September 15, 2007 Week 3 · Regular Season Belt defended

Florida defends the belt, 59–20, at home over Tennessee.

Home · Defending Holder

Florida 59

Away · Challenger

Tennessee 20

AI-Written

Recap

Florida's defense set the tone early, with Brandon James returning a punt 83 yards for a touchdown on Tennessee's first possession, and the Gators never looked back. Tim Tebow orchestrated a dominant offensive performance, throwing touchdown passes to Riley Cooper and Cornelius Ingram while adding a rushing touchdown, as Florida built a commanding lead by halftime. Tennessee's Erik Ainge struggled with turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown by Eric Berry that went for 96 yards in the third quarter, while a fumble recovery by Florida in the end zone added another score. Despite Tennessee scoring 20 points through various touchdowns and field goals from Daniel Lincoln, Florida's explosive plays and turnover margin proved decisive in the 59-20 victory that kept the belt firmly around the Gators' waist.

Brandon James's 83-yard punt return touchdown in Q1 set an early tone of Florida dominance
Tim Tebow's efficient passing and rushing attack with multiple touchdown drives established control
Eric Berry's 96-yard interception return for a touchdown in Q3 essentially sealed the game
Tennessee's three turnovers versus Florida's one proved crucial in the lopsided final margin

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

FloridaTennessee

Total yards554298

Rushing yards25537

Passing yards299261

First downs2314

3rd down conv.5/125/17

Turnovers13

Penalties–yards9–667–40

Time of possession21:3015:10

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

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 13:03	Tennessee	+83 yd	Britton Colquitt punt for 50 yards, returned by Brandon James for 83 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 13:03	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q1 13:03	Florida	+74 yd	Joey Ijjas kickoff for 70 yards returned by Lamarcus Coker for 74 yards to the Fla 26 out-of-bounds.
Q1 11:13	Tennessee	+0 yd	Erik Ainge pass intercepted by Markihe Anderson at the Fla 9, returned for no gain to the Fla 9.
Q1 1:45	Tennessee	+27 yd	Daniel Lincoln 27 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 1:45	Tennessee	+31 yd	Chad Cunningham kickoff for 66 yards returned by Brandon James for 31 yards to the Fla 35.
Q1 1:05	Florida	+25 yd	Tim Tebow pass complete to Cornelius Ingram for 25 yards to the Tenn 30 for a 1ST down.
Q1 0:33	Florida	+30 yd	Tim Tebow pass complete to Riley Cooper for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:33	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q2 14:30	Tennessee	+32 yd	Erik Ainge pass complete to Austin Rogers for 32 yards to the Fla 36 for a 1ST down out-of-bounds.
Q2 9:55	Tennessee	+31 yd	Chad Cunningham kickoff for 59 yards returned by Brandon James for 31 yards to the Fla 42.
Q2 9:55	Tennessee	+22 yd	Daniel Lincoln 22 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 5:38	Florida	+7 yd	Tim Tebow rush for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 5:38	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q2 1:30	Florida	+20 yd	Tim Tebow pass complete to Cornelius Ingram for 20 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:05	Florida	+30 yd	Joey Ijjas kickoff for 64 yards returned by Lamarcus Coker for 30 yards to the Tenn 36.
Q2 2:35	Florida	+28 yd	Jarred Fayson rush for 28 yards to the Tenn 25 for a 1ST down.
Q2 1:30	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:25	Tennessee	+15 yd	Erik Ainge pass complete to Chris Brown for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 0:25	Tennessee	+0 yd	Daniel Lincoln extra point GOOD.
Q3 15:00	Tennessee	+30 yd	Chad Cunningham kickoff for 65 yards returned by Brandon James for 30 yards to the Fla 35.
Q3 8:47	Florida	+96 yd	Tim Tebow pass intercepted by Eric Berry at the Tenn 4, returned for 96 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 8:47	Tennessee	+0 yd	Daniel Lincoln extra point GOOD.
Q3 5:18	Tennessee	-3 yd	Arian Foster rush for a loss of 3 yards, fumbled at the Tenn 18, recovered by Dustin Doe for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 5:18	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q3 5:18	Florida	+31 yd	Joey Ijjas kickoff for 66 yards returned by Lamarcus Coker for 31 yards to the Tenn 46, fumbled at the Tenn 40, forced by Roderi Blackett, recovered by Lennon Creer.
Q3 3:51	Florida	+49 yd	Tim Tebow pass complete to Percy Harvin for 49 yards to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:50	Florida	+19 yd	Percy Harvin rush for 19 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 14:50	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q4 11:25	Florida	+5 yd	Tim Tebow rush for 5 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 11:36	Florida	+48 yd	Tim Tebow pass complete to Percy Harvin for 48 yards to the Tenn 5 for a 1ST down.
Q4 11:25	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:41	Florida	+45 yd	Tim Tebow pass complete to Louis Murphy for 45 yards to the Tenn 19 for a 1ST down.
Q4 4:55	Florida	+25 yd	Joey Ijjas 25 yard field goal GOOD.
Q4 2:43	Tennessee	+9 yd	Jonathan Crompton pass intercepted by Jerimy Finch at the Tenn 38, returned for 9 yards to the Tenn 29.
Q4 1:13	Florida	+4 yd	Cameron Newton rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 1:13	Florida	+0 yd	Joey Ijjas extra point GOOD.
Q4 1:13	Florida	+31 yd	Joey Ijjas kickoff for 65 yards returned by Dennis Rogan for 31 yards to the Tenn 36.

