Gators Win BCS National Championship

Gators take down Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 for second title in three years.

By TOM FORNELLI

Updated 11:30 PM CST, Thu, Jan 8, 2009

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While there are still going to be college football fans throughout the county crying foul over the BCS system -- most of those fans being located in southern California, Utah and Austin, Texas -- nobody can complain about the BCS National Championship Game on Thursday night at Dolphins Stadium on Thursday night. The Florida Gators and Oklahoma Sooners were considered the two best teams in the country thanks to the BCS -- which may or may not consist of a mouse in a maze searching for cheese strategically placed under mini-football helmets -- and on Thursday night those two teams had a tough time figuring out which one was truly the best team in the country.

By the time the dust had settled, the Gators proved to be just a bit too much for the Sooners, winning their second BCS title in three years with a 24-14 victory over Oklahoma.. While most of the attention before the game was given to quarterbacks Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford -- and rightfully so considering that the last two Heisman Trophies have their names engraved on them -- both field generals showed signs of rust early.

After throwing only two interceptions during the entire season, Tebow threw two on Thursday night to double his total, but did manage to throw two touchdowns as well to offset them. Bradford seemed to have a tough time against the Florida defense -- they don't play defense in the Big 12 -- and completed only 26 of his 41 passes for 257 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

The starts of the game were Florida WR/RB Percy Harvin and the Gators defense. Harvin hadn't played since the last Saturday of November when he sprained his ankle against Florida State and had to miss the SEC Championship against Alabama. Before the game started he said his ankle was only at 90%, but if that's true, than Percy Harvin at 100% should be outlawed.

Tim Tebow didn't have his best game of the season, but he made all the plays when he had to, and the Gators won their second national championship in his three years there.

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Harvin rushed for 121 yards on only nine carries, and caught five passes for 50 yards along with scoring a touchdown. As for the Florida defense, they held an Oklahoma offense that averaged 562.1 yards and 54 points per game -- 54! -- during the season to 363 yards and only 14 points.

This loss is just the latest in a series of disappointments for Bob Stoops and Oklahoma football in BCS games. Since winning the national championship back in 2000, the Sooners have played in five BCS games -- two of which were for a national championship -- and have gone 1-4 in those games, losing the last four.

Now there may be talk back in Norman, Oklahoma that Stoops should lose his job, which is somewhat ridiculous considering he's had the Sooners in four title games in nine years. Of course, for Florida coach Urban Meyer, two national titles in three years may mean a hefty raise and a lifetime contract from the school in hopes of keeping him from leaving for another job somewhere else.