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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, November 29, 2009

No. 1 Florida stays unbeaten


By Mark Long
Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is on his way to an 18-yard TD in the second quarter against Florida State.

PHIL SANDLIN | Associated Press

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Tim Tebow's eye black is waterproof.

His perfect season is starting to look shatterproof.

Tebow accounted for five touchdowns in his home finale, a triumphant farewell that included tears on the field and in the stands, and top-ranked Florida thumped rival Florida State, 37-10, yesterday for its sixth consecutive victory in the series.

"I don't want to say goodbye," coach Urban Meyer said. "The good thing is we're not done. The negative is we're done in this great stadium."

The Gators stayed unbeaten heading into next week's Southeastern Conference showdown against No. 2 Alabama, extended the nation's longest winning streak to 22 games and improved to 12-0 for just the second time in school history.

Tebow may have even secured a third consecutive trip to New York for the Heisman Trophy presentation. He gets one more chance to impress on the big stage next week in Atlanta against the Crimson Tide with a trip to the national title game on the line.

The Seminoles (6-6) lost for the second time in six games, and longtime coach Bobby Bowden's likely finale at Florida Field showed exactly why some FSU faithful are urging him to retire: Florida outplayed its in-state rival at every position.

Bowden said he has some "soul-searching" to do before making a decision about his future at Florida State.

"I want to coach next year, but let me say I want to go home and do some soul-searching," said Bowden, who has 388 career victories, second most in major college football. "I've got to run this thing through my mind a few times."

It might be hard to keep images of Tebow embarrassing his defense again out of those thoughts. Tebow completed 17 of 21 passes for 221 yards and three TDs. He also ran 15 times for 90 yards and two scores against a defense that might be Bowden's worst in 34 seasons.

It was hardly a surprise considering Tebow torched the Seminoles the previous two years, totaling eight TDs in those.