It has been a long time. And, these Florida Gators of today might lose to the University of Mississippi Rebels in Oxford, even Jackson, but never again at their own, new, loud as it can be house. Not in their spruced up Swamp.

And this year Ole Miss didn’t seem to have much in football, politics, yes, as they played host to the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama Friday night, but football. . . well, not enough to upset the No. 4 Florida team of such great speed on their own campus in Gainesville.

Nah, the Rebels were a little too hokey, and had a coach with the surname of Nutt. The crowd of almost 100,000 in that orange trap, on ESPN with a Heisman Trophy candidate named Tim Tebow and a roster full of fast receivers, featuring Brandon James, most from the football gold mines of Florida would be too much.  And oh, don’t forget Florida recruited Rebel quarterback Jevan Snead before Tebow, but Snead chose Texas, then Ole Miss, for whom he had an All-American day Saturday against the Gators.

So, with all that on the Gator side, plus the wonderful football setting of The Swamp, I would’ve never thought, until the last seconds when time ran out in a team outscrapped, by the barest of margins, oh, say a point on the game’s final minutes, that these Gators might have fallen.

But, it was that kind of a game, that 31-30 outcome ending when the right side line was not knocked down but high stepped, as a Rebel defender got a big hand up on a long arm and swatted the Florida place kick away.

Ole Miss has got to get the kid a special trophy of his raised hand that blocked the point that would send the dramatic game into overtime.

In truth, overtime would have been judicious. Remember now, the lead in this one changed repeatedly. Both teams led repeatedly. Both teams had good breaks and both had bummers. Both had stunning plays, mostly on offense and special teams, though the field goal block cannot be topped, for drama and execution. Tebow surely will remain in the Heisman race, and Snead surely is in it now. He called the plays well, and he made so many of them work, an 85-yard outcome deciding touchdown pass in the fourth period will haunt Florida’s Major Wright forever, and make Ole Miss highlight films the same length of time.

Turnovers, surely they contributed to both sides. Florida got the worse of that but some of them, as always, were self-inflicted. Penalties, went both ways. It was not a pussycat game. And Mississippi appeared to be bigger up front, both ways. Ole Miss on offense opened more and bigger holes. That was a surprise.

Arkansas is next for Florida. 

The Gators need a better running game, aside from QB Tebow and Harvin, though Percy Harvin is a whizbang with the ball, and Tebow, well, all that big guy does when he keeps the ball is run over people. Near the goal line, he’s the go-to guy. The Gators need help up front, both sides, but who doesn’t.

The schedule gets no easier, but then it never does.

And, as I was going to suggest, unless you think it is premature. . .Wait ‘til December. 

Think on this.  Ole Miss is in the west division of Florida’s Southeastern Conference. The Gators are in the east. In time, the champs of the east and west will meet in Atlanta for the SEC title game.

But I remind you all out there, in this case, you may not have to Wait ‘til December, Johnny Reb.