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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