The Mississippi State Bulldogs put up a good fight on defense, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to stop the No. 1 Florida Gators. The Gators scored 13 4th quarter points to win by a final score of 29-19. Once again it was the Gator offense that gave them problems. Two costly offensive turnovers gave Mississippi State their only two touchdowns of the game. Tim Tebow threw two interceptions… both were returned for touchdowns.

The Gator defense, without Spikes and Marsh, dominated the Bulldogs allowing only 237 yards on offense. The Gators intercepted Bulldog quarterback Lee three times and had 4 sacks as a team, 3 of those sacks coming from Carlos Dunlap. One of the key defensive plays of the game came on a Dustin Doe interception return for a touchdown. He was showboating and the ball was stripped right around the goal line. The refs reviewed the play and called it a touchdown in favor of the Gators. But if I take my Gator goggles off, I swear that ball was stripped before it crossed the endzone. If the Bulldogs got the ball back there it was have been a huge turn of events. All-in -all though, I think the Gators proved once again they have the best defense in the country, and they’ll only be better when Spikes returns.

The offense on the other hand is a different story. They played horrible, failing to move the ball downfield and failing to convert red zone opportunities into touchdowns. Tim Tebow only threw for 127 yards and didn’t have any touchdowns in the air. He did score a rushing touchdown on a 26 yard scramble. That touchdown tied him with Herschel Walker for the most all-time in the SEC.

Other notes from the game:
-Chris Rainey led the team in rushing yards. 12 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown.
-Aaron Hernandez led the team in receiving with 5 catches for 32 yards.
-Jeff Demps sprained his neck and left the game.
-Sturgis was 3/4 in field goal attempts. He missed a 37 yarder.
-Miss. State did not score an offensive touchdown.

Here is a highlight video from the game.