Citadel 19, (4) Florida 70

1234T
CIT (4-8)067619
#4FLA (10-1)212814770

Final

1:30 PM ET, November 22, 2008
BEN HILL GRIFFIN STADIUM
GAINESVILLE, FL

Tebow, Rainey put Citadel away early in Gators' rout

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Top 25 Overview
It was over when... The Citadel agreed to come to The Swamp to get swamped.
Gameball goes to... Tim Tebow, who threw for 201 yards and three TDs.
Stat of the game... 10.7. The Gators averaged 10.7 yards per rush on Saturday.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1828
Total Yards317705
Passing214311
Rushing103394
Penalties0-03-25
3rd Down Conversions9-196-8
4th Down Conversions2-21-1
Turnovers30
Possession34:5425:06
Air/Ground Leaders
Citadel Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Turner15/3016912
Flanagan1/12910
Florida Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Tebow9/1120130
Brantley8/1111010
Citadel Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Jordan837113
Dallas143306
Florida Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Rainey7142173
Moody13116140
Citadel Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Roberts566024
Cornett235120
Florida Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Harvin276053
Thompson356131
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERCITFLA
TD10:34Louis Murphy 16 Yd Pass From Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 07
TD08:07Chris Rainey 7 Yd Run (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 014
TD03:27Riley Cooper 43 Yd Pass From Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 021
SECOND QUARTERCITFLA
TD14:51Percy Harvin 11 Yd Run (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 028
TD13:16Deonte Thompson 31 Yd Pass From Tim Tebow (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 035
TD09:46Kestahn Moore 2 Yd Run (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 042
TD05:14Cam Turner 29 Yd Pass From Scott Flanagan (Pat Failed) 642
TD01:52Kestahn Moore 22 Yd Run (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 649
THIRD QUARTERCITFLA
TD10:36Javier Estopinan 1 Yd Run (Jonathan Phillips Kick) 656
TD03:02Asheton Jordan 1 Yd Run (Sam Keeler Kick) 1356
TD00:10David Nelson 12 Yd Pass From John Brantley (Greg Taussig Kick) 1363
FOURTH QUARTERCITFLA
TD09:44Emmanuel Moody 5 Yd Run (Caleb Sturgis Kick) 1370
TD00:28Taylor Cornett 15 Yd Pass From Cam Turner (Pat Failed) 1970
Associated Press

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Tim Tebow circled Florida Field, high-fiving fans, posing for photographs and listening to chants of "one more year."

He took backup quarterback John Brantley along for the lap, a possible gesture that it was the Heisman Trophy winner's last game at The Swamp.

Fast Facts

• Eight different Gators scored as fourth-ranked Florida rolled over the Citadel, putting up 70 points for the first time since 2001 and totaling 706 yards of total offense -- the third most in school history.

• Tim Tebow had an early afternoon off but completed 9 of 11 passes for 201 yards and three TDs as Florida won its seventh straight. During the run, Florida has outscored its opponents 369-82.

• Gators running backs Chris Rainey and Emmanuel Moody each went over 100 yards on the ground. It was the second time in seven games Florida has had two 100-yard rushers (it had been since 1997 before that).

• Gators receiver Percy Harvin added a TD, the 13th consecutive game in which he has scored.

-- ESPN research

"I don't want to think about it like that at all," Tebow said.

If it was his home finale, Tebow put on a show -- albeit a brief one.

Tebow threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns, Chris Rainey ran for 142 yards and a score, and the third-ranked Gators overwhelmed The Citadel 70-19 on Saturday.

Florida (10-1) scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions, racked up 512 yards in the first half alone and became the first Southeastern Conference team to score at least 42 points in six consecutive games.

The Gators finished with 705 yards and did little wrong against an overmatched opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision. Even when they tried to run out the clock to end the opening half, Rainey broke up the middle for a 46-yard gain.

Another telling sign of the mismatch came early in the third quarter, when Gators coach Urban Meyer gave defensive tackle Javier Estopinan, a fifth-year senior who has undergone three knee operations and isn't even listed on the depth chart, a carry near the goal line. Estopinan scored untouched from a yard out, the first touchdown of his career, to make it 56-6.

"It was awesome," Estopinan said. "There's no better feeling. [Coach is] stingy with his touchdowns. There's so many playmakers on offense you would never think you're going to get a touchdown."

Estopinan was one of 21 seniors honored before the game, and Meyer got many of them involved after the opening kickoff. Kestahn Moore ran six times for 50 yards and scored twice. Louis Murphy caught a touchdown pass.

"Nowadays, to sustain four years of college football, man, that's hard," Meyer said. "Guys don't make it for one reason or another."

Meyer would like to see three juniors return. But Tebow, receiver Percy Harvin and linebacker Brandon Spikes could jump to the NFL.

Tebow seems like the most likely to return. He finished 9-of-11 passing and ran for 34 yards. He was in for five plays in the second quarter, then turned things over to Brantley. When it was over, Tebow grabbed Brantley, circled the field and heard all kinds of pleas for him to return.

"I think it's cool," said Tebow, adding that he's trying to make the victory lap a tradition. "It's not like a burden or anything. It just lets you know they want you."

The Gators extended their winning streak to seven games, continued their first-quarter success and looked every bit ready for next week's game against rival Florida State. Florida has outscored its last seven opponents 122-0 in the first quarter.

The first-team defense has been nearly as dominant, having not allowed a touchdown in five straight games.

The Citadel (4-8) punted four times, threw two interceptions on its first six drives and trailed 42-0. The Bulldogs finally got on the scoreboard with a little trickery on a fourth-down play. Needing a couple yards at the Florida 29, and playing against mostly backups, receiver Scott Flanagan pulled up on a reverse and threw a TD pass to quarterback Cam Turner.

Turner was 15-of-30 for 169 yards. He threw a TD pass in the final minute, but also had was picked off twice and sacked four times.

"We didn't execute like we would have liked," said Citadel coach Kevin Higgins, whose program received $450,000 for its worst loss of the season. "Obviously, it was a great football team that we were playing against."

Even Florida's backups looked good Saturday.

Emmanuel Moody ran 13 times for 116 yards and a touchdown. Brantley finished 8-of-11 for 110 yards and score. Rainey and Riley Cooper had two of the best plays in a game filled with Florida highlights.

Rainey started left, got spun completely around by linebacker Jordon Gilmore, took a few steps in the wrong direction, cut across the field and ended up with a 73-yard gain. Cooper made a one-handed catch on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Tebow.

"He's my roommate. He was mad at me last week because I overthrew him," Tebow said. "I missed a touchdown there, so I was trying to get him one this week. He was happy about it. That was a pretty good one."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Wednesday, November 19th
17 Ball State 31 Final
Central Michigan 24
Thursday, November 20th
23 Miami (FL) 23 Final
Georgia Tech 41
Saturday, November 22nd
2 Texas Tech 21 Final
5 Oklahoma 65
Citadel 19 Final
4 Florida 70
14 Brigham Young 24 Final
7 Utah 48
15 Michigan State 18 Final
8 Penn State 49
9 Boise State 41 Final
Nevada 34
Michigan 7 Final
10 Ohio State 42
Air Force 10 Final
16 TCU 44
Mississippi 31 Final
18 LSU 13
20 Pittsburgh 21 Final
19 Cincinnati 28
21 Oregon State 19 Final
Arizona 17
North Carolina State 41 Final
22 North Carolina 10
Florida State 37 Final
25 Maryland 3