The defending national champion University of Florida
football team capped its 2007 spring season with the annual Orange and Blue Debut before a crowd of 47,500
fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Blue defeated Orange, 27-20, for its
first victory since April 10, 2004, and only its
fourth in the past 12 seasons.
Sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.)
led the Blue team, as freshman quarterback Cameron Newton (College
Park, Ga.) made his collegiate
debut as signal caller for the Orange.
Junior Louis Murphy (St. Petersburg, Fla.) led the Blue team with 129 receiving yards on
an Orange and
Blue Debut-record eight catches, including a 41-yard launch from Tebow in the
second quarter. The Orange receiving corps turned in a combined 275 yards on
the afternoon, led by sophomore wide receiver David Nelson (Wichita Falls, Texas),
who totaled 90 yards on a game-record eight receptions.
Blue dominated the ground game with the skilled
footwork of freshman running back Chevon Walker (Ft. Myers, Fla.),
who dazzled the crowd in his first game as a Gator with 74 yards on 14 carries.
Walker’s long
rush of the day came on a 20-yard dash that set Blue up in the redzone for the
team’s second touchdown.
Opening scoring on the initial drive of the game, Blue struck first as Walker
notched his first career touchdown on a three-yard run with 9:48 remaining in
the first quarter. Tebow saw his first completion of the 2007 season on a
27-yard hookup with senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell (Tampa,
Fla.) down to the Orange
17-yard line, that set up the 7-0 lead.
On their next two possessions, Blue padded its advantage
when Tebow connected with freshman tight end Aaron Hernandez (Bristol, Conn.)
for a seven-yard touchdown and found Murphy on the next drive for nine yards to
push ahead, 21-0. At the close of the half, a four-yard reception by sophomore
wide receiver Cade Holliday (Gainesville,
Fla.) finalized scoring for
the Blue with a 27-0 cushion after a missed PAT.
Orange
narrowed the gap to 27-7 in the third quarter when sophomore running back Brandon
James (St. Augustine, Fla.) reached paydirt on a one-yard
rush. The drive spanned 59 yards in five plays, highlighted by a 28-yard
completion from Newton to sophomore wide
receiver Jarred Fayson (Tampa,
Fla.). In the fourth quarter,
James tacked on two more touchdowns on a four-yard run and a 39-yard pass from Newton, respectively, to
close the game’s scoring at 27-20.
Blue held a 349-265 edge in total offensive yards,
including 4-of-8 on third down conversions, as well as a defensive performance
that posted four sacks for a loss of 21 yards. Tebow
completed 17-of-27 passes for 216 yards and gained 36 yards on eight rushes,
while Newton
(20-of-30) passed for 275 yards. The Gators will open the 2007 regular season
at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Western Kentucky
on September 1.
- UF -
