Vols lost the game, but there was Monte magic

It was late and Kiffin the Younger was heading to the Tennessee buses. He had lived to talk about his first trip to Gainesville and only trip to Tim Tebow. Right behind him - that slow shuffle, that wry smile - was his dad the defensive coordinator.

Monte Kiffin was at it again.

"You know, our guys played their tails off," he said. "... But we wanted to win."

But the Slaughter at the Swamp didn't happen.

Florida had come for Lane Kiffin and blood. They came away with sweat. Florida got a game from a 29-point underdog. A record crowd trudged from the Ben Hill ball yard, wondering about their No. 1, which suddenly looks beatable. They'd come for the beat-down. The Romans silently filed out - the Christians had covered.

Then you saw 69-year-old Monte, still hyped up, and you just had to smile.

One writer called out the headline:

"Tennessee defeats Florida, 13-23."

Florida coach Urban Meyer said he went into the postgame locker room to "lighten the mood." Tebow said, "It wasn't what we envisioned, but it's a win and it's good for all of us."

You saw 69-year-old Monte, still hyped up, and you had to smile.

"They said it was the first time (Tebow) hadn't thrown a touchdown as a starter," Monte said.

You had to go back 30 games, before the 2006 national championship with Ohio State for the last time Tebow hadn't thrown at least one touchdown in a game.

The last time we'd seen Monte Kiffin coach, he was on the way out the door in Tampa, and the Bucs defense had played like it.

Now he was back. True, 1-2 is no way to start any season, college or pro. Keep that in mind, Tennessee fans, as you ooh and ah over your ... loss. But there was some Monte magic.

"Coach Kiffin put in the plan in the summer while we were all on vacation," Lane Kiffin said.

Led by All-American safety Eric Berry, the Vols defense made the Gators offense look pedestrian. It mostly stuffed anything not named Tebow. Each Florida field goal was a victory for Tennessee. Each Florida scoring drive seemed a struggle for the Gators. There were no truly big plays. Tebow couldn't begin to go deep to any of his receivers, or what now passes for receivers in Gainesville, which is the real story. The Gators have holes.

Tennessee sacked Tebow three times and pressured him off blitzes a dozen other times. Why, Florida was even forced to use what was supposed to be one of its rub-it-in timeouts with 11:54 left because the offense was confused.

Tebow was forced back to his '07 model, the one that won him a Heisman, but couldn't keep the Gators from losing four times. He rushed 24 times, but netted just 76 yards. He ran for a score, but also threw an interception to Berry that set up a Tennessee field goal. In the fourth quarter, Tebow fumbled near the Vols' goal line, which started Tennessee's lone touchdown drive. If the Vols had a real quarterback, who knows what might have happened.

"The whole key was not giving up the big play," Monte said. "Don't give up the big play."

Kiffin marveled at Tebow. He thought back to the hits Tebow took and the ones he dished out. It reminded Kiffin and his son of Mike Alstott. "Probably the biggest thing is we didn't get off on third down. Get off! We can't give Tebow three more snaps," Monte said.

But Tennessee produced a road map to beating the Gators: Make Tebow beat you all by himself and you have a chance, just like in '07. Don't tell me the Gators don't miss Percy Harvin. Don't tell me that LSU isn't taking notes right about now.

What did Tennessee's defense do?

It did what the coordinator told it to do, almost.

"We should have played better," he said. "It drives me nuts."

Same old Monte.