| 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| BCS Bowl Game 76th Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 TheLouisiana Superdome inNew Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Louisiana Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans,Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Tim Tebow - FloridaQB | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Florida by 12½[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Lady Antebellum | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Jack Folliard (Pac-10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Pride of the Sunshine (Florida band) University of Cincinnati Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 65,207 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$18 million | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | FOX | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Thom Brennaman (play-by-play) Brian Billick (color) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 8.5 (15.5 million)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2010AllstateSugar Bowl was an Americancollege footballbowl game that was part of theBowl Championship Series (BCS) for the2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the 76th Sugar Bowl. TheFlorida Gators defeated theCincinnati Bearcats 51–24 behind a record-setting performance by senior quarterbackTim Tebow.
The contest was played on Friday, January 1, 2010, in theLouisiana Superdome inNew Orleans, Louisiana between theFlorida Gators, who had been undefeated on the season until losing to #2 Alabama in theSEC Championship Game and theCincinnati Bearcats, winners of theBig East Conference. The Bearcats were coached byOffensive coordinatorJeff Quinn on an interim basis after Head CoachBrian Kelly left Cincinnati to take the head coaching position atNotre Dame on December 10, 2009. This would be Quinn's only game as head coach for Cincinnati, as he had already accepted the head coaching position of theUniversity of Buffalo's football team effective after the Sugar Bowl.
This was Florida's eighth trip to the Sugar Bowl, having gone 2–5 in their previous seven appearances, the last being a37–20 loss to Miami in 2001. For Cincinnati, this was their first appearance in the Sugar Bowl and their second in a BCS bowl game. The teams had met only once before - in 1984, when theGators defeated theBearcats 48–17 atFlorida Field. Florida's head coachUrban Meyer played college football at Cincinnati and was a member of that 1984 Cincinnati team.[3]
Several days before the game, Florida head coachUrban Meyer announced that he would take an indefinite leave of absence after the Sugar Bowl due to health and family reasons, leading to much speculation about his future at Florida.[4] In the post-game press conference, however, Meyer said that he "planned to be the coach of the Gators", and after spending more time with his family over the following weeks, he resumed his duties as Florida's head coach.[5]
Florida quarterbackTim Tebow led the Gators to a 30–3 halftime lead and a 51–24 victory.[6] Florida's offense set several Sugar Bowl records in the contest that still stand as of the 2018 edition. The Gators' 659 total yards were the most in Sugar Bowl history, and Tim Tebow set Sugar Bowl andBowl Championship Series records with 482 passing yards and 533 total yards.[7] Tebow's 320 first half passing yards also set a Sugar Bowl record, as did his 12 consecutive completions to start the game.[8] Cincinnati wide receiver and returnerMardy Gilyard also broke Sugar Bowl records for return yards in the game.
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
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| 1st Quarter | |||
| FLA —Tim Tebow 7-yard pass toAaron Hernandez (Caleb Sturgis kick blocked), 6:13 | FLA 6–0 | ||
| FLA — Caleb Sturgis 40-yard field goal, 1:20 | FLA 9–0 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| FLA — Tim Tebow 7-yard pass toDeonte Thompson (Caleb Sturgis kick), 9:07 | FLA 16–0 | ||
| FLA —Emmanuel Moody 6-yard run (Caleb Sturgis kick), 7:05 | FLA 23–0 | ||
| CIN — Jake Rogers 47-yard field goal, 3:11 | FLA 23–3 | ||
| FLA — Tim Tebow 80-yard pass toRiley Cooper (Caleb Sturgis kick), 3:02 | FLA 30–3 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| FLA — Emmanuel Moody 2-yard run (Caleb Sturgis kick), 11:13 | FLA 37–3 | ||
| CIN — Marcus Waugh 2-yard pass fromTony Pike (Jake Rogers kick), 4:46 | FLA 37–10 | ||
| FLA — Tim Tebow 4-yard rush (Caleb Sturgis kick), 2:06 | FLA 44–10 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| CIN — Armon Binns 3-yard pass from Tony Pike (Jake Rogers kick), 10:07 | FLA 44–17 | ||
| FLA —Chris Rainey 6-yard rush (Caleb Sturgis kick), 7:05 | FLA 51–17 | ||
| CIN — Kazeem Alli 6-yard pass from Tony Pike (Jake Rogers kick), 3:43 | FLA 51–24 | ||
