← The College Football Belt
Reign #257 · Game 1,376 of 1,634
September 1, 2007 Week 1 · Regular Season Belt defended

Florida defends the belt, 49–3, at home over Western Kentucky.

Home · Defending Holder
Florida 49
AT
Away · Challenger
Western Kentucky 3
AI-Written

Recap

Florida's defense suffocated Western Kentucky from the opening kickoff, holding the Hilltoppers to just 204 total yards and forcing them into a scoreless first half. The Gators struck early and often, with Tim Tebow engineering a dominant offensive performance that included touchdown passes to Riley Cooper (59 yards in Q1, 42 yards in Q3) and Percy Harvin (19 yards in Q2), along with rushing scores from Kestahn Moore and a 1-yard plunge by Tebow himself in the first quarter. Western Kentucky managed only a late field goal from Chris James in the waning moments of the first half, and Florida continued their onslaught in the second half with additional scores to put the game completely out of reach. The Gators' relentless attack and ironclad defense never allowed the visitors a moment of momentum, as Florida's 510 total yards of offense and flawless turnover margin proved far too much for the overmatched Hilltoppers.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 FloridaWestern Kentucky
Total yards510204
Rushing yards18548
Passing yards325186
First downs210
3rd down conv.4/80/0
Turnovers00
Penalties–yards8–510–0
Time of possession13:56

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 15:00Western Kentucky+29 ydDavid Wolke pass complete to Jessie Quinn for 29 yards to the Fla 43 for a 1ST down.
Q1 11:03Florida+48 ydTim Tebow pass complete to Andre Caldwell for 48 yards to the WKent 19 for a 1ST down.
Q1 8:49Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q1 8:49Florida+1 ydTim Tebow rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:03Florida+59 ydTim Tebow pass complete to Riley Cooper for 59 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:03Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q2 13:36Florida+19 ydTim Tebow pass complete to Percy Harvin for 19 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 13:36Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q2 8:11Florida+22 ydJoey Ijjas kickoff for 52 yards returned by Bobby Mason for 22 yards to the WKent 40.
Q2 8:11Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q2 8:11Florida+3 ydKestahn Moore rush for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 3:53Florida+26 ydTim Tebow pass complete to Percy Harvin for 26 yards to the WKent 49 for a 1ST down.
Q2 0:00Western Kentucky+26 ydChris James 26 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 4:08Florida+42 ydTim Tebow pass complete to Riley Cooper for 42 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 4:25Florida+43 ydTim Tebow pass complete to Andre Caldwell for 43 yards to the WKent 42 for a 1ST down.
Q3 4:08Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:57Florida+1 ydKestahn Moore rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:57Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q4 8:55Western Kentucky+22 ydJeremy Moore punt for 39 yards, returned by Chris Rainey for 22 yards to the WKent 23.
Q4 8:23Florida+4 ydCameron Newton rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 8:23Florida+0 ydJoey Ijjas extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Tim TebowFlorida13/1730017.63098.7
Cam NewtonFlorida3/4256.30055.3
K.J. BlackWestern Kentucky10/131027.8000.0
David WolkeWestern Kentucky3/44310.8000.0
Brandon SmithWestern Kentucky2/4112.8000.0

Rushing

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Kestahn MooreFlorida16915.7217
Tim TebowFlorida8384.8118
Percy HarvinFlorida3258.3013
Jarred FaysonFlorida3217.008
Cam NewtonFlorida252.514
Chevon WalkerFlorida155.005
Tyrell HaydenWestern Kentucky11322.908
Curtis HamiltonWestern Kentucky2126.007
David WolkeWestern Kentucky2115.509
Andrew McCloudWestern Kentucky5112.206
Brandon SmithWestern Kentucky1-5-5.000
K.J. BlackWestern Kentucky11-13-1.2010

Receiving

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Riley CooperFlorida412230.5259
Andre Jerome CaldwellFlorida310334.3048
Percy HarvinFlorida35317.7126
Louis MurphyFlorida3206.7010
David NelsonFlorida2168.0014
Cornelius IngramFlorida11111.0011
Jessie QuinnWestern Kentucky24824.0029
Jake GaeblerWestern Kentucky44310.8019
Quinterrance CooperWestern Kentucky3299.7015
Curtis HamiltonWestern Kentucky3186.0010
Jared JohnsonWestern Kentucky199.009
Jamar JonesWestern Kentucky155.005
Wenquel GravesWestern Kentucky144.004
Show more stats (3 more categories)

Kicking

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Joey IjjasFlorida0/00.007/77
Chris JamesWestern Kentucky1/1100.0260/03

Punt Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Jarred FaysonFlorida5499.8170
Chris RaineyFlorida12222.0220
Jake GaeblerWestern Kentucky200.000

Punting

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Chas HenryFlorida311538.30049

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.