2007 Florida Gators football team The 2007 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2007 college football season . The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision ( FBS ) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) , and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university ' s Gainesville , Florida campus . It was the third season for head coach Urban Meyer , who led the Gators to a Capital One Bowl berth and an overall win - loss record of 9 – 4 ( . 692 ) . Previous season . The Gators won the BCS Championship Game in Glendale , Arizona to cap off the 2006 season , the second national championship in school history . In addition , they won a school - record 13 games and the school ' s seventh official SEC title . Pre - season . Two highly - rated recruiting classes from 2006 and 2007 filled up most of the depth chart , as few upperclassmen remained from last year ' s title team . Nine of 11 starters were replaced from their championship defense . While the offense lost fewer starters — only 8 — from the previous season , the Gators had to replace Chris Leak at quarterback . Leak was replaced by sophomore Tim Tebow , who shared quarterback duties with him last season . The coaching staff remained , surprisingly , intact after 2006 , which gave Meyer a third straight season at Florida with the same coaching staff . The schedule for the Gators played in their favor this season , as they faced their toughest opponents — such as Tennessee , Auburn , and Florida State — at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium . Despite the challenges of youth , the Gators were ranked in the top 5 in some preseason polls . Schedule . Sources : " 2012 Florida Football Media Guide " , and GatorZone . com . Game notes . WKU . For the season opener , the WKU Hilltoppers filled the void left by the UCF Knights , who had decided to back out of the game in December 2006 . This was the first contest between these two schools . It was also the first game in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium after the Gators won their 2006 SEC and national championships . Sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow led the Gators to touchdowns on their first four possessions en route to a relatively easy 49 – 3 victory in intense early season heat . Tebow finished his first career start 13 - of - 17 for 300 yards and three touchdowns passes , and added a rushing touchdown as well . True freshman quarterback Cameron Newton entered the game in the fourth quarter and rushed for a touchdown on the last play before lightning in the area caused an hour - long delay . When the weather failed to clear , the game was declared final with 8 : 23 remaining in the 4th quarter . Troy . It was a tale of two halves . In the first , the Gator offense led by QB Tim Tebow was literally unstoppable , scoring a touchdown every time they had the ball against the Troy Trojans . The special teams chipped in with two blocked punts , and , after allowing an early touchdown , the young Gator defense shut out their opponents for the rest of the half . The score stood at 49 - 7 after two quarters , the Gators having racked up over 350 yards of total offense , Tebow throwing 3 touchdown passes and running for another score in an impressive display of all - around dominating football . After halftime , though , things changed in The Swamp . Florida received the second half kickoff and fumbled a few plays later , leading to a Troy touchdown . That sequence would set the tone for the rest of the game . The Gators seemed to lose their offensive rhythm and the point production dried up while Troy QB Omar Haugabook ( 30 - 53 , 291 yards , 2 TDs ) found his own rhythm , helping the Trojans outscore the Gators 24 - 10 over the final two quarters . When the final whistle blew , Florida came away with a 59 - 31 victory . The outcome was never in doubt ; the Gators 2nd half lead was always greater than 20 points . And their final stats looked impressive - they outgained the Trojans 500 to 336 and averaged 7 yards per offensive play . Tebow ' s numbers were solid as well ; he completed 18 of 25 passes for 236 yards and 3 TDs ( with no INTs ) and rushed 19 times for a team - high 93 yards and 2 more TDs . In fact , his play earned Tebow honors as the Southeastern Conference offensive player of the week . However , the second half lapses and miscues ( Florida