The Florida Gators defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats at the Louisiana Superdome on New Year's Day in the 76th annual Sugar Bowl. It was a strong comeback after their final season championship game loss to Alabama a month ago, and a decisive victory against the Bearcats with a whopping 51-24 final score. The Gators ' season stands at 13-1, which is the first time an FBS college football team has had 13 wins in 4 different seasons, and the first time a team has had 13 wins in consecutive seasons. The Gators' only loss this season was the SEC championship game against Alabama, which ended their 22 game winning streak and their undefeated season.

This year's Allstate Sugar Bowl was a game of breaking records. Departing Heisman-Trophy winner Tim Tebow, the Gators' star quarterback, set a record of 533 yards offensive. The 482 passing yards set a BCS bowl game and a Sugar Bowl game record. A Sugar Bowl game record was also set with 31 completions. Tebow tied a Sugar Bowl record with 4 touchdowns, and set one with a completion percentage of 88.6 percent, as well as for completing his first 12 passes.

The Bearcats have been known this season for scoring high, but in Friday's game they tied their season record for a low score. Coming into Friday's game, Cincinnati had averaged almost 40 points per game, and just over 464 yards per game, putting them at number 6 in the country for yards. The Gators held them back with both the score and the yardage, with the Bearcats managing only 246 yards, and only 55 of those in the entire first half. Cincinnati had allowed only 11 sacks in their entire season, but Florida gained 4 sacks against them in Friday's game.

The Gators forced a punt in Cincinnati's first time in control of the ball, and then managed their first touchdown after a 13-play, 84-yard drive. It only took a 7-yard pass for Aaron Hernandez to score. A 40-yard field goal courtesy of Caleb Sturgis put the Gators at 9-0. A 64-yard drive by Tebow and another 7-yard touchdown pass to Deonte Thompson raised the score to 16-0.

Then Emmanuel Moody made a touchdown run upping the score to 23-0 before Cincinnati's Jacob Rogers put the Bearcats on the board with a 47-yard field goal, the Bearcats' only score in the first half. By the break, the Gators had managed an 80-yard drive and another touchdown, ending the half at 30-3.

Moody scored another touchdown, then Cincinnati scored their first touchdown of the game, setting the score at 37-10. A 4-yard run after a 74-yard drive saw Tebow score again and then Tony Pike of the Bearcats threw a scoring pass and gave the Bearcats another touchdown. Chris Rainy gave the Gators another touchdown down run, then Pike passed to Kazeem Alli and gave the Bearcats 24 on the board, to the Gators' 51. With not enough time left to make up the deficit, the Gators won the Allstate Sugar Bowl, giving Tim Tebow one last victory in the blue and orange.

Photo Credits: Chris Hardie

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On January 1, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, the Florida Gators, the SEC Eastern Division Champs, will meet the Cincinnati Bearcats, the Big East winners, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The University of Florida Gators have played in the Sugar Bowl 7 times before, with a win in 1997 of 52-20 over Florida State to give them a national title. The Gators played a Big East winner once before in 1994, defeating Virginia 41-7.

But a good record of games doesn't guarantee victory, as the Gators found out in their final game of the season. After an undefeated season and a winning streak of 22 games, winning 12 consecutive games in one season for only the second time in Gators' history, the Gators lost the SEC Championship to Alabama. The Gators and the Bearcats have played one time previously, but that was in 1984 during Homecoming weekend. At that time, Florida won 48-17.

The Sugar Bowl, now known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl, got its start during the Depression and celebrated 75 years at the beginning of 2009. Chief Executive Officer of the Sugar Bowl Committee, Paul Hoolahan, said they're pleased to host 2 of the top 5 teams in the country in the Allstate Sugar Bowl this year. This is the Gators' 19th consecutive New Year's bowl appearance, which is the 2nd longest streak of consecutive bowl games in the country.

The Gators' entrance into the bowl game hasn't been without some controversy. Urban Meyer, Gators' coach, announced just Saturday, December 26th, that he was leaving the Gators and stepping down as coach for health reasons. But on Sunday, he said that he'd continue as coach through the Sugar Bowl, then take a leave of absence after the bowl.

Meyer's brought Gators 2 BCS titles in 5 years but plans to let Steve Addazio, the Gators' offensive coordinator, run the team until he's ready to come back. Meyer says he's been suffering from recurring and unexplained chest pains, but now, just one day after announcing his resignation, says he plans to be back in time to coach the opening game of the 2010 football season.

Criticism has come from all corners, first at the resignation announcement coming just before the bowl game which is seen as upstaging the game now. Ticket sales for the Gators were less than expected, possibly because of the final game loss that stunned fans and players. So an announcement of a resignation 1 week before the bowl game, and star Heisman-Trophy winning quarterback Tim Tebow's final game as a Gator, has many in the sports world wondering why. The reversal the next morning is seen as even more strange.

Even the announcement and reversal, and the final game loss, can't take away the achievements of the Gators over their 2009 season, with team and individual player records being broken and set almost every game.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl will be televised by the FOX Network.

Photo Credits: Ludie Cochrane

Originally posted 2009-12-31 01:47:23. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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