Travis Kelce recalls getting humiliated by Tim Tebow’s Gators - “He threw us a shellacking”

Travis Kelce (R) on Tim Tebow (L) and his performance in the Sugar Bowl in 2010
Travis Kelce (R) on Tim Tebow (L) and his performance in the Sugar Bowl in 2010

Tim Tebow is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in college football history as Travis Kelce saw firsthand in 2010. The now-Kansas City Chiefs tight end was a freshman for the Cincinnati Bearcats when he faced Tebow and the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl in 2010.

Kelce spoke to Barstool Sports and told the story of the Gators' quarterback's performance in that game:

"My only memory of Tim Tebow on the football field is him just throwing us a shellacking in the Sugar Bowl, man. Brian Kelly goes to Notre Dame right after the season we're playing with a bunch of like dads and like administrative, like, I don't know, just guys from the University of Cincinnati."
"And we go in and play arguably one of the best football teams in college football ever in the Florida Gators that year. And uh, that was fun. That was fun. Tebow. They said Tebow couldn't throw, well, he threw for like 500 yards."

That Sugar Bowl would be Tim Tebow's final game as a college football player. He ended his career at Florida with 145 total touchdowns (88 passing and 57 rushing), the ninth-most in college football history.

He also was a Heisman Trophy winner, a two-time Maxwell Award winner, and a Consensus All-American.

Tebow would be taken by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. He led them to a playoff win against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2011 season, but ended his three-year NFL career with the New York Jets.

While Kelce was dominated in the Sugar Bowl, Kelce had a better career and is entering his 11th season with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023.


Tim Tebow's Sugar Bowl performance in the spotlight

Tebow while at the University of Florida
Tebow while at the University of Florida

Tim Tebow threw for 482 yards and three touchdowns while having just four incompletions versus the Bearcats. It's the most yards thrown in a Sugar Bowl all-time.

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He is the second player in Gators' history to win Most Outstanding Player of the Sugar Bowl. Former Gators player and head coach Steve Spurrier was the first. The 51 points scored by Tebow and Florida are the second-most in the bowl game's history.

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