Sep 10, 2006, 1:50 GMT
Gainesville, FL - Chris Leak threw four touchdown passes as the seventh-ranked Florida Gators trounced UCF, 42-0, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Leak finished 19-of-29 for a career-best 352 yards with one interception for Florida (2-0), which defeated Southern Mississippi in its opener last week. Andre Caldwell hauled in two of those TD passes, while fellow wideout Percy Harvin had four receptions for 99 yards and a score.
'A shutout against a bowl team is hard to get,' Gators head coach Urban Meyer said. 'I'm very proud of what we did tonight, because shutouts are just hard to get.'
Steven Moffett was 14-of-32 for 100 yards for the Golden Knights (1-1), who topped Villanova in their opener but were clearly overmatched in this one.
'Florida may be in the top two in the country,' Moffett said. 'They are relentless on both offense and defense. They have speed, a great defense, and playmakers. We could not contend with them tonight.'
The Gators opened the scoring midway through the first quarter on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Leak to Harvin.
That opened up the floodgates, as Florida erupted for 27 points in the second stanza to blow the game wide open.
On their second drive of the second quarter, the Gators marched 79 yards on nine plays to assume a 14-0 advantage. Leak went 3-for-4 on the drive, which was capped by an eight-yard TD run by DeShawn Wynn.
Kestahn Moore got into the act on the team's next series, breaking off a 28- yard run with 4:19 left in the half to up the advantage to 21 points.
Following a UCF punt, Florida went right back to work. Leak hooked up with Jemalle Cornelius for a 34-yard strike to bring the offense deep into enemy territory, then connected with Dallas Baker for a 10-yard touchdown on the very next play.
Florida polished off the impressive quarter with a 25-yard TD pass from Leak to Caldwell that gave the Gators a 34-0 halftime cushion.
The defense did some scoring of its own in the third quarter, as Tony Joiner tackled Kevin Smith in the end zone for a safety just over three minutes in.
The Gators took the ensuing kick and marched 66 yards on 10 plays, culminating in an eight-yard TD toss from Leak to Caldwell for the final score of the game.
Game Notes
Florida outgained UCF 637-153.The Gators are 116-53-5 all-time against opponents from the state of Florida.Florida coach Urban Meyer improved to 21-2 against non-conference opponents.Baker finished with four catches for 81 yards.The Gators play at No. 11 Tennessee next Saturday night.
Florida outgained UCF 637-153.
The Gators are 116-53-5 all-time against opponents from the state of Florida.
Florida coach Urban Meyer improved to 21-2 against non-conference opponents.
Baker finished with four catches for 81 yards.
The Gators play at No. 11 Tennessee next Saturday night.
© 2006 The Sports Network
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