The 2-2 Auburn Tigers with coach Tommy Tuberville traveled to Gainesville to meet the 4th ranked, 4-0 Florida Gators of coach Urban Meyer. The Tigers entered the game with little confidence having lost home games to South Florida & Mississippi State after entering the season ranked 18th nationally. Now out of the national rankings, Auburn was a 21-point underdog to The Belt holding Gators but this was an upset weekend in college football as 6 of the top 13 teams had already fallen & the Tigers were about to make it 7. Auburn’s PK Wes Byrum connected on a 43-yard field goal as time expired giving the Tigers a 20-17 upset win. After forcing a punt on Florida’s first possession, Auburn took over at their own 14-yard line. After 3 quick plays, the Tigers were ready to punt but Florida’s S Jamar Hornsby was called for a roughing-the-kicker penalty giving Auburn a new set of downs & a boost of momentum. Mixing short passes from QB Brandon Cox with inside runs, the Tigers drove to the Florida 6-yard line. Back-up QB Kodi Burns came in to run a quarterback draw & scored the touchdown that gave Auburn a 7-0 lead. The 14-play, 86-yard drive set the script for how the Tigers planned to control the game by keeping the high-powered Gators’ offense on the bench. As the 1st quarter ended, Florida had run only 6 plays for 5 yards. The Gators started the 2nd quarter with a 66-yard drive but the 34-yard field goal attempt by PK Joey Ijjas was blocked. Auburn’s next drive went 80 yards & was capped by a 3-yard touchdown run by RB Ben Tate that put the Tigers ahead 14-0. Before the end of the half, Florida drove to the Auburn 37-yard line but another turnover ended any score chance. The 2nd half started much better for the Gators as Heisman Trophy winning, All-American QB Tim Tebow connected with WR Percy Harvin on a 52-yard completion to the Tigers’ 3-yard line. Auburn’s defense stiffened & held Florida to a 24-yard field goal by Ijjas; the Gators were on the scoreboard but still trailed 14-3. Tebow tried to go deep on the first play of the next Florida drive but his pass was intercepted by Tigers’ CB Patrick Lee. The turnover started a 10-play, 52-yard drive that ended with Byrum hitting a 30-yard field goal pushing the lead to 17-3 with 6:39 left in the 3rd quarter. Another Gators’ punt had the Tigers ready to take total control of the game but on the next play, Auburn’s RB Ben Tate fumbled after an 18-yard gain & Florida’s S Joe Haden recovered. The momentum shift seemed to put the Gators in position to dominate the final quarter as they for the score with Tebow carrying in from 6 yards on the first play for the period. The score got Florida within a touchdown but seemed to point to the inevitable outcome of a Gators win. Auburn punted to Florida after their next drive & the Gators took over at their own 11-yard line. Tebow dominated the 9-play drive rushing for 35 yards while throwing for 54 yards. His 2-yard touchdown run tied the game at 17-17 with 7:36 to play. The Gators’ defense forced a punt & Tebow had 4:49 to drive the offense from the Florida 42-yard line to scoring position but the Tigers defense had no interest in allowing the sophomore quarterback the do that. Three plays resulted in 6 yards of losses & the Gators were forced to punt. With the ball at their own 39-yard line, Cox used the same formula that had worked on the Tigers’ first possession of the game. The senior quarter threw short, quick passes while Tate gashed the Florida defense with inside runs that got the ball to the Gators’ 26-yard line where the Tigers called timeout with 0:03 to play. Byrum, a true freshman, was successful on the winning kick from 43 yards not once but twice. The Gators used their final timeout to try to “ice the kicker” moments before the snap. Byrum went through with the kick & it was just inside the right upright. The second kick was also good & this time counted giving the Tigers their first Belt reign since 1984 with the upset. Cox finished with 227 yards passing will WR Rodgeriqus Smith had 9 catches for 102 yards. For Florida, Tebow threw for 201 yards with a touchdown as well as an interception while Harvin added 7 catches for 199 yards. The Gators finished the season 9-4, ranked 13th nationally while Auburn finished the season 9-4, ranked 15th nationally. Florida would play for The Belt again in 2008.
This Date in College Football Belt History – September 29 | Pickin … https://bit.ly/QujaW