GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With the Gators’ backs against the wall in the Southeastern Conference Championship race and bulletin board material hanging in their locker room, Florida’s offense answered in a big way in Saturday’s 51-21 win against LSU. And the Tigers’ defense couldn’t do much to stop it.”We wanted to dominate, and we wanted to play physical,” said Florida junior quarterback Tim Tebow. “We heard the talk all week, and we wanted to come out and play physical, and we did that.”The “talk” Tebow was likely referring to was comments made by LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois, who earlier in the week said he wanted to “take Tebow out of the game.”Florida coach Urban Meyer said he stayed away from the situation all week, but his offensive line played inspired in the face of controversy.”I didn’t even read it, but the guys in the locker room were livid about some comments,” he said. “The motivation was real easy. Those kids played their tails off and had a real chip on their shoulder.”Before the game, LSU allowed just 69 rushing yards per game, ranking No. 8 in the nation.But the Gators slashed LSU’s run defense for 262 yards on 42 carries.Meyer said a new zone blocking scheme where the Gators increase their splits between their guards and tackles helped neutralize LSU’s speed and strength up-front.”Usually we have a couple-foot split, but today we had a three and a four-foot split,” Meyer said. “Some of the runs we hit today came out of those techniques.”The Gators’ dominant rushing attack allowed them to control time of possession by six minutes, keeping LSU’s offense off the field and protecting the 20-0 lead the Gators built in the first 16 minutes of the game.Junior receiver Brandon LaFell said LSU’s inability to get a first down in its opening drives set the tone defensively for the entire game.”We can’t put the defense on the field when we’re getting the ball on the 30-and 45-yard-line,” LaFell said. “We’ve got to at least get a long enough drive so they can have a break and have their legs back under them.”The Gators gashed LSU’s defense methodically with their running game. But big plays also played a lead role in the Tigers allowing more than 50 points in regulation for the first time since the 1996 season.LSU allowed nine plays of 15-yards or more in the game.Junior receiver Percy Harvin caught six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, including a 70-yard touchdown reception on the first drive of the game.Harvin didn’t practice earlier in the week with a reoccurring heel injury.Freshman halfback Jeffrey Demps also contributed to the big-play barrage, rushing for 42 of his game-high 131 yards on a third-quarter touchdown dash.LSU senior safety Curtis Taylor said LSU’s defense did not execute any facet of their game plan against the Gators.”Breakdowns, blown coverage, missed tackles … we just didn’t execute,” he said. “We’ve got to make plays. It’s plain and simple.”—- Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]