As Arkansas' Greg Childs sprinted past Florida cornerback Janoris Jenkins on his way to a 75-yard touchdown catch and run, minds wandered back to last year's Ole Miss game when Shay Hodge scored on an 86-yard reception late in the game.
Childs' score gave the Razorbacks a 7-point lead in the fourth quarter much like Hodge's did for the Rebels.
The UF offense also looked similar to the one from a year ago, managing to move the ball at times but continuing to hurt itself with costly fumbles - turning the ball over four times this year and three times against Ole Miss.
Again, the unit struggled on third down.
This time it was 4 for 13 compared to just 1 for 11 last year.
It was also the first time No. 2 AP/No. 1 BCS UF (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) failed to score first in a game since the loss to Ole Miss.
But when the Gators needed to pick up a first down on their final drive to win the game, the experience of last year's failure on fourth and 1 may have played a crucial role.
Facing third and 10 on Arkansas' 40-yard line, Tebow fired a pass to Riley Cooper, who made the reception for a first down despite falling on his route and having a defender on top of him.
Cooper's catch allowed Florida to keep the drive going and played a big role in setting up Caleb Sturgis, who missed a 37-yarder on the Gators' opening drive, to hit the game-winning, 27-yard field goal to defeat the Razorbacks 23-20.
"Third-and-10, the guy has great coverage on Riley Cooper and he just fights his way to make the catch," Tebow said. "Does that happen last year against Ole Miss? I don't know; it would happen later in the year though.
"I just think we learned that earlier, and at the end of the game, we were doing everything we could to win that game."
After the Ole Miss loss, Tebow gave "The Promise" and led the Gators to a BCS National Championship Game win.
This time, he didn't wait until after the game to motivate his team.
His speech came in the locker room at halftime.
"Tebow came up and gave a speech, it's good to see us bounce back in the second half like we did, but at the same time it's a gut check and a reality check for us," wide receiver David Nelson said "We can't ever prepare like we did this week.
"From now on we're going to remember this game and ride this feeling for the rest of the season."
Tebow's speech after the Ole Miss game played a big part in changing the team's mindset.
Offensive tackle Carl Johnson said last year the team was overconfident and thought it could just show up and win, but this time, the Gators had a different attitude.
"The team wouldn't lose; our captains wouldn't let us lose; our coaches wouldn't let us lose," Johnson said. "Even if it took going to overtime six times, we weren't going to lose."
Although UF came away with a win, it knows how close the game was to finishing even more like last year.
The four lost fumbles, the low third-down conversion rate, the six sacks allowed and the missed chances in the red zone usually result in a loss.
"One of these days, and I am glad it wasn't today, these turnovers and not executing could hurt us," Tebow said. "Thank God, it wasn't today."
The close game did hurt the Gators in the AP ranking, as they lost their No. 1 ranking to Alabama.
This week marked the first BCS poll of the season, however, and it was there that UF retained the No. 1 spot that matters.
Even with the win, the Gators' offense still did not look dominant, although the passing game showed flashes that could help them later.
For most of the game, Florida relied on its defense, which was suffocating early but struggled down the stretch and ended up allowing 357 yards of total offense.
Tebow was able to connect with a wide receiver for a big play, finding an uncovered Deonte Thompson for a 77-yard score. The pass gave Tebow the SEC record for total touchdowns (123 - 75 passing and 48 rushing) as he surpassed former Gator Danny Wuerffel.
And Cooper's late game performance resembled that of a go-to receiver, which is something the Gators have lacked all season.
Cooper finished the game with six catches for 58 yards, but he had only three for 28 yards until the final drive.
Florida avoided the Ole Miss-like upset this time, but it will need to continue to establish a passing game and improve in the red zone if the Gators are going to finish the year unbeaten.
