“Obviously, they’re a great defense. I think just a couple times we got ourselves in trouble,” Bradford said.

These teams totaled an average of 99 points per game, but wound up with a scoreless first quarter. In the second quarter, Florida’s defense made a pair of goal line stands that left it 7-all at halftime.

By then, college football fans around the country were certainly wondering whether these were indeed the two best teams. And it surely gave steam to the suggestion by President-elect Barack Obama and others that a playoff system is needed.

Cheered on by a flock of rooters who made the five-hour drive from The Swamp in Gainesville, the Gators became the second team in the 11-year history of the BCS to win two titles.

Nicknamed “Big Game Bob” for his early success, Stoops lost for the third time with a national championship on the line. This was the first time Florida and Oklahoma played — Stoops was the Gators’ defensive coordinator when Steve Spurrier led them to the 1996 title.

Tebow struggled throughout the first half, his lone highlight a 20-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy for a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter. Bradford came right back with a swift 65-yard drive, capped by his 6-yard TD toss to Jermaine Gresham.

Florida’s defense, rather than Tebow, Harvin and its speedsters on the other side of the ball, kept the Gators close.

Poised to break the tie midway through the second quarter, Oklahoma owned a first-and-goal at the 9. Chris Brown carried four straight times and the Gators stood up the 1,100-yard rusher, twice stuffing him from the 1.

Rarely turned back in the red zone this season, the Sooners let it happen to them again in the final minute before halftime.

There were 10 seconds left and Oklahoma was out of timeouts when Bradford dropped back from the 6. He tried to hit Manuel Johnson at the goal line, but the pass deflected off him and the Gators ran a perfect tip drill, with three defenders touching the ball before Major Wright had the interception.

Tebow, meanwhile, kept stopping the Gators.

The interceptions were bad picks, too — Tebow telegraphed a long, cross-field throw that Nic Harris easily grabbed and later made a short flip over the middle right to Gerald McCoy.

Were the Gators out of whack? Hard to tell, though offensive coordinator Dan Mullen certainly had a lot to think about. Hired recently by Mississippi State, he becomes the Bulldogs’ full-time head coach Friday.

Both teams seemed to have trouble with the game officials. The crew kept interrupting play for various reasons, and the result was a sloppy, scoreless first quarter.

Stoops and Meyer took turns hollering at ACC referee Ron Cherry, as if to tell him “Let ’em play!”