This week, the Gators learned firsthand why the SEC is considered the toughest conference in the country. It seemed like everyone, including me, thought this would be a relatively easy game for us. Coach Meyer knew better. He knew that every time you go on tour at this conference, you face a battle. The Ole Miss Rebels were definitely up for a fight.

In our first road game of the year, the Gators managed to get past Ole Miss with a final score of 30-24. The Rebels came out strong and were able to keep us scoreless in the first quarter. Their defense was on us for much of the first half. They must have done a good preparation this week because they had tracked us down pretty well. For the first time all year, the offense couldn’t execute at will. Even though we managed to finish the first half winning 14-6, the Rebels felt pretty good about the way they played. And who could blame them?

However, we rallied in the second half, with Tebow hoping the guys would take a 27-6 lead. It looked like we finally had the ball rolling and were on our way to another big win. Then all of a sudden the rebels just turned it on. Quarterback Seth Adams quickly threw for 2 touchdowns, including a 71-yard pass to wide receiver Mike Wallace. I don’t know about you, but I started to get a little worried. They had all the momentum and advantage of playing in front of their home crowd. Fortunately, senior Tony Joiner was able to create a great interception for us. Tebow took charge again, driving down the field and setting us up for a field goal that made it 30-24. That’s where it would stay.

I would say 3 things led to this game being so close

1. Our young defense

2. First road trip of the year and first for our 18 year old freshman

3. Ole Miss just came out to play

After the game, Derrick Harvey said, “We were nervous for a while, but thank God we have Tim Tebow on our team.” Funny, he was thinking the exact same thing. Tebow carried us the entire game. He threw for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns, and rushed for a Gator quarterback record of 166 yards with 2 more touchdowns. It was another fine performance for the Heisman hopeful. I think it’s great that he’s living up to the hype and playing so well, but we really need more guys to step up, especially on defense. I’m starting to feel like I’m writing a Tim Tebow blog. Maybe Major Wright can be that guy.

The Gators remain undefeated at 4-0, but after this close decision, we fell to #4 in the AP poll, trading places with Oklahoma. It’s not a big deal as long as we keep winning. Next week we’re back in the Swamp to play Auburn at 8 pm The game happens to fall on my birthday, which has to be good luck. I’ll be partying hard to celebrate so next weeks post might lack details and I apologize for that in advance. I was way off on my prediction last week, so let’s see if I can catch up. Here’s my prediction for the Auburn game:

crocodiles – 38

chestnut – 24