2009 Florida Football: The End Of An Golden Age
Florida football was riding high in 2009. The last three seasons had seen Urban Meyer’s program win a national title in 2006, Tim Tebow capture the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and then win another national championship in 2008. The 2009 Florida Gators played to these standards—except for one showdown game that left them short of their goal and unexpectedly ended an era of excellence.
TEBOW LEADS A LOADED TEAM
Tebow, now a senior, was already a Florida legend and he added to it this season. His 68 percent completion rate and 9.2 yards-per-attempt each led the SEC. With a 21-5 TD/INT ratio, he played efficiently. He also ran for 910 yards and was the leading Gator rusher. The fact he settled for fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting almost speaks to his sustained excellence—it was starting to be taken for granted.
The primary targets were Aaron Hernandez and Riley Cooper. While both had troubled futures ahead and Hernandez’s in particular would take a dark and tragic path. None of that was present in 2009. Hernandez was the best tight end in America. Cooper, a future tight end in the NFL ,was a big receiver in college and averaged nearly 19 yards a catch.
Tebow wasn’t the only one who could run the ball. Jeff Demps ran for 745 yards and ripped off over seven yards per carry. Chris Rainey had a similar profile, kicking in nearly 600 yards at better than six pop. They did it behind an offensive line anchored by the Pouncey twins—All-American center Maurkice, and all-SEC guard Mike.
Florida’s offense ranked 10th in the nation in points scored and the defense was even better. A unit that ranked fourth nationally in points allowed was keyed by All-American corner Joe Haden, a second-team All-American in linebacker Brandon Spikes and the pass rushing of Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham up front, as they combined for 16 sacks.
With this talent and their recent track record, it’s no surprise that Florida opened the season ranked #1 in the country. In an era where only the top two regular season teams were chosen to play for the national championship, that ranking mattered more than it would today.
SETTING THE STAGE
Florida tuned up with a 62-3 rout of Charleston Southern. Troy was the next team to come into Gainesville. The Trojans were a solid program, en route to a nine-win regular season, but little match for the Gators. Florida dropped a 56-6 demolition
The Gators moved into some early SEC East action with games against Tennessee and Kentucky, both bound for 7-5 campaigns. The home game with the Vols was a bit of a grind but ended with a 23-13 win. The trip to Lexington produced a comfortable 41-7 rout.
After a bye week, Florida got set for a big road trip to Baton Rouge to play LSU.
BATTLE IN BATON ROUGE
The defenses were in control on prime-time in the Bayou. A good Gator drive in the first quarter ended with a short field goal. LSU drove the doorstep in the second quarter, before settling for a field goal of their own on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
It wasn’t until just before halftime that a drive was finished off. Florida reached the LSU 24-yard-line as the clock moved under a minute. Then Tebow hit Cooper on a touchdown pass to make it 10-3.
Both offenses continued to bog down in the second half, but Florida was able to run the ball, holding a 193-66 edge in rush yardage, led by 86 from Demps. They were able to move into field goal range again in the final period and add three more points. That was all it took to get out of town with a 13-3 win.
SEALING THE SEC EAST
After narrowly escaping a respectable Arkansas team at home 23-20, and then defeating mediocre Mississippi State 29-19 in Starkville, Florida was ready for their annual showdown with Georgia.
The World’s Biggest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville had been a high-profile matchup the prior two years, when Matthew Stafford was with the Bulldogs. Not quite so much this year. Georgia was one of four SEC opponents that ended the regular season at 7-5. And this game was a mismatch.
Tebow and Cooper came out of the gate firing, connecting on touchdown passes from 22 and 29 yards in the first quarter. The Dawgs got ten points back in the second quarter and briefly made it a game. But Florida had an answer in the kicking game—a 56-yard field goal from Caleb Sturgis. And Tebow took off on a 23-yard TD run that made it 24-10 at the half.
The Gator defense was in control and intercepted four Georgia passes, two by linebacker A.J. Jones. Florida’s offensive line controlled the pace, and they rolled up over 200 rushing yards. Tebow ran for another touchdown just a minute and a half into the third quarter to make it 31-10. And at 31-17, with the Dawgs in the shadow of their own end zone, Spikes sealed the deal with an interception for a touchdown.
Florida closed out a 41-17 win. They were home free to win the SEC East as the calendar moved to November. All eyes went to Atlanta, where the Gators were sure to meet second-ranked Alabama.
CLOSING ANOTHER PERFECT SEASON
Before the SEC Championship Game there was still a month of football to play and little to no margin of error in this era of college football. The Gators cruised past lowly Vanderbilt 27-3. Florida went to South Carolina to play their old friend Steve Spurrier and came home with a 24-14 win. The season’s second 62-3 demolition came against Florida International.
The traditional season finale against Florida State was unlikely to produce a major test. This was a mediocre FSU team that finished .500. But it was still historic—this was the last year in the career of Seminole legend Bobby Bowden, who had been central to this rivalry. Florida ensured there was no magical farewell moment, blowing out the ‘Noles 37-10.
The regular season table had been run. The Gators were 12-0. They had 26 straight wins. For the second straight year, they were in a 1 vs. 2 showdown with Nick Saban’s Alabama, with a trip to the national championship game on the line.
THE TIDE TURNS IN ATLANTA
Saban was still in just his third year in Tuscaloosa. Last season had been his breakout campaign, but Florida was still the more respected program nationally. But this year’s Tide team had the Heisman Trophy winner in running back Mark Ingram. They had Trent Richardson, a future top-3 pick in the NFL draft, as the change of pace. And while no one would ever call this edition of Alabama pass-happy, Greg McElroy gave them a better passing threat than they’d had a year ago.
And it showed. Florida fell behind early 9-0. They crawled back into the game by halftime, trailing 19-13. But Alabama was dominating up front.
In the moment, you could feel the control the Tide were exercising. With the perspective of history, you can sense the entire balance of power in the SEC and across the country changing. Alabama outrushed Florida 251-88 and the Gators took a 32-13 beating.
TEBOW’S FINAL BOW
The national championship hopes were over, but there was still the Sugar Bowl to try and clean out the bad taste in the Gators’ mouth. Cincinnati was the opponent, having gone undefeated. The Bearcats were playing without their head coach, Brian Kelly having just departed for Notre Dame.
Tebow put on a show in his final college game. He flipped a six-yard TD pass to Hernandez in the first quarter to start the scoring. After a field goal, Tebow threw a seven-yard scoring pass to Deonte Thompson. Two minutes later, the Gators scored again. After Cincinnati finally got on the board with a field goal, Tebow answered with an 80-yard touchdown strike to Cooper.
It was 30-3 by halftime, the lead grew to as many as 34 points, and Florida wrapped up a 51-24 win. Tebow went 31/35 for 482 yards and made no mistakes. The Gator defense completely dominated what had been an explosive Cincinnati passing game and they closed the year ranked #3 in the final polls.
THE UNEXPECTED END OF AN ERA
Even with the loss to Alabama, this had still been an outstanding year and there was every reason to hope that an Urban Meyer-Nick Saban rivalry was just getting started. It didn’t work out that way. Meyer, after a modestly disappointing 2010, stepped away from coaching from a year before re-emerging at Ohio State. And the Florida program has not been the same since.
Their next major bowl win didn’t come until 2018 and the Gators have rarely been discussed as a real national title contender. 2009 marked the end of a golden age in Florida football.