Monday, September 8, 2008

With their dynamic offenses temporarily disabled, No. 4 Florida and No. 12 Texas Tech turned to their respective defenses to create separation on the scoreboard late Saturday night.

The Gators' offensive line struggled to protect Heisman Trophy-winning QB Tim Tebow, forcing Tebow to scramble on nearly every snap and throw on the run. Still, he finished with 256 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 26-3 win over Miami.

Florida's defense allowed the Hurricanes to record only 140 total yards. Redshirt freshman Robert Marve, in his first start for Miami, was held to 69 yards passing and was sacked three times.

Meantime, Texas Tech had its hands full with Nevada during an off night, relatively speaking, for QB Graham Harrell. Yes, the Red Raiders scored 30 or more points for the 18th time in its past 20 games in the 35-19 win, but Harrell was inconsistent, completing 19 of 46 passes for 297 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

Texas Tech's defense gave up 488 total yards, but it limited the Nevada offense to four field goals through the first three quarters until the game was out of reach. A third-quarter touchdown by Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick was overturned after a lengthy review. Officials ruled Kaepernick had fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line and that Texas Tech had recovered it.

-- Steve Yanda