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Florida holds off second-half rally by Ole Miss

Sep 23, 2007 - 12:32 AM OXFORD, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Tim Tebow did everything in his power to help Florida beat Mississippi on Saturday. It almost was not enough.

The third-ranked Gators had to fight off a spirited second-half rally before holding off the Rebels, 30-24, in a Southeastern Conference contest.

Tebow accounted for 427 yards of total offense, passing for two touchdowns and rushing for two other scores. The sophomore completed 20-of-34 passes for 261 yards and rushed for 166 yards - a school record for a quarterback.

It was Florida's first victory in the state of Mississippi since 1994. The Gators were 0-3 in their last three visits to the state, losing to Ole Miss once and Mississippi State twice.

"It was a four-quarter fight down to the last minute," Tebow said. "We've still got a lot to learn. I know I can get better and this team can get better. We can do that with a little more positive attitude with a win."

Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC East) appeared to be in control when Tebow tossed a 37-yard TD pass to Louis Murphy to give the Gators a 27-9 lead with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

But Ole Miss stunned Florida by scoring 14 points in a span of less than two minutes and closed to 27-24 on Seth Adams' 77-yard TD strike to Mike Wallace with seven seconds left in the fourth quarter.

The Rebels forced the Gators to punt and marched into Florida territory on their next possession as well but linebacker Tony Joiner came up with a huge defensive play by intercepting Adams at the Gators 39.

After an exchange of punts, Florida put together a 12-play, 53-yard drive to take a 30-24 lead on Joey Ijjas' 25-yard field goal with 4:59 remaining.

Tebow , who accounted for all but 80 of Florida's 507 yards, rushed five times during the key drive to set up the field goal.

After picking up one first down, Ole Miss faced a 4th-and 11 from its 33 with still more than three minutes remaining. Despite having all three timeouts left, Rebels coach Ed Orgeron called for a faked punt instead of trying to force Florida deep in its own territory.

The move backfired as Robert Lane was stopped three yards short of the first down on a pass play. The Gators took over on downs and were able to run out the clock after picking up three first downs.

"We put ourselves in a position to win," Orgeron said. "We just didn't get it done."

During Florida's final possession, Tebow carried six times. Overall, he rushed 27 times, also a record for a Gators' signal-caller.

"When things get tough, he's the horse," Florida coach Urban Meyer said. "We were able to close the game (with Tebow)."

The defending national champions posted their 11th straight victory and have won 19 of their last 20 games.

"There was no doubt (Tebow) would come through for us there in the fourth quarter," Florida offensive guard Jim Tartt said. "I trust him more than anyone else on this team."

Ole Miss tested Florida's defense as Adams completed 18-of-31 passes for 302 yards, but the Rebels had to settle for three field goals before mounting their second-half comeback attempt.

After Joshua Shene's 32-yard field pulled Ole Miss within 7-6 three minutes into the second quarter, Tebow ran in from nine yards out just under five minutes later to make it 14-6 at halftime.

The Gators stretched their lead to 21-6 on Tebow's six-yard TD run with 10:05 remaining in the third quarter.

Ole Miss closed to 27-16 on Adams' 19-yard TD pass to Shay Hodge with 2:47 left in the third period.

The Rebels took over their next possession on their four-yard line following a punt, but needed just two plays to travel the 96 yards. Bruce Hall rushed for 19 yards before Adams hit Wallace on a deep pass to bring Ole Miss within a field goal.