NEW ORLEANS -- Tim Tebow rose above all the distractions caused by Coach Urban Meyer's uncertain future and capped a storied college career with his finest performance.
It was the best in BCS history, too.
Tebow threw for a career-high 482 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 51 yards and another score, and fifth-ranked Florida overwhelmed No. 4 Cincinnati 51-24 Friday night in the Sugar Bowl.
For Tebow and the Gators (13-1), this certainly was The Big Easy.
Florida's most anticipated season ever ended in New Orleans instead of Pasadena. It came against Cincinnati (13-1) instead of Texas. It was about redemption instead of perfection.
None of that mattered in the Louisiana Superdome.
Tebow wouldn't let it.
He finished with 533 total yards -- more than anyone in Bowl Championship Series history.
CINCY'S WHITE-OUT -- Cincinnati wore white helmets for the first time since 1966. The helmets were a bowl gift to players, who decided to break them out for the most important game in school history. The new helmets meant the Bearcats, who entered 12-0, were in an all-white look, with white pants and jerseys.
BEARCAT BOON -- Bourbon Street, the French Quarter and other parts of The Big Easy have been overrun by Cincinnati Bearcats fans. Florida's faithful? Well, they were outnumbered considerably.
It shouldn't be a huge surprise that the Gators failed to sell 6,500 of their 17,500 tickets to the New Year's Day game. After all, players and fans talked all season about perfection, getting to Pasadena, Calif., for the Bowl Championship Series title game and repeating. Losing to Alabama in the SEC championship game was a huge letdown for the program.
It was reflected in and around the Louisiana Superdome.
"I didn't know that about the tickets," Meyer said Thursday. "If I could get the phone and start calling season-ticket holders and say, 'Go buy these tickets,' I'd probably do it. Believe it or not, I've done that at some other places I've coached.
"I remember getting up at 4:30 in the morning because I had to drive an hour to get on a train, a tram in Salt Lake City. Unbelievable. And to ride the tram back and forth selling tickets to people to come to the Utah football games. So I'm all in it for doing it the right way. So if I could help, I'd help. But I think we're beyond that right now."
ROSE BOWL
No. 8 Ohio State 26, No. 7 Oregon 17
PASADENA, Calif. -- Terrelle Pryor passed for a season-high 266 yards and two touchdowns as Ohio State stopped its three-game BCS skid by defeating Oregon.
Pryor ran for 72 yards and threw a 17-yard scoring pass to DeVier Posey with 7:02 to play.
Posey had eight catches for 101 yards, and Brandon Saine caught an early TD pass for the Buckeyes (11-2) in their first trip to Pasadena since 1997.
Oregon (10-3) had trouble getting its high-flying, no-huddle offense in rhythm. Jeremiah Masoli passed for just 81 yards and LaMichael James rushed for 70 -- but a series of big plays and kick returns by Kenjon Barner kept the 96th Rose Bowl close.
The Ducks haven't won the Rose Bowl since the game's third edition in 1917.
CAPITAL ONE BOWL
No. 11 Penn State 19, No. 13 LSU 17
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Collin Wagner kicked a 21-yard field goal with 57 seconds left and Penn State staved off a last-ditch drive by LSU on a muddy field.
Penn State (11-2) led by 13 points in the second half. But Stevan Ridley's 1-yard touchdown run put LSU (9-4) ahead 17-16 with 12:49 left.
Quarterback Daryll Clark led the Nittany Lions on a 12-play drive in crunch time. Penn State had two third-down conversions to help set up Wagner's fourth field goal of the game.
LSU then got to midfield but was called for a personal foul that pushed the ball back to its 40. Quarterback Jordan Jefferson hit Rueben Randle for a 25-yard gain on the game's last play to the Penn State 35 but fumbled as time expired.
Penn State coach Joe Paterno posted his record 24th bowl win and handed Les Miles his first loss in five bowls as LSU coach.
"That thing about not beating a ranked team, I mean, between you and me, that's a lot of hooey [sic], OK, to be honest with you," Paterno said at a post-game news conference. "I think you guys have to write about something, so you pick out something."
OUTBACK BOWL
Auburn 38, Northwestern 35
TAMPA, Fla. -- Auburn stopped Northwestern's final trick play of the game and, after two earlier celebrations, the Tigers held on to win in overtime.
Wes Byrum kicked a 21-yard field goal in overtime, and the Tigers (8-5) overcame several mistakes that gave the Wildcats chances for their first bowl victory in 61 years.
On the last play, the Wildcats sent backup kicker Steve Flaherty onto the field to try to force a second overtime. He was subbing for Stefan Demos, who had been injured earlier in the overtime.
Northwestern faked a field goal, and receiver Zeke Markshausen took a handoff between the legs from holder Dan Persa and circled right end. Auburn's Neiko Thorpe stopped him after a 3-yard gain to the 2.
The Wildcats (8-5) fell to 1-7 all-time in postseason games. The lone win came against California in the 1949 Rose Bowl.
Mike Kafka went 47-for-78 passing for 532 yards with five interceptions and four TDs for Northwestern. Walter McFadden returned one of two interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown.
