Ahead of Saturday’s Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Tim Tebow led the pregame invocation.
For a game between Syracuse and No. 24 Tennessee, tapping a former Florida quarterback was certainly a strange choice for the organizers to make. Volunteer fans in the crowd made sure everyone knew how they felt about it.
Tebow was soundly booed.
Tebow spent 4 seasons in Gainesville. During that time, he went 4-0 against the Volunteers.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback had 29 rushing yards as a freshman in the 21-20 win in Knoxville in 2006. Then, as the starting quarterback, Tebow engineered 59-20, 30-6, and 23-13 victories over the Vols from 2007-09.
Tebow was particularly unstoppable in the 2007 win, when he completed 14 of his 19 passes for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns while also rushing for 61 yards and 2 more scores. Florida’s offense ran up 554 yards in the 39-point victory — the most lopsided game in the series since 1990.
Not exactly fond memories of the iconic Gator over in Volunteer country.
But Tennessee fans had plenty to cheer for once the actual game began. Tennessee kicked a field goal on its opening possession and then ripped off a 12-play, 85-yard touchdown march on its second drive of the game to take a 10-0 early lead.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
