The Swamp went silent.
Freshman kicker Wes Byrum nailed a 43-yard field goal as time expired and Auburn shocked fourth-ranked Florida, 20-17, in front of 90,685 at Florida Field. It is the first home loss for third-year coach Urban Meyer.
The last time Florida lost at home was to LSU in October 2004. Next week, the Gators visit the second-ranked Tigers in Baton Rouge. Florida had not lost since being beaten, 27-17, last season at Auburn. There would be no payback Saturday night.
"Sick to my stomach," Meyer said. "I'm not sick to my stomach with the effort. I'm sick to my stomach because we lose. It sucks."
Byrum's first conversion was nullified when Florida called a timeout just before Auburn snapped the ball. Players rushed onto the field in celebration, only to return to the sideline and hope Byrum could kick it through the uprights again. He did.
"I was doing a lot of praying, that was about it," said sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow, who finished 20 of 27 passing for 201 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown. Meyer said he'd like to run Tebow 10-12 times. Instead, Tebow accounted for 19 of Florida's 28 carries. And his prayers from the sideline were not answered.
Auburn (3-2, 1-1 SEC) jumped out to a 14-0 halftime lead. Freshman quarterback Kodi Burns scored with 6:16 left in the first quarter on a 6-yard run after Florida redshirt freshman Jamar Hornsby ran into the punter to give the Tigers a fresh set of downs.
After that penalty, senior quarterback Brandon Cox hit junior Rod Smith for gains of 21 and 13 yards and connected with sophomore Montez Billings for 13 yards. Smith, who finished with a game-high nine catches for 102 yards, also had a 9-yard reception on that drive.
Sophomore running back Ben Tate scored on a 3-yard run with 6:21 left in the second to give the Tigers a 14-0 advantage. In that drive, Cox hit Billings on a 25-yard completion and senior running back Carl Stewart for a 22-yard gain.
On Florida's previous possession, sophomore defensive end Sen'Derrick Marks blocked senior kicker Joey Ijjas' 34-yard field goal attempt. It was the first time Florida had a field goal attempt blocked since Dec. 31, 2004 against Miami in the Peach Bowl.
Cox finished 17 of 26 for 227 yards. Tate had 65 yards and a score on 20 carries. Redshirt freshman running back Mario Fannin added 62 yards on 13 attempts.
Florida's final drive of the first half went well until a penalty stopped the momentum. Tebow hit redshirt junior Cornelius Ingram for a 17-yard gain but then on a 3-yard pass to junior running back Kestahn Moore, freshman right guard Maurkice Pouncey was called for a personal foul which pushed the Gators (4-1, 2-1 SEC) back 15 yards. Florida had seven penalties (compared to 14 in a 30-24 win at Ole Miss last week) but many came at inopportune times, like Pouncey's personal foul and Hornsby's running into the kicker.
The half ended on a pass to junior Louis Murphy which he fumbled and Auburn recovered. Florida had not been shut out in the first half since Nov. 14, 1992 against South Carolina.
The Gators got it together after the break.
Ijjas kicked a 24-yard field goal on their first possession to make it 14-3 with 11:58 left in the third. Tebow was picked off on the first play from scrimmage the next time Florida had the ball. It led to Byrum's 30-yard field goal to make it 17-3 with 6:39 left in the third.
Tebow hit Ingram, who finished with four catches for 37 yards, on a 6-yard touchdown pass four seconds into the fourth to make it 17-10. After forcing an Auburn punt, Florida drove 89 yards in 3:32 and Tebow scored on a 2-yard keeper to tie it at 17 with 7:36 remaining.
On that drive, Tebow hit sophomore Percy Harvin on a 32-yard pass down the sideline where Harvin out-jumped an Auburn defender and came down with a highlight-reel catch. Harvin finished with seven catches for a game-high 119 yards. Earlier in the game, Tebow hit Harvin for 52 yards.
Auburn punted on its next possession and was called for kick catch interference which set Florida up first-and-10 at its own 42-yard line. The Gators could not move the ball. First down went for a six-yard loss on a pass to Harvin. Second down, Florida checked to an option pitch to Moore for no gain. Third down was an incompletion.
The Tigers got the ball back, methodically moved it down the field to set up Byrum for the winning field goal and Florida's defense could not stop them. Tate carried it seven times in that final drive. Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has won nine of his last 10 meetings against top 10 teams.
Sophomore linebacker Brandon Spikes had a game-high 10 tackles. Redshirt junior defensive end Derrick Harvey had two sacks. Freshman safety Major Wright started instead of senior Kyle Jackson. Wright had seven tackles and forced a fumble.
Sophomore linebacker Dustin Doe and senior safety Tony Joiner also had seven stops each. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell played. Freshman running back Chris Rainey did not dress. Byrum played with Wright at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas.
"It hurts so bad," said freshman cornerback Joe Haden, who recovered a fumble. "You could see some of the players in there. It feels like their life is almost over. So it just hurts everybody."
Said Joiner: "The only adjustments we made (at halftime) was to come out and play with more enthusiasm because we were playing dead and playing dead for the defense, it's not going to get it (done) because we're a young defense…Look at last year and we can learn from it. Learn from this loss. The season's not over yet. We still have a chance for the SEC championship."