Florida defends the belt, 59–20, at home over Tennessee.
AP poll, week 3: Tennessee No. 22 at Florida No. 5 · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Florida came in 249 days into reign #261, which began with a win over Ohio State, with 2 defenses already behind it; this was its third defense. Florida went on to defend it 1 more time before Auburn took it on September 29, 2007, 263 days after the reign began.
For Tennessee this was its 19th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 7 times before.
It was the first of 2 meetings between the two with the belt on the line; all-time Florida leads 2–0.
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.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull 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.
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).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Florida
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Tebow | 14/19 | 299 | 15.7 | 2 | 1 | 69.2 |
Tennessee
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erik Ainge | 26/41 | 249 | 6.1 | 1 | 1 | 69.7 |
| Jonathan Crompton | 2/5 | 12 | 2.4 | 0 | 1 | 7.3 |
Rushing
Florida
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Harvin | 9 | 75 | 8.3 | 1 | 19 |
| Tim Tebow | 18 | 61 | 3.4 | 2 | 18 |
| Kestahn Moore | 11 | 48 | 4.4 | 0 | 11 |
| Jarred Fayson | 3 | 29 | 9.7 | 0 | 28 |
| Cam Newton | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 1 | 11 |
| Brandon James | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 0 | 13 |
| Chris Rainey | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 | 10 |
| Chevon Walker | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
Tennessee
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arian Foster | 11 | 26 | 2.4 | 0 | 6 |
| Lennon Creer | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 0 | 6 |
| LaMarcus Coker | 5 | 5 | 1.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Brent Vinson | 1 | -9 | -9.0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
Florida
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percy Harvin | 4 | 120 | 30.0 | 0 | 49 |
| Louis Murphy | 2 | 60 | 30.0 | 0 | 44 |
| Cornelius Ingram | 3 | 56 | 18.7 | 1 | 25 |
| Riley Cooper | 1 | 30 | 30.0 | 1 | 30 |
| Kestahn Moore | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 0 | 7 |
| David Nelson | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 | 14 |
Tennessee
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Briscoe | 8 | 76 | 9.5 | 0 | 19 |
| Austin Rogers | 4 | 64 | 16.0 | 0 | 32 |
| Lucas Taylor | 6 | 57 | 9.5 | 0 | 15 |
| Chris Brown | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | 1 | 15 |
| Arian Foster | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 7 |
| LaMarcus Coker | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 10 |
| Quintin Hancock | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 | 6 |
Show more stats (4 more categories)
Interceptions
Florida
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jerimy Finch | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| Markihe Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Tennessee
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Berry | 1 | 96 | 1 |
Kicking
Florida
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joey Ijjas | 1/1 | 100.0 | 25 | 8/8 | 11 |
Tennessee
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Lincoln | 2/2 | 100.0 | 28 | 2/2 | 8 |
Punt Returns
Florida
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon James | 3 | 91 | 30.3 | 83 | 1 |
Tennessee
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Hefney | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
Florida
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chas Henry | 3 | 101 | 33.7 | 0 | 0 | 37 |
Tennessee
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Britton Colquitt | 5 | 231 | 46.2 | 0 | 0 | 50 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 272580057) · This game in the downloadable dataset