GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow jumped around and waved his arms high above his head as he jogged off the field late in the fourth quarter.
Florida fans responded with chants of “Tebow, Tebow, Tebow.” Tebow vowed to play harder following his last home game, a humbling home loss to Mississippi two weeks ago. The Heisman Trophy winner backed up that promise with his best game of the season Saturday night.
Tebow threw two touchdown passes to Percy Harvin and ran for a score, and No. 11 Florida thumped defending national champion LSU 51-21 at Florida Field.
“I think we had a little chip on our shoulder going into the game,” Tebow said.
The fourth-ranked Tigers (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) had won six consecutive games, 19 in a row at night and 23 straight in regulation. Florida (5-1, 3-1) ended all those streaks.
LSU, meanwhile, lost for the first time in regulation since falling 23-10 two years ago in Gainesville — taking the worst beating of coach Les Miles’ four-year career with the Tigers.
It was the most lopsided loss for LSU since a 31-0 beating at home by Alabama in 2002, when Nick Saban was leading the Tigers.
The last time LSU gave up more points, Steve Spurrier’s Gators beat the Tigers 56-13 in 1996.
LSU trailed 20-0 late in the first half Saturday but scored touchdowns going into the locker room and coming out to make it a game and put all the pressure on Florida.
The Gators folded in a similar position in Baton Rouge last year and lost 28-24.
Tebow hardly flinched this time around, responding with a 67-yard TD drive that included a perfect pass to Louis Murphy down the sideline and a few nifty runs.
“That was a huge drive,” Tebow said. “That’s the big difference between this year and last year.”
The Gators pulled away from there, getting a 42-yard TD run from Jeff Demps, a 52-yard interception return for a score from Brandon Spikes and a short TD run from Kestahn Moore.
“We spotted them 20 points in the first half,” Miles said. “We never got out of that hole.”
