Domination. Utter domination. That is what Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators served to the Bayou Bengals of LSU. 51-21… I can hardly believe it.

Unlike Arkansas, Florida won this one in every way it is possible to win. They won it with offense. They won it with defense. And they won it with special teams. All units played with total intensity from the first tick of the game to the last. It was the first “complete” game we’ve seen from the Gators this season.

If Florida could play that way every time, our boys would never be defeated.

We’ll do a postmortem, to be sure, but for now, a few key points:

The excitement is back: somebody got the “Free Tebow” message to the coaching staff. It showed, and it worked. Tim Tebow looked and played like, well, Tim Tebow. The Heisman Trophy winner. The best quarterback in college football. Tebow made faster and better reads, threw great looking deep and short passes, and was in total command of the offense. When Tebow plays the way God intended him to play, the excite-o-meter pegs 11. Good to have you back, Superman.

Ball-hawking linebackers for $300, Alex: Might as well re-title this category “Brandon Spikes.” I think that as a result of this game, Spikes will be named to an award watch or three. This guy is outstanding — he runs like a deer, defines “physical” for a run-stopping linebacker, can pass-rush and also drop into coverage and play with rare instinct for his position. Spikes picked off two passes and ran one back for six, effectively icing the game.

Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey are stars shining in the northern Florida sky: We saw these young running backs come of age tonight. Just like Brandon Spikes, the hype-factor of these multi-threat players is going to go way up. Expect quite a bit more national attention on both, as well as focus from the remaining opponents on Florida’s schedule. Along with Percy Harvin, we now have three guys who are legitimate home-run threats every time they touch the damn ball.

Percy Harvin is the best player in college football: Healthy. Dinged up. Doesn’t matter. He is the best player on the field, period. I don’t expect we’ll see him back at Florida in 2009 so enjoy him while he lasts.

Better playcalling — Lo and behold, ADJUSTMENTS! Dan Mullen called a good game, using the option when it was called for, and sending his speedy backs on perimeter runs which netted huge chunks of yards against the second-best defense in the SEC. Florida kept the Tigers off-balance all-night long… hell, even we Gator fans didn’t know what to expect on any given snap or possession. Mullen quieted the critics, for now at least.

Outstanding defense: Holding LSU to 21 points is impressive, especially considering that the Tigers’ final TD came in the fringes of garbage time after a Tebow fumble (second in consecutive weeks) gave them the ball deep in Gator territory, forcing a tired defensive unit to defend a short field.

LSU is a team we don’t always like as Gator fans, but one that we always respect. Putting an absolute beatdown on a legitimate Top 5 team says leagues about how good these Gators can be when they start clicking. Here’s to hoping this team has turned the corner and figured a few things out.

Congratulations, Gators… y’done made us proud.