Tim Tebow celebrates a first quarter touchdown.

Deonte Thompson bowls through Tennessee defenders for a touchdown.

David Nelson snags this pass in heavy traffic.

It wasn't all bad for Tennessee today. Their quarterback, Jonathan Crompton, was adequate on the day, throwing for over 250 yards and two touchdowns. The first of these came in the second quarter to cut the Florida lead back down to 21 points. Unfortunately, this came later in the quarter, after Crompton threw a red-zone interception that led to another Florida touchdown. Crompton's second interception of the quarter came on a Hail Mary attempt to end the half.

The third quarter was the action quarter of this game. Florida had a 28-7 halftime lead and things were looking good as they were set to get the ball to begin the second half. However, Tennessee held the Gators to a three-and-out, and drove the field to score on the ensuing possession. This touchdown cut the Gators lead to 15 with plenty of game left. However, their kicker missed the extra point, which could have been an omen for what was about to occur. As junior cornerback Joe Haden received the kick, something seemed odd: there was running room! It appeared that the Tennessee kicker that just blew the extra point kicked off to the wrong side of the field, and that his coverage was heading to his left. Haden took the kick, sliced to the right, and then was gone! Also gone was any momentum that the Vols had just picked up, as this stretched the score to 35-13 in Florida's favor.

Junior cornerback Joe Haden returns the Tennessee kickoff for a big touchdown.

Florida went on to add a touchdown and a field goal in the third, pushing their lead to 45-13. However, late in the quarter, a hush fell over the crowd at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Jeff Demps, who was having a big day on the ground, was hit hard on the sideline. After the hit, which appeared to be in the rib area, Demps slammed into one of the poles that supports the 10-yard chains. The sophomore rolled around a bit, reaching for his back. As we found out later, the Gators leading rusher will miss 11 weeks with a strained back. He should be able to return later in the year, but this is a crushing blow for sure.

In the fourth quarter, Florida's aim was to control the clock, and control the clock they did. They featured a steady diet of rushing plays before adding a field goal. After this score, the final score of the game, Coach Faraday took out the offensive starters and chewed clock to lock up the important victory. "Our kids did a fantastic job today of keeping the pressure on Tennessee. The Vols clawed back into this game in the third quarter, but we kept plugging and made sure we didn't give this one away. It is always sweet to beat your rivals," said the Gators' coach after the game. When asked about Jeff Demps, Faraday had this to say: "It's a blow to the team. [Demps] is a great kid, and a great playmaker. It hurts. All we can do now is move on. We have some great backs behind him in Rainey and Moody that will both carry the load. When Jeff can return, he'll play."

Next week, the Gators will take their #1 ranking on the road as they travel to Kentucky to take on the Wildcats.

Here are the team stats for the game:

Individual Stats Leaders

Passing
Tim Tebow: 10-16, 179 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Jonathan Crompton: 21-38, 254 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT

Rushing
Jeff Demps: 24-177 yds, 7.3 AVG, 2 TD, Long of 54
Montario Hardesty: 19-47 yds, 2.4 AVG, 0 TD, Long of 20

Receiving
David Nelson: 5 rec, 77 yds, 15.4 AVG, 1 TD, Long of 36
Gerald Jones: 4 rec, 58 yds, 14.5 AVG, 2 TD, Long of 24