was hit with 11 penalties for 104 yards ) made it obvious that the Gators gridders had plenty to work on as they prepared for their SEC opener against the Tennessee Volunteers the following Saturday . " Notes " : The Gators ' second game of the season was also the first meeting with its opponent . This was the second of three such games in the 2007 season . Tennessee . On the 1st possession of the game in the steamy Swamp , the Tennessee Volunteers went three and out . On the ensuing punt , Brandon James took the return 83 yards for Gator touchdown . Things never did get much better for the visitors , as Florida rolled to an impressive 59 - 20 victory in the SEC opener for both teams . There was , however , a brief period when it seemed that the contest would be much closer . The Gators ran out to a 28 - 6 lead by late in the 2nd quarter on two Tim Tebow touchdown passes and a Tebow touchdown run , along with the opening punt return . But then Tennessee QB Erik Ainge got his team ' s offense moving , throwing a touchdown pass just before halftime to cut the lead to 28 - 13 at intermission . The Gators mounted a long drive to start the second half , but freshman Volunteer cornerback Eric Berry picked off a Tim Tebow pass ( his first interception thrown in 2007 ) and returned it 93 yards for another Tennessee touchdown . When Florida ' s next drive ended in a punt , UT had the ball down only eight , 28 - 20 . But on the first play of the possession , Erik Ainge ' s handoff to running back Arian Foster was mishandled , and Gator linebacker Dustin Doe scooped up the loose ball and took it into the endzone for a Florida touchdown . Tennessee ' s momentum was washed away by the roar of 90 , 000 Gator fans , and the home team never looked back . Florida would end the game with 31 straight points , turning a close contest into a runaway . Several Gators had excellent afternoons . Tim Tebow finished 14 - 19 passing for 299 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT and rushed for 62 yards and 2 more TDs , and was awarded as the Walter Camp Foundation national offensive player of the week . Brandon James was the SEC special teams player of the week for his 193 yards and a touchdown on kick returns . And receiver Percy Harvin excelled as well , leading all players in rushing ( 9 attempts for 75 yards and 1 TD ) and receiving ( 4 catches for 120 yards ) . The Florida offense rolled up 556 yards of total offense , 255 on the ground . Meanwhile , the Gator defense also did its part , holding Tennessee to just 38 yards rushing with no first downs on the ground and 293 yards total offense . Overall , the Gators put together a historically dominating performance . Their 59 points scored was the second - highest total in the history of the series ( behind only UF ' s 62 in the 1995 contest ) , and the 39 point margin of defeat was the Vols ' most lopsided loss to any opponent since 1981 . Tennessee still leads the overall series by a narrow 19 - 18 margin . Ole Miss . Though they looked dominant at times early in the season , the 2007 Florida Gator squad was a team that relied on many freshmen and sophomores in key roles . This inexperience was evident in their contest with the Ole Miss Rebels in Oxford , Mississippi . Thirty - five players on Florida ' s 60 - man traveling roster had never played in a collegiate road game before , and it showed . But as the clock in Vaught - Hemingway Stadium ticked down to 00 : 00 , the Gators had done enough to earn a tighter - than - expected 30 - 24 victory . At different points in the game , the young Gators struggled on offense , defense , and special teams . They also committed 14 penalties for 127 yards , with several of the miscues either stalling Gator drives or helping the Rebel ' s scoring chances . But once again , it was Tim Tebow who led Florida ' s charge to victory . The sophomore quarterback completed 20 of 34 passes for 262 yards and 2 touchdowns and no interceptions . Once again , his favorite target was Percy Harvin , who had 11 receptions for 123 yards and a TD . Tebow also rushed 27 times for 168 yards and 2 more touchdowns , setting new Florida single - game records for rushing attempts and rushing yards by a quarterback and almost single - handedly running out the clock late in the game . In all , Tebow accounted for all 4 Gator touchdowns and 427 of his team ' s 507 total yards . For his efforts , Tebow was named