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Rivalry? There's No Contest In This Series

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 25, 2007

GAINESVILLE - It was Stiff Arm vs. Rag Doll.

We checked with UPS. It will cost $118.83 to ship a 25-pound package overnight from New York City to Gainesville. Can we dispense with formalities?

You claim there's a Heisman Trophy race.

Darren McFiddlesticks.

It's Tim Tebow's Stiff Arm.

The only thing with less drama is the Florida-Florida State rivalry.

It's time to seriously wonder if the Bobby Bowden Seminoles will ever again beat the Gators.

If you're scoring, put down five more touchdowns for Tebow, 51 in his historic season. If you're scoring - FSU isn't - make it four consecutive FSU losses to Florida. Urban Meyer is 3-0 against Bobby. He'll be 5-0 if Tebow stays through his senior season. Imagine that. It isn't very hard.

UF Has The Playmakers

Saturday, the final score at Ben Hill Heisman Stadium was Florida 45, Gary Cismesia 12.

Bobby never looked older.

All the playmakers seemed to be on Florida.

Tebow's pre-coronation totals were 89 yards rushing with two touchdowns and 262 yards passing with three touchdowns. Oh, and The Flash, Percy Harvin, ran for 157 yards.

"This is the worst I've ever been around," Bowden said. "Tebow, we could not tackle him. We couldn't tackle Harvin either."

That goes double for FSU linebacker Geno Hayes, who had boasted that Tebow was "going down." Geno and teammate Neefy Moffett ran at Tebow and bumped him after the whistle early in the game. Words were exchanged. Tebow said it was "stuff you probably wouldn't say with your mom around." Geno bumped Tebow. Tebow bumped right back.

You don't pull on Superman's cape.

Three plays later, Tebow ducked under the rush, then ran right past ol' Geno for his opening TD, a 23-yard run. Hayes had one tackle in the game. He was a no-show with media after it, though he did threaten a reporter on the field, only to be yanked away by Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley, who we suppose gets one tackle, too.

That's all the Noles are now - empty talk.

It was never like that in the old days, even when Steve Spurrier was at Florida. FSU could talk and still beat you. It had playmakers everywhere. It had Deion and Brooks and Boulware and Wadsworth, it had Dunn and Ward and Weinke and Warrick.

Now it's no contest.

"If you put Tebow and Harvin on our side, we might have won," Bowden said.

Where is the Tim Tebow on Florida State?

Where's the Percy Harvin?

To think that given its young, weak defense, this was a rebuilding year for the Gators.

Yet Saturday wasn't even close.

Florida might be the preseason No. 1 next season. FSU might be what it is now, a middle-of-the-pack ACC team.

It's the truth.

It's The Recruiting

Bowden assessed Tebow's Heisman chances.

"If he doesn't win it this year, he'll win the next two."

Bowden once lost six in a row to Florida.

"We'll come back," he said. "Tebow can't stay but three more years."

Actually, Tebow can only stay two more years. Maybe it just seems like three to Bobby.

"Right now, they're having their day," Bowden said. "Miami had its day. We had our day. And they're having theirs."

It points to something obvious.

A 5-year-old child could see it - or a 78-year-old legend.

"The only way we're going to solve our problems is through recruiting," Bowden told TV cameras on the field. "We have to get some guys in here like Harvin."

The elephant in the room is whether Bowden is the man to do that recruiting. His contract runs out after next season. He wants a five-year extension. We think he's out to eventually recruit Tim Tebow's son.

Even with Jimbo Fisher at the controls (will he even be here next season with all these coaching vacancies?), FSU didn't score a TD against Florida for the first time in 26 years. The Noles' final points came as time expired in the first half on Cismesia's fourth field goal, an ACC record 60-yarder. Think Bobby wouldn't love to cut that up in pieces, go back in time and right some of those wide rights for another national title or two?

There's no going back.

As the rag dolls made their way to their buses, Tim Tebow apologized for being late with his postgame news conference. He'd been telling recruits why Florida was the best place to be.

It beats Florida State.

Every season, in fact.

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