Sep 15, 2007, 23:41 GMT
Gainesville, FL - Tim Tebow threw for a pair of touchdowns and rushed for two more, as the fifth-ranked Florida Gators stomped the 22nd- ranked Tennessee Volunteers, 59-20, in a Southeastern Conference battle at the Swamp.
Tebow threw for 299 yards on 14-of-19 passing with an interception while rushing for 61 yards for the Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC), who improved to 3-0 to start a season under head coach Urban Meyer for the sixth time in his seven- year career.
'It was a complete team effort out there today,' Tebow said. 'Our receivers found a way to get open down the field and our offensive line did a good job of forcing good running lanes. Anytime you can run the ball and throw the ball well, you will be successful.'
Percy Harvin caught four passes for 120 yards and rushed for 75 yards with a score while Cornelius Ingram and Riley Cooper each caught touchdown passes in the victory.
'Offensively I think you witnessed one of the best players in college football in Percy Harvin,' Meyer said. 'He's healthy, now. He practiced, had a full week of practice and he's a winner. A coach doesn't find one like that all the time. I could go down the list, every receiver played very well.'
Erik Ainge completed 26-of-41 passes for 249 yards with a touchdown and interception for the Volunteers (1-2, 0-1), who also lost to the Gators in last season's meeting.
Josh Briscoe ended with eight catches for 76 yards while Austin Rogers hauled in four passes for 64 yards.
'Certainly, this wasn't the representation that we intended it to be down here today,' said Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer. 'Our players did work hard in preparing for this. Their attitudes have been outstanding. I just told them in the locker room that I don't expect anything less than that when we come back to work on Monday.'
After forcing Tennessee to go three-and-out on its opening drive, Florida's special teams gave the team an early lead after Brandon James returned a punt 83 yards for a score not even two minutes into the contest.
The Volunteers got on the board with 1:45 left in the opening quarter after Daniel Lincoln booted a 28-yard field goal to make it 7-3. Ainge passed for 39 yards on 3-of-4 attempts on the scoring drive.
The Gators quickly responded on the ensuing drive. Harvin rushed for 10 yards and Ingram followed with a 25-yard reception to set up a 30- yard touchdown pass from Tebow to Cooper to make it 14-3 with just 33 seconds left in the first.
Lincoln's second field goal of the game, a 22-yarder, pulled Tennessee to within 14-6 with just under 10 minutes to play in the second stanza.
Florida once again answered the Vols and upped its lead to 21-6 after scoring on the possession following Lincoln's three points. Tebow capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive with a seven-yard TD scamper with 5:38 remaining in the first half.
With 1:30 left until the break, Tebow hooked up with Ingram for a 20-yard score to extend Florida's lead to 28-6. The key play on the drive was a 28- yard run up the middle by Jarred Fayson.
A touchdown with just 25 seconds left until halftime by the Vols made it 28-13. Under intense pressure, Ainge managed to find Chris Brown open over the middle of the end zone for a 15-yard score.
A 96-yard interception return by Eric Berry with 8:47 left in third quarter pulled the Vols within eight points and silenced the Florida faithful.
The Gators defense, though, came up with a big play of their own as Dustin Doe scooped up a fumble by Arian Foster and returned it 18-yards into the end zone to make it 35-20 with 5:18 to play in the third.
Early in the fourth quarter, Harvin ripped off a 19-yard TD run to up Florida's advantage to 22 points while Tebow's five-yard run up the middle made it 49-20 with 11:25 left in the contest.
Joey Ijjas' 25-yard field goal with just under five minutes to play and a four-yard run by Cameron Newton with 1:14 to play capped the scoring.
Game Notes
Florida has won 10 straight games dating back to last season...The Gators racked up 554 total yards on offense...Despite the loss, Tennessee still holds a narrow 19-18 edge in the all-time series with Florida...Foster ended with just 26 yards to lead Tennessee's ground game.
© 2007 The Sports Network
Game Notes.
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