25 Cheers for 25 Years: Major Wright Destroys Manny Johnson, Florida Wins 2008 National Title
Receiver Manuel Johnson #1 of the Oklahoma Sooners is separated from the ball by safety Major Wright #21 of the Florida Gators during the FedEx BCS National Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium on January 8, 2009 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)
Florida’s 2008 season became legend after beginning in heartbreak.
After Tim Tebow and the Gators were stunned 31–30 by unranked Ole Miss, the Heisman-winning quarterback stood before Gator Nation and vowed: “I promise you one thing, a lot of good will come out of this. You will never see any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season, and you will never see a team play harder that we will the rest of the season. God bless.”
Those words, immortalized on a plaque at The Swamp, changed the course of Florida football history.
From that day, the Gators ripped off 10 straight wins, including a come-from-behind 31–20 victory over No. 1 Alabama to clinch the SEC title.
Now in the BCS championship, Florida carried its momentum into Miami Gardens.
The stage was set for a titanic fight. It was a Heisman battle with Tebow winning the award last season but finishing second to Oklahoma’s star quarterback Sam Bradford this year.
From the first snap, the Gators defense was there to play. Just three plays into the game, Bradford lofted a deep pass to receiver Manny Johnson down the sideline.
As the ball was in the air, Florida safety Major Wright was quickly closing the gap between himself and Johnson.
What happened next was a hit that would’ve had Wright arrested in today’s game.
As Wright later recalled, “He pump-faked me but kept looking the other way… I leaned that way and ended up making a great play that set the tone of the game.”
Wright’s shoulder met Johnson’s head with thunderous force, driving the Sooners receiver into the blue sideline. Johnson crumpled, sidelined with a knee injury, and Miami Gardens erupted.
The hit fueled a storm.
Florida’s bench immediately celebrated like they’d already won the game. The play was more than a turnover, it announced the Gators wouldn’t be pushed around that day.
Indeed, later in the half Wright stifled Oklahoma again, intercepting Bradford at the goal line to thwart a scoring drive.
Cornerback Joe Haden summed up his teammates’ feeling: “When you’ve got Major Wright back there and you see how hard he hits, you play with a lot of confidence because you know he’ll cover for you.”
The Gators’ defense would dominate the rest of the game.
Oklahoma never found a rhythm: Bradford threw two interceptions and OU’s high-scoring offense was limited to only 14 points. Florida held Oklahoma to 363 total yards (to Florida’s 480), forced multiple turnovers, and even bottled up OU’s goal-line efforts.
The Sooners were 6-for-13 on third down and only 2 of 4 scoring in the red zone, while the Gators converted all four red-zone chances into touchdowns.
In the second half, Tebow only needed gritty runs and short passes to close it out. By the final whistle, Florida’s stingy defense had sealed a 24–14 triumph — the Gators’ third national title in six seasons.
In postgame reflections, players and coaches savored the moment.
Wright himself was still in awe: “I was actually shocked, like ‘Wow, did I just do that?’”
Urban Meyer praised Wright’s effort as emblematic of his defense.
Florida’s win completed the promise Tebow made in tears months earlier. But as fans will recall, the game was defined in that first quarter when Wright’s collision sent a message: Florida would not back down.
