Gators QB legend recalls heyday of rivalry
GAINESVILLE — Gators’ legend Tim Tebow was there when the FloridaLSU game became the fullfledged rivalry it is now.
The seeds were sown during the Gators’ 2003 upset win with freshman Chris Leak at quarterback for UF and Nick Saban on the LSU sideline, coaching his first national-championship team.
“I think that really escalated it,” Tebow said.
But the 2006 and 2007 matchups took the rivalry to another level of importance and animosity.
Each time, the winner went on to capture the national championship. Both UF-LSU games, Tebow was in the middle of the action.
In 2006 as a freshman back-up to Leak, Tebow threw a 35-yard touchdown in the Swamp to Louis Murphy after faking a run out of the shotgun formation, and then stepping back and hitting Murphy in stride. Later in UF’s 23-10 win, Tebow found tight end Tate Casey with a jump pass that still shows up on highlight reels on college football Saturdays.
The next season the Tigers beat Tebow and the Gators behind the daring play-calling of coach Les Miles. LSU converted four fourth-down conversion and also scored on a fake field goal during a thrilling 28-24 Tigers’ win.
Leading up to the game, LSU fans got Tebow’s cell phone and left messages that included death threats, said Tebow, an SEC Network analyst in Gainesville for today’s UF-LSU game.
“A lot of people say, ‘Oh, you can’t take that stuff personal,’ ” he said. “I think as athletes you try to take everything personal because it is personal. Someone who says it’s not personal, I don’t think they really understand. I don’t think they understand the concept of football and what’s going on.
“How everything you do leads up to those moments. Not just the moments in four quarters but the moments at the end of the games and the moments that change seasons, change lives, change careers.
“So, yeah, all that’s personal. I think for us that continued to build in these games.”