UF coach Urban Meyer thought about kicking a field goal. But in the end, he felt more comfortable putting the ball in the hands of his Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.
On fourth and one from the Rebels' 32-yard line, Tebow ran the ball up the middle and got nowhere, sealing the 31-30 defeat for the then-No. 4 Gators.
After the game, Tebow was heartbroken but still passionate about his team's future.
"I'm sorry. Extremely sorry," Tebow said. "We were looking for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida's never done here.
"But I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of the season, and you will never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of the season. You never see a team play harder than we will the rest of the season. God bless."
During Sunday's teleconference, Urban Meyer had confidence his quarterback was not just talking.
"That's Tim," Meyer said. "And everything he says, he does. So, we're all anxious to get back to work."
On the final play, Phillips would have had to kick a 49-yard field goal if the Gators chose to go that route.
In the new AP Poll released Sunday afternoon, UF (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) dropped to No. 12. The Gators will face Arkansas in Fayetteville on Saturday.
The Gators were forced to score late Saturday after what looked like a game-tying touchdown run by Percy Harvin went from 7 points to 6. Mississippi's Kentrell Lockett blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt, challenging UF to score with the game on the line for the second time in five minutes.
Mississippi (3-2, 1-1 SEC) coach Houston Nutt told his players earlier in the week to focus on blocking field goals.
"Last Sunday, for example, we said, 'Just keep staying in your gap on extra points. You never know when somebody might take a lazy step,'" Nutt said. "And Kentrell Lockett, boy, what a listener."
The Rebels' game-winning play came on an 86-yard pass from Jevan Snead to Shay Hodge on third and seven with just over five minutes left. Saturday was Hodge's daughter's birthday.
"The outside dude (Janoris Jenkins) falls off most of the time," Hodge said. "And he fell off, and I knew I was gonna be open. I ain't expect the safety (Major Wright) to misjudge it that bad, but when I seen him misjudge it bad I (took) it to the house."
Hodge burned UF cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Major Wright on the play.
It started out as a normal day in The Swamp: The Gators were up by 10 at halftime, Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow were connecting for big yards and the momentum was all in their favor.
Then the fumbles started coming.
Four fumbles in the first 35 minutes - three of them going for turnovers to Mississippi - eventually led to the Gators' downfall.
The Gators fumbled twice in their first three plays of the second half - Harvin and Tebow the guilty parties - resulting in 10 points for the Rebels and a 17-17 tie game.
UF had not given the ball up once all season before Saturday.
"We just preach, 'No turnovers, no turnovers, no turnovers' and 'Take care of the football,'" offensive coordinator Dan Mullen said. "We had five fumbles and lost three of them. That's just sloppy."
Other than the fumbles, Meyer blamed dropped passes for a lack of offense.
"You count the number of times we were open behind them and count the number of times we dropped the ball, it's probably 100-plus yards of offense and a couple scores," Meyer said. "It's surprising and real disappointing."
