page_title: 2008 Florida Gators football team
section_title: Hawaii
hierarchical_section_title: 2008 Florida Gators football team / Game summaries / Hawaii
context_page_description: The 2008 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference, and played their home games in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida, campus. They were led by fourth-year head coach Urban Meyer.
  After clinching the SEC East, the Gators defeated then top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 31–20 in the SEC Championship Game to win their eighth conference title. They capped their season by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS National Championship Game 24–14. The Gators finished the season ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.
context_section_description: Pregame line: Florida -35.5
  The Florida Gators opened the season against the Hawaii Warriors. This was the first meeting between the two teams, but the two programs had become familiar with one another at the end of the 2007 college football regular season.  2007 Florida starting quarterback Tim Tebow and 2007 Hawaii starting quarterback Colt Brennan were both finalists for the Heisman Trophy where the two met in New York for the award ceremony.  In the time leading up to the award presentation, the then-Hawaii head coach June Jones made comments regarding Tim Tebow and how he would fare against his own quarterback Colt Brennan in their respective offensive systems, referring to Tebow as a "system quarterback." His comments "infuriated Gators fans, who expressed their displeasure in Internet chat rooms and blogs." At the conclusion of the 2007–2008 bowl season, June Jones left Hawaii to become the head coach of SMU, leaving the opening game against Hawaii without Brennan or Jones.
  The game opened with the 10th highest attendance in school history with 90,575.  Both teams struggled in the first quarter on offense with neither team being able to put points on the board.  The second quarter featured scores by the Gators on offense, defense, and special teams.  This was the first time the Gators scored in all three facets of the game since beating the Tennessee Volunteers 59–20 in the 2007 season.  The first touchdown of the season came off of a Brandon James 1-yard touchdown run capping an 80-yard drive that took only 10 plays. Less than one minute later, Florida safety Major Wright picked off a pass and returned it 32 yards for the touchdown. After a defensive stop by the Gators on the ensuing Warriors' drive, special teams standout Brandon James returned a punt for a touchdown. This was his third punt return for a touchdown in his career.  The final score of the half by the Gators was a 33-yard rushing touchdown by redshirt freshman Chris Rainey with 3:00 left in the first half.  This drive only took two plays in 22 seconds.
  The second half was a mirror image of the first half for the Gators.  Another 28 points was scored in the third quarter beginning with a 62-yard rushing touchdown by true freshman Jeffery Demps.  The next Gator offensive possession featured the first touchdown pass of the season by Heisman-winner Tim Tebow.  Tim Tebow and Louis Murphy connected on a 48-yard pass on the second play of the drive to score a touchdown only 38 seconds after having initiating the drive.  Near the end of the 3rd quarter, sophomore quarterback Cam Newton stood in for Tim Tebow and put together a drive capped off with a 1-yard QB rushing TD.  The final score the Gators put on the board was an interception returned for a touchdown by Gator DB Ahmad Black in his first career game as a Gator.  Entering into the fourth quarter, Florida led 56–0.  Hawaii was able to put 10 points on the board ending the game with a score of 56–10.  Hawaii used three quarterbacks, all of whom threw for interceptions.  The Gators' offense finished with 406 total yards; 255 of those coming on the ground.  This was the first game since the 2006 season where Tim Tebow did not have at least two touchdowns in a game.  In the previous season, he had at least one rushing touchdown and one passing touchdown in all 13 games (14 game streak dating to 2007 BCS National Championship Game).  The Gators' defense forced six Hawaii turnovers and held Hawaii's offense to only 241 yards.
caption: Florida Gators coach Urban Meyer and quarterback Tim Tebow being interviewed following the Gators' victory
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