Game Report

<i>Staff writer John Patton breaks down Florida's 62-3 victory against Florida International.</i> <b>Why UF won:</b> The game was a mismatch from the start. After one quarter, Gator quarterback Tim Tebow had 81 rushing yards and a touchdown and was 8-for-12 for 68 yards passing. If he averaged those numbers in each of UF's four quarters, Tebow would have rushed for 324 yards and passed for 272 (for a total of 596). <b>Call of the game:</b> With FIU in man coverage (and doing a good job of it, according to Tebow), the Gator quarterback decided not to throw the ball away and instead ran for a career-long 55-yard touchdown at the 9:18 mark of the first quarter. <b>What was he thinking?</b> Urban Meyer said he told FIU coach Mario Cristobal he thinks the Golden Panthers will be a bowl team in the next couple of years. If that is the case, why is FIU still taking games like this one for payouts ($425,000)? What possibly could the FIU players have gotten out of this beatdown? <b>Stat that matters:</b> UF was 11-of-14 on third-down conversions and 1-for-1 on fourth-down conversions. In contrast, FIU was 4-of-15 and 0-for-2. Florida also had 30 first downs to FIU's 11. <b>Inside the numbers:</b> Brandon Spikes' first-quarter interception return for a touchdown was the fourth of his career. He is the only active Division I player who can make that claim. That pick gave UF linebackers Spikes, Ryan Stamper and A.J. Jones eight of UF's last nine interceptions.