the SEC ' s offensive player of the week for the 2nd time in the 2007 season . The Rebels put up a valiant effort . Despite a sore shoulder , Ole Miss quarterback Seth Adams threw for 301 yards and 2 touchdowns , including a perfectly tossed 77 - yard scoring strike that cut the Gator advantage to 3 late in the 3rd quarter . Mississippi ' s lead in the all - time series was reduced to 11 - 10 - 1 . The Gator victory broke both a two - game losing streak to the Rebels and a three - game losing streak in games played in the state of Mississippi . Auburn . The Gators were seeking revenge for last seasons ' s only loss ( a 27 – 17 setback at Auburn ) when the Tigers visited The Swamp . The Gator defense proved unreliable in the first half , allowing the Tigers to get two touchdowns , while Auburn exhibited its own top notch defense . While the Gators were able to mount a comeback in the second half , eventually bringing the game to a 17 – 17 tie , Auburn had the ball at the end of the game , and Auburn kicked a field goal as time expired to make the score 20 – 17 , upsetting the number 4 ranked Gators . This loss was coach Urban Meyer ' s first in Gainesville , as well as his first loss since last year ' s loss to Auburn . This was the 82nd meeting between the two teams , with the Tigers bringing their record in the UF - Auburn series to 42 – 38 – 2 all - time . Auburn would be the only team Tebow has played , but never defeated . LSU . In one of the most anticipated games of the season , the Florida Gators traveled to Tiger Stadium to take on the LSU Tigers in a game that had conference and national title implications . The Gators took an early lead by kicking a field goal on their first drive . Two drives later , the Gators mounted a 12 - play drive that culminated in a Tim Tebow two - yard pass and an unbelievable catch made by Kestahn Moore to put the Gators up by ten . LSU immediately countered with a long drive of their own , going 80 yards in 16 plays , scoring on a Ryan Perrilloux option play to cut the Gator lead to 10 – 7 . The Gators marched down the field again and scored on a Tebow run to put their lead back at 10 with 2 : 23 to play in the first half . LSU moved the ball right before the half , but kicker Colt David missed a 43 - yard field goal . In the second half , LSU took the ensuing drive but were stopped by the Gator defense . Appearing to kick another long field goal , LSU instead ran a brilliant fake with the holder — quarterback Matt Flynn — who scooted eight yards for the first down . The Tigers scored on a Keiland Williams run shortly thereafter . The Gators answered the LSU drive with a quick 3 - play drive to score on a 37 - yard Tebow pass to Cornelius Ingram . Craig Steltz missed an assignment on the play which left Ingram wide open on the post pattern . Florida started the fourth quarter with a 24 – 14 lead . However , the Tigers were not to be denied . After missing another relatively short field goal , LSU took advantage of an errant pass by Tim Tebow which hit Ingram in the helmet . The Tigers drove down the field , and Flynn hit Demetrius Byrd for a 3 yard touchdown to cut the Gator lead to 3 . On the final LSU drive , the Tigers converted several fourth down plays , including one by runningback Jacob Hester where he made a great second effort to surge ahead to just get the first down . Hester scored a short touchdown with 1 : 06 to play in the game , giving the Tigers a 28 – 24 lead . On the final drive , Florida gained 30 yards , but Tebow ' s hail mary pass as time expired was batted down by Chad Jones , sealing the LSU victory . The loss cut Florida ' s lead in the budding rivalry to 28 – 23 – 3 . Kentucky . The Gators traveled to Lexington to take on the Kentucky Wildcats for the 57th time . In a rare reversal , Kentucky was ranked in the top 10 with the Gators on the outside looking in . The Gators still entered the game as 7 - point favorites . Kentucky opened the scoring on an Andre ' Woodson 33 - yard pass to Dicky Lyons to take an early 7 – 0 lead . Florida answered on consecutive drives with a 10 - yard Tim Tebow pass to Cornelius Ingram and a Tebow to Louis Murphy 66 - yard pass to put the Gators up by a touchdown . Kentucky cut the lead to four on a field goal . The Gators countered by mounting a drive before the half that culminated in a Tebow 1 - yard " jump pass " to Aaron Hernandez . The second half began with another Gator