Ohio State hoped to win its fifth national title, having taken it behind Maurice Clarett in 2002.

But these Buckeyes looked completely flummoxed by Florida’s frenetic offense at the outset. Trying to match up with the Gators’ shifting formations, they often jumped around at the line and still were out of position.

Leak gladly took advantage of the confusion, picking wide-open receivers at will and hitting his first nine passes. Criticized most of his career for a lack of fire, the guy with the soft, green eyes seemed real comfortable.

By the end, the numbers were numbing. Florida outgained the Buckeyes 370 yards to 82, led in first downs 21-8 and time of possession 40:48 to 19:12.

“They earned the national championship, no doubt about it,” Tressel said.

Meyer’s gadgets made it easy pickings for the Gators. They came out in a five-wide set after Ginn’s kickoff return, and Leak hit Baker with a tying, 14-yard touchdown pass.

The next time they touched the ball, the Gators let Leak, Tebow and scatback Percy Harvin all take direct snaps from center. Harvin later tucked it under his right arm — the one with a lion tattoo — and powered for a 4-yard TD.

A flanker reverse by Andre Caldwell helped Florida move to a third-and-goal at the 2 as the first quarter ended. When the second period began, Meyer immediately reached into his bag of tricks.

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Florida put three running backs directly behind Leak — a power-I-plus — and gave the ball to the last one. DeShawn Wynn scored on the first play of the quarter, plunging into the end zone right in front of the Gators’ band, for a stunning 21-7 lead.

Ohio State returned to its roots and ran the ball. Antonio Pittman’s 18-yard burst made it 21-14 with 13:32 left before halftime.

Undaunted, the Gators came back with something totally out of character, even for them — field goals.

Chris Hetland was only 4-for-13 on kicks this season, and his longest was 33 yards. But Meyer said he would trust him in this game, and Hetland made good, from 42 and 40 yards on the next two possessions.

Hetland’s second kick came after Tressel showed a little early desperation, gambling on fourth-and-1 at his own 29 and saw Chris Wells stuffed.

The Buckeyes got the ball on their 20 with less than two minutes left before halftime and were determined to see a score before the break. They did — by Florida.

Moss sacked Smith and forced him to fumble, and the Gators took over at 5. Tebow ran twice up the middle, then faked a quarterback draw, rolled to the left and tossed a 1-yard TD pass to Caldwell.

At 34-14, fans on both sides were stunned as the teams ran to the locker rooms.

“I think we took advantage of the time we had off, getting guys healthy and being able to game-plan things to perfection,” Leak said.