe after catching the ball on the play. With 12:13 left in the game and the score tied at 14-14, the Gators' first play of their next possession was a hand-off to Percy Harvin who ran the ball 52 yards before being pushed out of bounds. Although the Gators were able to get into the red zone—the Oklahoma 10-yard line—they were unable to score a TD and settled for a 27-yard made field goal, putting the Gators back in the lead. The Sooners started their drive after the kickoff at the Oklahoma 35-yard line with 10:45 remaining. On the fourth play of the drive from midfield, Sam Bradford threw a deep pass intended for teammate Juaquin Iglesias, but just as Iglesias got his hands on the ball, Gator DB Ahmad Black pulled it away for the interception. This was Black's seventh interception of the season; tying him for first in the NCAA with most interceptions. At this point, both starting quarterbacks had thrown for two interceptions each. The Gators capitalized off the turnover and formed a drive taking nearly 7 minutes off the game clock. On a 2nd and Goal at the Oklahoma 4-yard line, Tim Tebow threw for his second TD pass of the game—this time to junior WR David Nelson. This extended the Gators' lead to 10 and brought the score to 24–14. Oklahoma tried to respond on their following drive, but when faced with a 4th and 4, Gator DB Joe Haden broke up a pass that would have been for a first down. After the turnover on downs, the Gators ran out the clock, thus winning the BCS Championship.

The Gators ended the game with 480 yards of offense to Oklahoma's 363. Percy Harvin led the Gators on the ground with 122 rushing yards followed by Tim Tebow with 109. The Gators used seven wide receivers to complete 18 passes for a total of 231 yards. Florida defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap was named defensive player of the game and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was named offensive player of the game. This was the Gators' third national championship in school history and their second in the last three seasons. Bob Stoops and the Sooners extended their BCS bowl losing streak to five games and have lost two national championships at Dolphin Stadium after winning his only championship in the same stadium in 2001. Urban Meyer's BCS bowl record extended to 3-0 with the first won as head coach of the Utah Utes. He has a bowl game record at Florida of 3–1 with his only bowl loss coming in the previous season. During the championship celebration three days after the game, quarterback Tim Tebow announced he would return to the University of Florida for his senior season. This game was also determined by FOX to be their most-watched BCS bowl game since televising BCS games in January 2007. The game was viewed by 26.8 million viewers and at least 50 million viewers tuned in at some point of the game.

BCS National Championship Stats

Depth chart

(revised 11-22-08)

Coaching staff

2008 University of Florida Football Roster and Coaches http://gatorzone.com/football/bios.php

Returns

Statistics as of Jan 9, 2009 http://www.gatorzone.com/football/stats/team.pdf