| Deep Fried Gator In Tebow Sauce
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Wes Byrum started celebrating before his kick even cleared the uprights. He knew it was good when it left his foot.
For Auburn, it was perfect. For Florida, it was a kick where it hurt most.
Byrum's 43-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Tigers to a 20-17 victory over the fourth-ranked Gators on Saturday night and gave them one of the biggest upsets on a day filled with them.
''It doesn't get any better than that,'' Byrum said.
The loss snapped an 11-game winning streak for the defending national champions, whose only loss last year was to Auburn, and gave the Gators their first home loss under coach Urban Meyer. They had won 18 in a row, 17 straight since Meyer took over in 2005.
It also might have jeopardized Florida's chances of repeating. Then again, with all the other upsets Saturday, the Gators surely won't slip too far out of the picture.
Florida (4-1, 2-1 SEC) could take a big step back next week at No. 2 LSU. Then again, if the Gators perform like they did Saturday, they could be in for another long day.
Auburn (3-2, 1-1) played sound defense, prevented Tim Tebow & Co. from making many big plays and took advantage of several mistakes to build a 14-0 halftime lead.
A running-into-the-punter penalty kept Auburn's opening drive alive. It ended with Kodi Burns' six-yard touchdown run. The Tigers made it 14-0 with Ben Tate's three-yard run that followed a blocked field goal.
It was 17-3 before Florida evened the game with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
However, Auburn came up big in the closing minutes. Byrum tried the winning kick just as Meyer called timeout. The kick was true, but Byrum had to do it again.
He did, and it was right down the middle.
''I was pretty excited,'' said Byrum, who missed his only attempt last week against New Mexico State. ''I wanted to make sure I came back.''
The Tigers rushed the field to celebrate and performed the ''Gator Chomp'' in front of 90,685 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
''We couldn't get first downs, and we couldn't get the defense off the field,'' Meyer said. ''It's very disappointing. We didn't play smart.'' |