Usually Tim Tebow's jersey is dirty when he's lunging for first downs. Now he's getting dirty 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage — and often.

Tebow has taken a career-high 21 sacks this year, third-most in the SEC and far more than his previous career high of 15 from 2008.

It's obvious blitzes are bothering the Gators, specifically zone blitzes. Tebow hinted at the problem Saturday night, and LT Carl Johnson says that extra man is crippling the Gators. 

"Sometimes it’s just a misread," Johnson said. “We don’t take pride in giving up sacks. We try our best to protect him. We try our best to make sure he has time in the pocket. A lot of teams are just blitzing us a lot. Sometimes they are bringing more than we actually can protect." 

Everyone knew the Gators would miss Percy Harvin, but also painful losses were last year's tackles, Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins. Both were solid complements to the Pouncey twins and Carl Johnson inside. Without a dominant left tackle and Matt Patchan going down with a torn ACL, Johnson has become the viable option at left tackle while freshman LT Xavier Nixon still grasps the offense. Marcus Gilbert is in his first year protecting Tebow's blind side at right tackle.

Florida's line still drives one of the conference's best running attacks, but when Tebow drops back, there's a discord between defenders getting to Tebow from the edge and Tebow simply taking too long in the pocket.

Johnson said offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steve Addazio is frustrated.

"It bothers him," Johnson said. "It weighs not only his mind but the whole offensive line. When one (sack) occurs, it makes all of us look bad."