Saturday night, the #25 Florida Gators faced the #3 Ole Miss Rebels at home for the first time since 2008. It wasn’t just another SEC matchup of ranked teams, but a stir of emotions brought back from the last meeting of these two teams in the Swamp.
When the two teams met in 2008, the unranked Rebels upset the #4 Gators, ending Florida’s run at an undefeated season. Following the game, Gator's quarterback Tim Tebow stood at the podium holding back tears as he delivered a post-game speech that will forever be etched into the minds of not only every Florida Gator fan, but every sports fan.
“To the fans and everybody in Gator Nation, I’m sorry. I’m extremely sorry. We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida has never done here. I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season. You will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You will never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless.”
Tebow was able to keep his promise. Following the loss to Ole Miss, the Gators finished out the season winning all ten games by an average of 35 points. They defeated #1 Alabama in the SEC Championship game, and later #2 Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship game. Tebow’s speech, which has become known as “The Promise”, was placed on a plaque outside of the Heavener Football Complex.
Saturday night the Gators played with the same fire that Tebow's promise sparked back in 2008. They dominated both sides of the ball, defeating the Rebels 38-10. Redshirt Freshman QB Will Grier completed 24 of 29 for 271 yards and 6 touchdowns (4 of which came in the first half). The Florida defense held the Rebels who average 54.8 points per game to just one touchdown and a field goal.
The Gators are now 5-0 for the first time since 2012. Will Grier is said to be the best Florida QB since Tim Tebow. If you are like me, you may be wondering: are the Florida Gators back?
I guess we will just have to wait and see.