score , as Tebow found Andre Caldwell in the end zone on an 8 - yard pass . This stretched the Gator lead to 18 , their largest of the day . Woodson hit Jacob Tamme on a 28 - yard pass to pull the Wildcats within 11 . Florida added a field goal to build their lead to 14 midway through the third quarter . Woodson then found Lyons again on a 50 - yard catch and run . Again the Gators responded , mounting a 6 - minute drive that spanned the third and fourth quarters , culminating in a Percy Harvin 24 - yard touchdown run . Both teams traded punts before Woodson found Lyons for the third time on the day on an 6 - yard TD pass . With 3 : 28 left in the game , Kentucky opted to kick off instead of onside kick . The Gators rolled the dice after getting a first down , as Tebow threw a 40 - yard pass to Harvin to get the Gators in the red zone . Tebow closed the drive with a touchdown score on the ground to put the game away . Kentucky refused to give up , driving to the Florida 5 - yard - line with seconds left and closed the game with a touchdown from Woodson to Keenan Burton . With the game already decided , the PAT was not tried and the Gators walked away with a 45 - 37 victory . With the win and Tennessee ' s loss to Alabama , the Gators once again control their destiny in the SEC Eastern Division . With the victory , Florida leads the series 40 - 17 - 0 and has beaten Kentucky twenty one consecutive years in football , the third longest active streak in Division I - FBS . Navy ' s victory over Notre Dame subsequently snapped the longest streak to make Florida / Kentucky the second longest . Georgia . The 2007 Florida – Georgia football rivalry game saw the emergence of Knowshon Moreno , the Bulldog ' s redshirt freshman , with 188 yards on the ground and three touchdowns . Florida ' s Tim Tebow was limited in the game due to a bruised shoulder and Kestahn Moore suffered from a fumble and missed snap . Moore ' s fumble early in the game led to Georgia ' s first touchdown . The entire Bulldog bench rushed on to the field resulting in two separate 15 - yard penalties , both assessed on the ensuing kickoff . This was only the first of three TDs in the game that ended in penalties for excessive celebration , with Georgia ' s Mohamed Massaquoi and Florida ' s Wondy Pierre - Louis drawing the other flags . The Gators rallied back with a quick touchdown but were never able to take the lead . A late Georgia touchdown sealed the victory for the Bulldogs . This was the 85th meeting between the two teams . The Bulldogs hold a 46 – 37 – 2 series lead . Florida has won fifteen of the last eighteen contests , but are 2 and 2 in the last 4 games . Vanderbilt . The Commodores traveled to Gainesville for the first time since 2005 where they nearly came away with a win in overtime . In the 41st meeting between the two , Florida came out early with a 35 – 7 lead by the half . The Gators finished with 498 yards on offense against what had been the 14th best defense in the nation . Tim Tebow completed 22 of 27 passes for 281 yards passing and also ran for 35 yards on 6 carries . Percy Harvin carried the ball 11 times for 113 yards and two touchdowns and also caught 9 passes for 110 yards receiving , becoming the first player in school history to have over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game . Florida leads with a lopsided 30 – 9 – 2 record and has won the last 17 games in a row . South Carolina . Florida traveled to Columbia and renewed their budding rivalry with a win over the Gamecocks . The Gators now lead the all - time series 21 – 4 – 3 , although the annual contest has become much more intense since Heisman Trophy - winning ex - Gator quarterback and championship - winning ex - Gator head coach Steve Spurrier took the reins at South Carolina for the 2005 season . Spurrier ' s new team upset his old team in 2005 , and only a blocked last - second field goal kept him from repeating that feat in Gainesville in 2006 . Florida quarterback Tim Tebow set a career high in passing yards in the game with 304 yards . He also set a new school record for rushing touchdowns by a QB in a game with 5 breaking the old record held by ex - Florida QB Jesse Palmer . The first of these five rushing touchdowns broke the school record for most rushing touchdowns . Tebow was tied with Emmitt Smith and Buford Long with 14 rushing touchdowns in the season entering this game . This was also