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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Tim TebowFlorida	14/19	299	15.7	2	1	69.2
Erik AingeTennessee	26/41	249	6.1	1	1	69.7
Jonathan CromptonTennessee	2/5	12	2.4	0	1	7.3

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Percy HarvinFlorida	9	75	8.3	1	19
Tim TebowFlorida	18	61	3.4	2	18
Kestahn MooreFlorida	11	48	4.4	0	11
Jarred FaysonFlorida	3	29	9.7	0	28
Cam NewtonFlorida	2	15	7.5	1	11
Brandon JamesFlorida	1	13	13.0	0	13
Chris RaineyFlorida	1	10	10.0	0	10
Chevon WalkerFlorida	1	4	4.0	0	4
Arian FosterTennessee	11	26	2.4	0	6
Lennon CreerTennessee	4	15	3.8	0	6
LaMarcus CokerTennessee	5	5	1.0	0	5
Brent VinsonTennessee	1	-9	-9.0	0	0

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Percy HarvinFlorida	4	120	30.0	0	49
Louis MurphyFlorida	2	60	30.0	0	44
Cornelius IngramFlorida	3	56	18.7	1	25
Riley CooperFlorida	1	30	30.0	1	30
Kestahn MooreFlorida	3	19	6.3	0	7
David NelsonFlorida	1	14	14.0	0	14
Josh BriscoeTennessee	8	76	9.5	0	19
Austin RogersTennessee	4	64	16.0	0	32
Lucas TaylorTennessee	6	57	9.5	0	15
Chris BrownTennessee	4	35	8.8	1	15
Arian FosterTennessee	2	11	5.5	0	7
LaMarcus CokerTennessee	2	9	4.5	0	10
Quintin HancockTennessee	2	9	4.5	0	6

Show more stats (4 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Jerimy FinchFlorida	1	9	0
Markihe AndersonFlorida	1	0	0
Eric BerryTennessee	1	96	1

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Joey IjjasFlorida	1/1	100.0	25	8/8	11
Daniel LincolnTennessee	2/2	100.0	28	2/2	8

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Brandon JamesFlorida	3	91	30.3	83	1
Jonathan HefneyTennessee	2	0	0.0	0	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Chas HenryFlorida	3	101	33.7	0	0	37
Britton ColquittTennessee	5	231	46.2	0	0	50

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.

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