MIAMI — Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years.
Their 24-14 win over No. 2 Oklahoma in a choppy, sloppy affair Thursday night made them a national champion. But it likely did little to quiet fans of Southern California, Utah and Texas, all of whom already claimed the top spot.
The high-scoring shootout between Heisman Trophy winners never materialized. Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford couldn’t score from in close and Tebow threw two interceptions, as many as he had all season.
Tebow, however, shook off two miserable throws to rescue the top-ranked Gators (13-1). He drove them to the clinching score — he took two hard steps toward the line, jumped and zipped a 4-yard touchdown pass to David Nelson with 3:07 to make it 24-14.
Percy Harvin returned from an ankle injury and dashed for 122 yards on only nine carries. His 52-yard gallop set up Jonathan Phillips’ 27-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter for a 17-14 lead.
Tebow added to the title he helped the Gators win in 2006 with a rout of Ohio State and, one season after winning the Heisman, brought home another trophy.
“Tebow, just call him Superman,” Harvin said.
National chomps, indeed!
The Associated Press will release its final poll early Friday morning.
Tebow was picked the game’s most outstanding player, running for 109 yards. His passing wasn’t so precise — 18-for-30 — yet it was his sheer will that kept coach Urban Meyer’s team going.
It was the third straight national title for a team from the Southeastern Conference, and marked the Sooners’ fifth straight loss in a BCS game. Oklahoma (12-2) set a modern record for scoring this season and put up at least 60 points in its last five games, yet never found its rhythm.
Bradford, who beat out Tebow for the Heisman, was a disappointing 26-for-41 with two interceptions. Like Tebow, he’s going to explore his potential for the NFL draft — not exactly the performance he wanted.
Tebow struggled throughout the first half, his lone highlight a 20-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy for a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Bradford came right back with a swift 65-yard drive, capped by his 6-yard TD toss to Jermaine Gresham.
Florida’s defense, rather than Tebow, Harvin and its speedsters on the other side of the ball, kept the Gators close.
Poised to break the tie midway through the second quarter, Oklahoma owned a first-and-goal at the 9. Chris Brown carried four straight times and the Gators stood up the 1,100-yard rusher, twice stuffing him from the 1.
Rarely turned back in the red zone this season, the Sooners let it happen to them again in the final minute before halftime.
There were 10 seconds left and Oklahoma was out of timeouts when Bradford dropped back from the 6. He tried to hit Manuel Johnson at the goal line, but the pass deflected off him and the Gators ran a perfect tip drill, with three defenders touching the ball before Major Wright had the interception.
Tebow, meanwhile, kept stopping the Gators.
The interceptions were bad picks, too — Tebow telegraphed a long, cross-field throw that Nic Harris easily grabbed and later made a short flip over the middle right to Gerald McCoy.
Were the Gators out of whack? Hard to tell, though offensive coordinator Dan Mullen certainly had a lot to think about. Hired recently by Mississippi State, he becomes the Bulldogs’ full-time head coach Friday.
Both teams seemed to have trouble with the game officials. The crew kept interrupting play for various reasons, and the result was a sloppy, scoreless first quarter.
Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops and Meyer took turns hollering at ACC referee Ron Cherry, as if to tell him “Let ‘em play!”
Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes was equally vocal. A few days after calling Big 12 defenses “a joke,” he got into a couple of early shouting and shoving skirmishes with the Sooners. It was even a bit edgy before the game — warming up in the end zone, an Oklahoma kicker rolled his eyes when two Gators leaned against the goal post right behind him.
Tebow, naturally, came out charged up.
He got off the team bus, walked over to a clutch of Florida fans, waved his arms and then ripped off his tie and threw it into a bunch of tailgaters — tail-Gators, in this case.
By the time Tebow trotted out for warmups, most of the Gators were already kneeling along the goal line to stretch. Tebow walked up and down the line, slapping hands and backsides of all 90-some players.
Notes: The BCS title game next year will be played at the Rose
Bowl. … Oklahoma opens the 2009 season against BYU in the Dallas Cowboys’ new $1 billion-plus stadium. Florida starts off at home vs. Charleston Southern.
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