Tim Tebow identifies winning strategy for Florida vs. Georgia

It might be tough to find a bigger Florida lifer than Tim Tebow. So, of course, he’s going to be cheering his Gators against Georgia and doing what he can to motivate his guys before the big game.

That means that Tebow has done his homework, and at this point — head coach Billy Napier might as well just hand him the play-call sheet. Ahead of Saturday’s SEC Nation, Tebow revealed what the Gators need to do to overcome the No. 1 Bulldogs.

“They’re going to have to play really well and they’re going to need a couple breaks throughout the game,” Tebow said on SportsCenter Saturday morning. “There are a few things that Florida has really improved on throughout the season. One of those things are their formations and their motions. … It’s something that Graham Mertz does really well.

“Nine of his 12 touchdown passes are from play-action. They use shifts and motions to set them up for their levels formation down the field. They have to be great at it today.”

Tebow broke down some of Florida’s concepts that he believes should be utilized by the Gators if they want to pull off the massive upset.

The first regards the many motions Napier has in almost every concept Florida runs. He makes the defense communicate. Tebow provided examples from last week’s comeback win vs. South Carolina, and one play in particular that saw the Gator running back motion out wide, creating a quad on the strong side. The communication wasn’t there and Mertz was able to find an open target down the field.

This keeps the defense honest, and in the right defensive set — Florida can break a massive play at any moment. Tebow’s next example saw South Carolina defend in split coverage. The awareness, or “eyes” as Tebow called it, wasn’t there because of the pre-snap motions and play actions.

In this example, the Gamecocks simply forget about the Gator that was just in motion on a jet sweep. “That happens quite often,” Tebow continued. “That’s also something that Georgia is not quite as good at, the play-action and getting to them.”

What this all sets up, according to Tebow, is Florida’s ‘Levels’ set. It’s basic, but Florida runs it in many formations — and more importantly, it works. The concept is to take the top off the defense by running dig, slant and flat routes to one side of the field, which could be lethal in man coverage and Florida can beat the opposition with speed.

It worked against South Carolina — but Georgia is a different beast. Still, Mertz has seemed to find his stride at this point in the season and the Gators are a very sneaky 5-2 and are tied with Missouri for second place in the SEC East behind the Bulldogs.

A win for Florida would not only shift the tides within the SEC and college football — but would change the national perception of Napier and his Gators. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET live on CBS.