After a South Carolina forced-fumble in the first quarter, their defense picked up their second fumble on a fumbled Tebow option-pass to Chris Rainey near the South Carolina redzone. Although South Carolina's defense had spent little time on the field, they were productive in collecting two early Florida fumbles. With South Carolina's offense struggling and unable to put points on the board, Florida regained possession after forcing a punt and quickly scored with a Tebow touchdown pass to redshirt freshman Deonte Thompson. After failed offensive drives for both teams, South Carolina was able to put together enough of an offense to attempt, and make, a field goal. This brought the score to 28–3 at the half.