Florida ' s first game of the season without their leading receiver Percy Harvin due to a sinus infection . Florida Atlantic . The FAU Owls traveled to Gainesville for the first meeting between the two teams . This marked the third game of the season where the Gators faced an opponent for the first time . Tim Tebow rushed for his 20th touchdown of the season in the 2nd quarter setting a new SEC record for rushing touchdowns in a season . Tim Tebow finished last week ' s game with 19 total rushing touchdowns leaving him tied with Shaun Alexander , LaBrandon Toefield , and Garrison Hearst . He also became the first quarterback in Division I - FBS history to pass for at least 20 touchdowns and rush for at least 20 touchdowns in the same season . He also set a career best in passing yards with 338 . The record - setting day continued when Gators ' wide receiver Andre Caldwell set a new school record for career receptions with 177 breaking the prior record held by Carlos Alvarez with 172 . This was the second game in a row where Florida wide receiver Percy Harvin was absent with a sinus infection and migraine headaches . Florida State . Senior day in the Swamp saw the Gators start strong , scoring four touchdowns and a field goal on their first five possessions en route to a 45 - 12 victory over the in - state rival Florida State Seminoles . The Gator offense compiled 541 total yards to the Seminoles ' 287 , and were often able to finish drives with touchdowns while Florida State was forced to settle for field goals . One of FSU kicker Gary Cismesia ' s four FGs was a school record 60 - yard effort on the last play of the 1st half to cut his team ' s deficit to 24 - 12 at intermission . However , the momentum was short - lived , as Florida went on an 6 - play , 81 - yard scoring drive without throwing a pass to open the 2nd half and cruised from then on . That 3rd quarter touchdown was the second rushing TD of the contest for Gator QB Tim Tebow and his 22nd of the year , tying the NCAA Division I - FBS record for most rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback . Despite suffering a fractured hand on that run , he remained in the game and threw his third touchdown pass of the game in the 4th quarter , giving him 5 total TDs in the contest and 51 for the season . With his 262 passing yards and 89 rushing , Tebow set a new school record for most yards of total offense in a season with 3 , 970 , surpassing Rex Grossman ' s 2001 total . Gator RB / WR Percy Harvin did his part as well , returning from a 2 - game absence to rush 16 times for a game - high 157 yards and a touchdown and catch 5 passes for another 67 yards . The Gators ' winning streak versus FSU grew to four games with this victory , including a 21 - 14 triumph in Tallahassee in 2006 . Florida leads the all - time series 31 - 19 - 2 . It also marked the fourth win of the season in which the Gators defeated a team led by a former national championship winning coach ( Bobby Bowden , Howard Schnellenberger , Phil Fulmer , and Steve Spurrier being those coaches ) . Michigan . The Florida Gators closed out the 2007 season against the Michigan Wolverines on New Years Day in the Capital One Bowl . This was only the second meeting between the two storied programs with the first having taken place a short five seasons ago in the Outback Bowl . Lloyd Carr coached his Wolverines for the final time with the announcement of his retirement shortly after his final regular season game against rival Ohio State . Urban Meyer and the Gators were looking to carry their momentum from the second half of the season with Heisman - winning sophomore Tim Tebow into the bowl game . Coming off of two consecutive regular season losses , the Wolverines were attempting to break their four bowl game losing streak . Ironically , their last bowl game win came against the Ron Zook coached Gators following the 2002 season . This was the fifth game of the season where the Gators played a team led by a former national championship winning head coach . The Gators lost the game 41 – 35 as Michigan barraged the Gator defense for over 500 yards of offense . Chad Henne finished his career at the University of Michigan with a victory in a bowl game , the first in five seasons , and finished with a career high in passing yards . The newly named Michigan head coach , Rich Rodriguez , could be seen during the game along the Michigan sidelines .