Florida 30, Mississippi 24

1234T
FLA (4-0)01413330
MISS (1-3)3318024

Final

12:30 PM ET, September 22, 2007
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
OXFORD, MS

Tebow rushes for QB-record 166 yards in Gators' win

WERE YOU THERE?
Passport

Did you attend this game? If so, start chronicling your sports memories today with ESPN's Sports Passport. Enter the games you attend, upload your photos and share your memories!
I was there »

Top 25 Overview
It was over when... Time ran out. The Gators' field goal with less than five minutes remaining provided some breathing room, but Ole Miss was never out of it.
Gameball goes to... Tim Tebow. The sophomore QB's legend continues to grow in Gainesville, as Tebow threw for two TDs and ran for two more in the win.
Stat of the game... 36. Tebow had 36 more yards of total offense (426) than the entire Ole Miss team (390). Florida will need more players to contribute to win the SEC title.
Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs2818
Total Yards507390
Passing261310
Rushing24680
Penalties14-12710-70
3rd Down Conversions8-152-11
4th Down Conversions1-10-1
Turnovers01
Possession35:2124:39
Air/Ground Leaders
Florida Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Tebow20/3426120
Mississippi Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Adams18/3130221
Sparks1/1800
Florida Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Tebow27166213
Moore1162018
Mississippi Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Green-Ellis113709
Hall433019
Florida Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Harvin11121123
Murphy257137
Mississippi Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Hicks389051
Hodge781121
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTERFLAMISS
FG05:02Joshua Shene 40 Yd
Drive: 9 plays, 37 yds, 4:36
03
SECOND QUARTERFLAMISS
TD14:52Percy Harvin 19 Yd Pass From Tim Tebow (Joey Ijjas Kick)
Drive: 10 plays, 77 yds, 5:01
73
FG11:57Joshua Shene 32 Yd
Drive: 8 plays, 38 yds, 2:46
76
TD07:08Tim Tebow 9 Yd Run (Joey Ijjas Kick)
Drive: 14 plays, 98 yds, 4:47
146
THIRD QUARTERFLAMISS
TD10:05Tim Tebow 6 Yd Run (Joey Ijjas Kick)
Drive: 10 plays, 70 yds, 3:10
216
FG08:03Joshua Shene 22 Yd
Drive: 6 plays, 67 yds, 1:55
219
TD05:17Louis Murphy 37 Yd Pass From Tim Tebow (Pat Failed)
Drive: 5 plays, 61 yds, 2:39
279
TD02:47Shay Hodge 19 Yd Pass From Seth Adams (Joshua Shene Kick)
Drive: 4 plays, 59 yds, 2:19
2716
TD00:07Mike Wallace 77 Yd Pass From Seth Adams (Seth Adams Pass To Marshay Green For Two-Point Conversion)
Drive: 2 plays, 96 yds, :35
2724
FOURTH QUARTERFLAMISS
FG04:59Joey Ijjas 25 Yd
Drive: 12 plays, 53 yds, 5:55
3024

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) -- Florida coach Urban Meyer was right to be worried about his young Gators' first road trip.

Tim Tebow set a school record for quarterbacks with 166 yards rushing and accounted for four touchdowns Saturday to lead the third-ranked Gators to a difficult 30-24 win at Mississippi.

Despite Tebow's big numbers, it took a late Tony Joiner interception and a pair of time-consuming drives to put the pesky Rebels away in the defending national champions' first challenge of the season.

"I'm just anxious to get on the plane and get the hell out of here," Meyer said.

Meyer was concerned the Gators (4-0) weren't ready to travel after three home wins in which they averaged 55 points. Thirty-five players, including 18 true freshmen, were making their first road trip and Florida made a one-hour bus drive from nearby Tupelo before the game's early start.

The effects of the trip showed most notably in Florida's 14 penalties for 127 yards, which Meyer called "just awful."

While many of the Gators seemed lethargic, Tebow did not. He ran the spread option offense in workmanlike fashion, taking what Ole Miss (1-3) gave him underneath and never forcing the deep pass. The sophomore led the Gators to their 11th straight win and 19th in their last 20.

The victory also snapped a three-game losing streak in the state of Mississippi, but it was the first time since last year's Southeastern Conference championship game that Florida failed to score 38 points or more. It was the third straight loss for Ole Miss.

"It was a fourth-quarter fight," Tebow said. "It's a huge win. There's a lot to learn and get better, but you can do that in a more positive fashion when you win."

Percy Harvin had a career-high 11 catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, a 19-yarder in the second quarter that helped the Gators to a 14-6 halftime lead.

Tebow gave Florida some separation at the start of the second half when he engineered a pair of touchdown drives. He scored on a 6-yard run, then hit Louis Murphy with a 37-yard pass down the center for a 27-9 lead with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

Florida appeared to be pulling away after the Rebels had to settle for field-goal attempts for much of the first three quarters.

However, Ole Miss quarterback Seth Adams, whose availability was in question because he sprained his right shoulder against Vanderbilt last week, led the Rebels back with the deep pass.

Adams threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Shay Hodge with 2:47 remaining in the third, cutting Florida's lead to 27-16. Then he hit Mike Wallace in stride on the next series for a 71-yard score. His 2-point conversion pass to Marshay Green made it 27-24 with a quarter to play.

Joiner intercepted Adams on the Rebels' next drive, and Tebow followed with 37 yards rushing on a 12-play, 53-yard drive that took 5:55 and ended with Joey Ijjas' 25-yard field goal.

That score took the oomph out of the Rebels' rally and they failed to make a first down with a fake punt on their final drive.

Tebow, who was the nation's No. 2 passer coming into the game, finished with 261 yards passing. In addition, he was the first quarterback to go over 100 yards at Florida since 1977 when Terry LeCount had 108 against Georgia.

"We were nervous for a while," defensive end Derrick Harvey said. "But thank goodness we've got Tim Tebow on our team."

Ole Miss was able to move the ball on the Gators' young defense with 390 yards of total offense, but struggled each time it traveled deep into Florida territory, mostly because of ill-timed penalties.

Still the performance was heartening to the Rebels, who were reeling from a 31-17 loss at Vanderbilt last week.

"This team just came together," Adams said. "It's an amazing thing when you get all these guys on the same page and ready to play."

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, September 22nd
Florida 30 Final
Mississippi 24
South Carolina 16 Final
LSU 28
Kentucky 42 Final
Arkansas 29
New Mexico State 20 Final
Auburn 55
Gardner-Webb 15 Final
Mississippi State 31
Arkansas State 27 Final
Tennessee 48
Georgia 26 Final
Alabama 23 OT