The Gators quickly jumped out to a 6–0 lead on a trick play that led to a Chris Leak pass to Jemalle Cornelius for a touchdown just over two minutes into the game. From there, the Gators offense stagnated for most of the first half. The Wildcats took the lead briefly with a touchdown with under two minutes to play in the half, but the Gators responded with a touchdown of their own on a DeShawn Wynn run with :26 left in the half to take a 12–7 lead. Both Gator PATs were blocked in the half.