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Tebow, Gators dump Dawgs again

The Associated Press

Clearwater native Riley Cooper hauls in one of his two touchdown receptions in Florida's 41-17 win over Georgia in Jacksonville.

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By DAVID JONES/Florida Today

Published: October 31, 2009

JACKSONVILLE - In recent years, Georgia has been a barometer for which direction Florida's season will go.

In 2006 and 2008, the Gators handled the Bulldogs on the way to a national championship. In 2007, UGA manhandled UF. If the pattern holds true, Florida is back where it wants to be.

The top-ranked Gators (8-0 overall 6-0 in SEC play) got four total touchdowns from Tim Tebow (two rushing, two passing) as Florida rolled over the Bulldogs (4-4, 3-3), 41-17, Saturday at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium before 84,604.

Florida clinched at least a share of the SEC East title and needs only for Tennessee to beat South Carolina later Saturday night to claim the East championship outright.

UF's offensive production in SEC play was matched only by a 41-7 win against Kentucky in Lexington.

Georgia wore black helmets for the first time in school history, keeping them in hiding until Saturday's contest. So much for shaking up a series in which the Gators - who extended their national-leading winning streak to 18 straight - have now won 17 of the last 20 meetings. Tebow completed 15 of 21 passes for 164 yards and rushed 18 times for 85 yards. He may well have also made a strong step towards climbing back near the top of the Heisman Trophy race with one of his top games in quite a while.

Tebow had a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns in last week's 29-19 win at Mississippi State. His first rushing TD Saturday was the 50th of his career, breaking Herschel Walker's SEC record for career rushing TDs.

Florida took a 14-0 lead to open the game, with touchdown passes of 22 and 29 yards from Tebow to roommate Riley Cooper (4 catches, 78 yards). Tebow made 8 of his first 9 pass attempts for 106 yards in the opening quarter.

But Georgia answered with a couple of scoring drives of its own. Blair Walsh hit a 49-yard field goal for the Bulldogs' first points at 13:45 in the second quarter. Georgia quarterback Joe Cox hooked up with Aron White for a 26-yard touchdown to cut Florida's lead to 14-10 with 10:40 remaining in the first half.

The Gators added to their lead when Caleb Sturgis made a 56-yard field goal, the longest in the history of the Florida-Georgia game and the second-longest ever by a Gator. Jeff Chandler's 54-yarder in 2000 was the longest in the series between the two rivals prior to Saturday. Chris Perkins' 60-yarder in 1984 remains the longest field goal in Florida history.

Just before the end of the first half, Tebow's 23-yard touchdown run broke Walker's mark and made it 24-10. Tebow also became the SEC's all-time leader in rushing yards by a quarterback in a career, surpassing the 2,535 yards by Arkansas's Matt Jones.

Tebow finished the half 14 of 18 for 152 yards with two touchdowns passing and 63 yards on eight rushes with another score.

Tebow's 5-yard run gave the Gators a 31-10 lead less than two minutes into the second half but Georgia drove 79 yards on 14 plays with a drive that took over seven minutes and was finished off by a 4-yard pass from Cox to Michael Moore. Florida had given up just two touchdown passes all season before Saturday.

But Cox (11 of 20 for 165 yards and two scores) had his day ruined by mistakes, throwing three of the season-high four interceptions the Gators had (two to A.J. Jones and one each by Ryan Stamper and Brandon Spikes).

Following Stamper's interception, with 11:54 to go in the game, Sturgis added a 44-yard field goal and Spikes' interception was returned 5-yards for the Gators' final touchdown.

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