The Hurricanes received the ball to start the game with Florida deferring to the second half. Florida's defense held Miami to one net yard on their opening drive and forced a quick three and out. The resulting punt netted only 14 yards giving Florida excellent field position at the Miami 35-yard line. The Gators, led by quarterback Tim Tebow, put together a 5 play drive ending in a touchdown pass to TE Aaron Hernandez that only took 1:44 off the clock. Although the tempo the Gators set on their first offensive possession was quick, they were unable to score again in the first half on offense; having to punt on all four of their following first half possessions. Miami was able to put together a 42-yard drive with 16 plays consuming 8:42 of the second quarter resulting in a made 50-yard field goal. This would end up being the only points of the game Miami scored as well as the closest the Florida defense would allow Miami to get to the end zone. Florida's special teams was able to block a Miami punt attempt resulting in a safety as the ball went out of bounds with 47 seconds left in the half. This brought the halftime score to 9–3.