GAINESVILLE, Fla. —Tim Tebow stood at the podium with his arms folded, took several deep breaths and then did something he's never done before, something he's never had to do.

He apologized after a football game. For his poor passes. For his costly fumble. For his failed fourth-down run. He took all the blame for this one — even though Jevan Snead and Mississippi deserved plenty of credit.

Snead threw two touchdown passes, ran for another score and led the Rebels to a 31-30 upset of No. 4 Florida yesterday. It gave coach Houston Nutt a signature win in his fifth game at Ole Miss (3-2, 1-1) and put Florida in a hole with several tough Southeastern Conference games remaining.

The Gators (3-1, 1-1 SEC) turned the ball over three times, gave up a long pass play late and had some questionable play-calling throughout. But Tebow put it all on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I'm extremely sorry," he said. "We were hoping for an undefeated season. That was my goal, something Florida's never done here. But I promise you one thing: a lot of good will come out of this."

Tebow fumbled on Florida's second possession of the third quarter. Snead, the former Florida recruit who backed out of his commitment when he learned the Gators were going after Tebow, dumped a screen pass to Cordera Eason on third-and-10 that went for an 18-yard touchdown. It tied the game at 17.

Tebow was sacked three times, all the result of holding the ball too long in the pocket. He also overthrew four receivers deep, including two on consecutive plays on the final drive.

Maybe even more glaring was his final run.

Trailing 31-30 with about 40 seconds to play and facing fourth down and about 2 feet at the Ole Miss 32, the Gators called on Tebow to pick up the first down. Just about everyone at The Swamp — all 90,106 in attendance — knew Tebow was getting the ball. It was exactly what he wanted, too.

But he got hit in the backfield and never even got back to the line of scrimmage.

"I thought we'd get it," Tebow said. "I thought I'd will myself to the first down. We just didn't do it."

Instead, Snead took a couple of knees, running out the clock and setting off a raucous celebration in the small section of Ole Miss fans who made the trip.

"We can build on this," said Nutt, still drenched from the water bucket dumped on his head.

The Gators could have attempted a 49-yard field goal, which would have won the game, but Meyer opted to keep the ball in the hands of his most trusted player.

NO. 2 OKLAHOMA 35, NO. 24 TCU 10

NORMAN, Okla. — Sam Bradford threw for a career-best 411 yards and four touchdowns, Manuel Johnson set a school record with 206 yards receiving and the Sooners (4-0) avenged their last loss at Owen Field.

It didn't matter that the Horned Frogs (3-1) felt they'd been called cheaters following their 2005 upset in Norman, or that they brought in the nation's top-ranked defense. Oklahoma aired it out behind Bradford and found the same success it had in winning its first three games by a 164-42 margin.

NO. 5 LSU 34, MISSISSIPPI STATE 24

BATON ROUGE, La. — Charles Scott surpassed 100 yards rushing for a fourth straight game, gaining 141 yards and scoring two touchdowns to lead the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) over the Bulldogs (1-4, 0-2).

The Bulldogs turned in a feisty performance, rushing for 110 yards against an LSU defense that had been giving up an average of 55.3 yards. Anthony Dixon and Christian Ducre each had short rushing TDs for Mississippi State.

NO. 7 TEXAS 52, ARKANSAS 10

AUSTIN, Texas — Colt McCoy completed 17 of 19 passes and threw three touchdowns, and also ran for a game-high 84 yards and two scores to lead the Longhorns (4-0) to a rout of the Razorbacks (2-2).

The loss was the most lopsided in the series since a 35-point Texas victory in 1970. The Longhorns have outscored opponents 198-36 this season — an average margin of victory of 41 points.

MICHIGAN 27, NO. 9 WISCONSIN 25

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Wolverines (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) rallied from a 19-point halftime deficit, then held on to upset the Badgers (3-1, 0-1) when Allan Evridge misfired on a 2-point conversion pass with 13 seconds left in the 500th game at the Big House.

Wisconsin seemed to tie the game and set up overtime with David Gilreath's 22-yard touchdown catch and Travis Beckum's reception for 2. But the conversion was negated by a penalty, and on the retry, Evridge's pass went high.

NO. 12 PENN STATE 38, NO. 22 ILLINOIS 24

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Senior Derrick Williams caught a touchdown pass, ran for a TD and returned a kick 94 yards for another score as the Nittany Lions (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) defeated the Illini (3-2, 0-1) for coach Joe Paterno's 377th career win, allowing him to remain one ahead of Florida State's Bobby Bowden.

NO. 13 SOUTH FLORIDA 41, N.C. STATE 10

RALEIGH, N.C. — Matt Grothe threw for 259 yards and a touchdown, completing his first 11 passes, and Jamar Taylor and Mike Ford added 1-yard touchdown runs as the Bulls (5-0) built a 31-10 halftime lead to rout the Wolfpack (2-3).

NO. 14 OHIO STATE 34, MINNESOTA 21

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tailback Chris "Beanie" Wells, back after missing three games with a foot injury, rushed for 106 yards in his first game in a month, and freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor ran for two scores and threw for another to lead the Buckeyes (4-1) over the Golden Gophers (4-1) in the Big Ten opener for both.

NO. 15 AUBURN 14, TENNESSEE 12

AUBURN, Ala. — Jake Ricks recovered a fumble in the end zone for a 14-6 lead in the second quarter and the Tigers (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) hung on to beat the Volunteers (1-3, 0-2), who fell to 1-3 for the first time since 1994, the second full season for embattled coach Phillip Fulmer.

MARYLAND 20, NO. 20 CLEMSON 17

CLEMSON, S.C. — Chris Turner threw for a touchdown, Da'Rel Scott rushed for one, and the Terrapins (4-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) rallied from 17-6 third-quarter deficit to beat the Tigers (3-2, 1-1 ACC) for the second straight meeting in Death Valley.

HOUSTON 41, NO. 23 EAST CAROLINA 24

GREENVILLE, N.C. — Case Keenum threw for 399 yards and three touchdowns, and Patrick Edwards had 11 catches for 146 yards and a score as the Cougars (2-3, 1-0 Conference USA) rolled up 621 total yards to upset the Pirates (3-2, 1-1) for their first victory over a ranked opponent since beating No. 3 Texas in 1984.