GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- When he walked on to the field prior to Saturday's showdown with top-ranked Miami, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman held his orange Gators helmet high above his head and strutted like he owned the place.

Four hours and 45 minutes later, on a back stairwell inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the swagger was gone. Grossman's face was flush, his walk was gimpy and he continuously rolled his shoulders as if to work out some muscle kink.

	Florida QB Rex Grossman felt the Miami pressure all night.

His emotions weren't much better. After the worst performance in his college career, a game in which Grossman completed less than 43 percent of his passes and threw two interceptions -- including one that was returned for a 97-yard touchdown -- the normally cocky, normally confident Grossman was anything but.

"I think I blew the comeback tonight," he said.

Few would argue. Though the 41-16 loss to Miami wasn't entirely his fault -- throughout the game he was endlessly hounded, hunted and harassed by the Miami defense -- he hardly looked like a Heisman favorite.

Grossman admitted to making bad reads, poor throws and calling the wrong audibles. When the game was over, he completed just 19 of 45 passes for 191 yards and two interceptions.

And for just the sixth time in the 152 games played since 1990, a Florida quarterback failed to throw a touchdown pass in a game.

"He threw some balls tonight that I had never seen him throw since I've been here," first-year Florida coach Ron Zook said. "I don't know what you can say."

The most head-scratching of those passes had to be a third-quarter attempt deep in Miami territory across the middle that was tipped and intercepted by Miami safety Maurice Sikes. On the play, Grossman was looking for a streaking Carlos Perez across the middle and said he didn't notice Sikes on the backside coverage.

"I just didn't see him," Grossman said. "Plays like that and games like today you wish you could take back, but you just can't."

Just after the pick, Miami defensive end Andrew Williams flattened Grossman, leaving the quarterback keeled over on the ground as Sikes scampered for a 97-yard touchdown return.

In that one play, that one 14-point swing, Florida went from scoring a touchdown and closing to four points to trailing by 18.

"That hurt us," Florida offensive lineman Shannon Snell said. "Even though we still weren't out of it, you could just see how that deflated the team."

Grossman admitted his decision-making was clouded by the overwhelming pressure from Miami's front four. For much of the night, Grossman looked like a novice bullfighter, locked into the stadium toting a red flag, doing everything he could to dodge the Hurricanes and keep them from spearing him into the ground.

Midway through the third quarter, before the game was out of reach, Grossman had been hit six times, hurried eight times and had three of his passes batted down. Twice the Miami defense sacked the Florida quarterback. And each time they got to him, they got their money's worth, including one hit that knocked Grossman's helmet off.

"That was the goal -- we wanted to put a great deal of pressure on Grossman tonight, moving him around a lot," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "We knew if we didn't, we would be in for a long day."

From the second play of the game -- a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty on Miami defensive end Jamaal Green -- Grossman knew things weren't going to be easy. Though at times it looked like Miami was sending everybody, it routinely took only four down linemen to send Grossman running for cover.

As the game progressed, Grossman grew more and more visibly frustrated. He jawed with the Miami defenders, then shoved them and at one point even tossed his helmet against the Florida bench.

"That defensive front four is something else," Grossman said. "It seemed like they hit me on just about every play. Over and over and over they got to me. But during the game, you try not to think about it."

Zook and Florida offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher did what they could to help the quarterback -- rolling out the pocket, calling draws, delayed hand-offs and wide receiver screens to keep the pursuing Miami defense honest, but nothing worked.

"Look at our defensive line," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "We've got a bunch of freaks. These guys are freaks of nature. They shouldn't be able to rush the passer, stop the run, drop into coverage and do everything else, but they can. And that makes everyone else's job easier."

Especially the defensive backs. Just two of the eight defensive backs listed on the Miami two-deep are juniors or seniors, yet Grossman was unable to exploit the Hurricanes' downfield inexperience even once. Florida's longest gain of the night was a 24-yard pass to tight end Aaron Walker.

Wide receiver Taylor Jacobs, who had a school-record 246 yards receiving last week against Alabama-Birmingham was held to 56 yards on five catches.

"There just wasn't enough time to go up top," Grossman said. "It was so frustrating. But against that defense, you just can't stretch the field out."

Throughout the week, Zook said Grossman was so keyed up for the game Saturday that he couldn't sleep. After the game, Grossman doubted his sleep was going to improve. In part because of the soreness, but in part because there are improvements to be made.

"This is a work in progress," he said. "And I can guarantee you that before the season is over, we'll be a damn good football team."

Zook, too, was confident his team and his quarterback would turn things around before the SEC schedule gets underway in two weeks against Tennessee.

"Rex is a winner and a player. This may be a blessing in disguise for him," Zook said. "Rex will come back here ready to go. And we all know that he can play."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn3.com.