Heisman Trophy winners rarely play their best in bowl games.
But in the days leading up to the BCS national championship game, Ohio State’s Troy Smith was not concerned with history–and not about to alter his preparation.
“If you do that, then you buy into the trap,” he explained. “That trophy was handed out a while ago. We’ve got another trophy to win, and that’s the one we’re thinking about.”
A noble sentiment, but after the beatdown Florida laid on Ohio State, the Heisman jinx appeared more fact than fable.
If that story line was predictable, this one was not: The team that supposedly didn’t belong thrashed the squad that was ranked No. 1 from the first day of fall practice.
Florida’s 41-14 victory Monday night gave the school its second national title, the first coming 10 seasons ago under Steve Spurrier.
The Ol’ Ball Coach was considered an offensive genius, but Florida did one better by luring coach Urban Meyer from Utah. “Urban Legend,” as they call him in Gainesville, improved to 4-0 in bowl games, 21-2 with more than a week to prepare and 61-12 in his young coaching career.
No wonder Notre Dame wanted this guy more than Charlie Weis.
Florida’s victory will bring a grimace to every Big Ten supporter but one–Illinois coach Ron Zook. He recruited and signed 20 of Florida’s 22 starters.
Zook was the only Big Ten coach in the USA Today poll to rank the Gators ahead of Michigan after the regular season. Maybe he knew something most of the country did not.
The game’s best quarterback, as it turned out, was not the highly celebrated Smith. It was Florida’s Chris Leak, a pocket passer whom many thought would never fit into Meyer’s spread-option attack.
Leak completed 25 of 36 for 213 yards and one TD. And he nimbly avoided the rush and knew when to fire out of bounds.
Smith, in the first half, completed 2 of 7 passes, threw an interception and coughed up the ball on a sack. To sum it up, a total disaster.
On the same field where Boise State and Oklahoma combined for 85 points in the Fiesta Bowl, the Buckeyes and Gators tallied 48 points by halftime.
Glendale’s new motto: Where it only rains touchdowns.
Even the game’s first play was worth six points. Ohio State’s Ted Ginn Jr. took the opening kickoff at the 7, cut right, broke an ankle tackle, headed for the sideline and sprinted to the goal.
But it would be his only highlight. Late in the first quarter, Ginn walked off the field, accompanied by a trainer. The school did not supply an immediate injury report.
Florida quickly responded with a seven-play drive that evened the score. Leak lofted a perfect 14-yard pass into the arms of receiver Dallas Baker. He goes by the moniker “the Touchdown Maker,” and it certainly applied.
Florida started its next possession at the Ohio State 34 after a mindless late hit by Larry Grant, who drilled Jemalle Cornelius after a punt return.
The Gators used three different quarterbacks in their five-play touchdown drive. Leak capped it off with an option pitch to freshman dynamo Percy Harvin, who surged 4 yards for the score.
Florida then showed off its superior speed on defense. The Gators blitzed on third-and-14, forcing Smith into a bad decision. He flung a pass into the secondary and Reggie Lewis, a former wide receiver, made a diving interception.
It was just Smith’s sixth interception of the season. He finished 4 of 14 for 36 yards.
Florida capped its next touchdown drive in novel fashion, using a T formation that featured two fullbacks and a halfback. DeShawn Wynn used his blockers to bully his way to a 2-yard score. The lead was 21-7; the rout was on.
Ohio State switched its protection schemes to give Smith more time, and the fifth-year senior responded with a 71-yard touchdown drive.
But the Gators responded with a 42-yard field goal from Chris Hetland. That might sound routine, but it wasn’t. Hetland connected on just 4 of 13 field-goal tries this season, and his long was 33 yards.
Even ESPN’s Lee Corso, who picked Florida to win the game, had advised the Gators: “Don’t kick field goals–the guy’s not any good.”
On Ohio State’s next possession, coach Jim Tressel gambled and got burned. He eschewed a punt on fourth-and-1 from the Buckeyes’ 29.
Smith awkwardly handed off to Antonio Pittman, who got swallowed up by tackle Ray McDonald. A huge roar surged through the orange-and-blue fans in attendance, who were outnumbered amid the stadium crowd of 74,628.
Hetland made a second field goal, this from 40 yards, to put the Gators ahead 27-14.
Florida put a cherry on top before halftime. After Smith rolled right, Jarvis Moss sacked him and forced a fumble, which Derrick Harvey advanced to the Ohio State 5.
On third-and-goal from the 1, Meyer’s play-calling went from smart to brilliant. Freshman QB Tim Tebow, his short-yardage hammer, took a shotgun snap and lunged forward, faking a run. Then he rolled left and flipped a touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell.
It was a legendary call.
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tgreenstein@tribune.com
