Miami, FL (My Sportsbook) - Percy Harvin's two-yard touchdown run off a direct snap has given top-ranked Florida a 14-7 lead over No. 2 Oklahoma after three quarters of the BCS national championship game.
Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and trying to guide Florida to its second title in three years, threw a pair of first-half interceptions, equaling his total from the entire season. He then took matters into his own hands in the third quarter, running over defenders on rushes, before yielding to Harvin for the go-ahead score from the Wildcat formation with 4:21 remaining.
In a battle between teams that average a combined 99.2 points a game, 2008 Heisman winner Sam Bradford moved the Sooners into field goal territory, but Carlos Dunlap blocked a 49-yard attempt by Jimmy Stevens with 1 1/2 minutes left in the third.
It was the school-record ninth blocked kick of the season for the Gators.
The block marked another lost opportunity for the Sooners. In the final seconds of the opening half, Bradford was picked off by Major Wright near the goal line.
Although the Gators are a quarter away from another possible national title, injuries are starting to pile up. Running back Chris Rainey suffered a leg injury in the first half and wide receiver Louis Murphy was off with another injury late in the third.
Tebow's first interception occurred in the opening quarter when Nic Harris came up with the ball close to midfield with nearly 9 1/2 minutes remaining.
After a scoreless opening period, the offenses heated up early in the second, though. Tebow accounted for 86 yards of a 12-play scoring drive that stretched into the quarter. He culminated it with a 20-yard TD pass to Murphy, who stretched the ball over the goal line as he was being tackled, 58 seconds into the period.
Bradford immediately responded by running an effective hurry-up offense, throwing a six-yard scoring pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham in the back of the end zone less than three minutes later. Chris Brown accounted for 45 yards on the ground during the march.
On the ensuing Florida possession, Oklahoma defensive tackle Gerald McCoy dropped back in coverage for an interception on a short pass over the middle.
That gave the Sooners the ball at the Florida 36, and Brown ran 17 yards to the nine, and two more runs by the junior put the ball at the one, but the Gators came up huge. Brown was stood up on the next two rush attempts, with Torrey Davis stopping the running back in the backfield to turn the ball over on downs.
The Gators punted on their next series, and Bradford led the Sooners inside the 10, but that drive ended in disaster. Bradford's pass to Manuel Johnson near the goal line went off the receiver, and Florida safety Ahmad Black tipped the ball to Wright for the interception.
