6Mississippi 31 - 30 Florida
Final
  for this game

Florida looks to remain unbeaten in SEC home opener

Sep 27, 2008 - 10:06 AM Mississippi (2-2) at (4) Florida (3-0), 12:30 pm EDT

GAINESVILLE, Florida (Ticker) -- Urban Meyer has never lost a Southeastern Conference home opener as Florida's head coach, and he doesn't intend to break that trend this weekend.

With his team once again primed to contend for a national championship, Meyer puts that perfect record on the line Saturday when his fourth-ranked Gators play their Southeastern Conference home opener against Mississippi.

Meyer owns a 3-0 record in SEC home openers since arriving at Florida prior to the 2005 season.

Last year, the Gators routed Tennessee, 59-20, in their conference home opener thanks to 360 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns from eventual Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

But Meyer will certainly remember the game that followed one week later - a hard-fought 30-24 victory at Ole Miss.

Rebel quarterback Seth Adams hit Mike Wallace for a 77-yard touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter to pull Ole Miss to within 27-24 in that game. But the Rebels could never muster another scoring drive.

This year, Florida's biggest test was a 26-3 home victory over Miami on September 6 in a defensive slugfest.

The Gators are averaging 331.4 yards of total offense per game this year - a far cry from last year's gaudy 457.2. Tebow has been effortlessly efficient, if not quite the unstoppable force he was last year.

Instead, in fitting solidarity with the rest of the SEC, it has been Florida's defense that has dominated opponents this year. The Gators have given up just 19 points in three games, and opponents are averaging just 213 yards of offense per contest.

Mississippi is coming off a 23-17 loss to Vanderbilt, as the Commodores kicked two fourth-quarter field goals to slip past the Rebels and into the national rankings.

If the Rebels expect to have any chance against the Gators, they will need much more consistent play from quarterback Jevan Snead, who has thrown seven interceptions in four games this season.






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