UC Bearcats got their ass handed to them in a 51-24 defeat, right in the moment that Brian Kelly, 'former' UC football coach went to Notre Dame on a last minute move.
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NEW ORLEANS – The University of Cincinnati Bearcats were determined to make up for their loss in the Orange Bowl last year.
They were more focused than they were a year ago and more relaxed.Then they ran into Florida on Friday night and saw their quest for a perfect season and the first BCS bowl victory in school history came to an emphatic end.
UC was badly overmatched by Florida quarterback Tim Tebow’s near-perfect performance and a smothering Gator defense. The result was a 51-24 loss to the defending national champions in the 76th Allstate Sugar Bowl before 65,207 fans at the Louisiana Superdome.
“Coming into this football game with a 12-0 record, the outcome certainly didn’t go how we expected it to go,†said UC interim head coach Jeff Quinn. “Florida is the defending national champs and tonight they displayed why they’re a great football team.â€
No. 4 UC (12-1) saw a 12-game winning streak come to an end. The Bearcats’ last defeat occurred on New Year’s Day last year when they lost to Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
No. 5 Florida (13-1) sent coach Urban Meyer into his leave of absence on a high note after a week of controversy over his health by spanking Meyer’s alma mater.
Playing in his final collegiate game, Tebow completed a career-high 31 passes in 35 attempts for a Sugar Bowl record 482 yards – also a career high - and three touchdowns before exiting the game with 3:25 remaining. He also ran from four yards out for another touchdown.
He also rushed for 51 yards to give him 533 total yards, which set a record for a BCS bowl game.
“Tim threw the ball as well as he’s ever thrown,†Meyer said.
When UC linebacker JK Schaffer, who spent the night chasing Tebow, looked at the stat sheet after the game, he was amazed.
“That’s unbelievable,†Schaffer said. “He was lights out.â€
Tebow did not throw an incomplete pass until the 12:32 mark of the second quarter after he had completed a Sugar Bowl record 12 straight passes for 142 yards.
Florida scored on five of its first six possessions in the first half - with four touchdowns and a field goal - before Caleb Sturgis missed a 39-yard field goal attempt with four seconds left in the first half.
UC’s usually prolific offense managed only 55 yards in the first half and 246 yards overall compared to a BCS record-tying 659 yards for Florida. UC quarterback Tony Pike was 27 of 45 for 170 yards and three touchdowns. The Bearcats moved the ball in the early going but hurt themselves with penalties on their first drive.
“All that stuff adds up,†Pike said. “Against a team like Florida, you’ve got to play your best. We made the mistakes we couldn’t make. We knew we had to play our best and we didn’t do that tonight.â€
UC’s only points in the first half came on Jake Rogers’ 47-yard field goal.
On Florida’s next play from scrimmage following the field goal, Tebow connected with Riley Cooper for an 80-yard touchdown pass, with Cooper badly beating UC cornerback Dominique Battle down the left sideline to give the Gators a 30-3 halftime lead.
The Bearcats scored 21 points in the second half, but by then it didn’t matter.
UC wide receiver Mardy Gilyard said it wasn’t Florida’s talent level that doomed the Bearcats, but its execution.
“The thing that separates Florida from the rest of the teams we’ve played was execution,†Gilyard said. “They executed better than we did today.
"I don't see a whole lot of negative that you can take out of our season," Gilyard said. "We were 12-0. We got the city on fire.â€
The Bearcats, who unveiled new white helmets for this game, were playing for the first time in three years without former head coach Brian Kelly, who left UC to become the head coach at Notre Dame.
“It doesn’t help,†said Quinn, who will leave UC to become the head coach at Buffalo. “It’s never easy to have coaching changes right before your season ends. It’s hard to do. It’s just like a player not being there that’s a key guy.â€http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20100101/SPT0101/301010020