Colonel Reb isn’t crying anymore, as Ole Miss earned its 600th win with a 31–30 upset of Florida — the program’s first win over a Top-5 team since a 20–13 victory over Notre Dame in 1977.

It’s not The Grove, but the Rebels have been pretty comfortable at The Swamp over the years and now carry a 6-3-1 record at Florida Field as well as a 12-10-1 mark against the Gators, in the SEC’s least-played conference rivalry.

In his first season at Ole Miss, coach Houston Nutt did what only one other coach has been able to do — beat Florida coach Urban Meyer at The Swamp. By the way, the other coach wasn’t Ed Orgeron.

“I’m very proud of this team, because it took offense, defense and special teams. To win a game by one point, it took everybody,” said Nutt. “We can build on this.”

The Urban legend entered today’s game with only one loss at Florida Field, a last-second 20–17 defeat to Auburn (and coach Tommy Tuberville) on Sept. 29, 2007. Coach Meyer will now have to live with a 21–2 record at home in The Swamp.

Rebels quarterback Jevon Snead led the way, completing 9-of-20 passes for 185 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while also tucking the ball to run for another score. Ironically, Snead originally committed to Florida out of high school, but opted to sign with Texas after Coach Meyer recruited a left-handed "future linebacker" named Tim Tebow.

After a circuitous route back to Gainesville, Snead had the last laugh with the Rebels, who had lost 14 consecutive SEC road games and nine straight SEC contests overall prior to this afternoon’s win.

“This is a great feeling,” said an emotional Snead, after the biggest win of his career.

Team Tebow and the “fastest team in America” could not protect the football or convert a critical extra point. Entering the game, Florida was the only team in the country that had not committed a turnover and ranked second in the nation with a +9 turnover margin. But the Gators did not continue that winning trend, coughing up three lost fumbles on offense while only snaring one Major Wright interception on defense.

“We did not play Florida football. We dropped the ball and did not catch passes,” said Meyer, following his team's uncharacteristic performance.

After suffering a tough 23–17 loss at home against Vanderbilt last week, the Rebels bounced back to take an early 7–0 lead over Florida. But that quickly faded, as the Gators scored 17 points in the second quarter to take a 17–7 lead into halftime. The second half was back-and-forth, as both teams exchanged scores.

Late in the fourth quarter, following a 15-yard touchdown run by Florida’s triple-threat track star Percy Harvin, it appeared as if this hard-fought game was headed to overtime. Trailing 31–30, Florida kicker Jonathan Phillips needed to convert an extra point. But Mississippi defensive end Kentrell Lockett had other plans, soaring and stretching to block the often overlooked but all-powerful one-pointer.

The rest is history. Florida fans are forced to deal with only their second loss in an SEC home opener in 19 years, while the Ole Miss faithful let out a Rebel Yell following what could be the team’s best win without a Manning under center.

Beanie’s Back

Ohio State running back Chris “Beanie” Wells returned to action today, after missing three games — Ohio (Sept. 6), at USC (Sept. 13) and Troy (Sept. 20) — due to an injury to the junior’s right foot suffered in the season-opener against Youngstown State.

In his first game back, Wells had 14 carries for 106 yards during a 34–21 win over Minnesota. Once thought to be a Heisman Trophy candidate, Wells went 28 yards on just his second carry of the game, jumping over a would-be tackler and displaying the type of size-speed-athletic ability that is rare for a back that is nearly 240 pounds.

After welcoming Beanie back with a big run, the 105,175 OSU fans in attendance continued to enjoy watching freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who went 33 yards to paydirt on the very next play. Pryor finished the game having completed 8-of-13 passes for 70 yards, one score and no picks, with eight carries for 97 yards and two trips to the end zone on the ground.

Although the Buckeyes have lost the past two BCS title games, don’t count out coach Jim Tressel’s team this year. Ohio State has evolved into a completely different team since losing 35–3 at USC two weeks ago. Now, the Bucks have a new quarterback in Pryor — who played sparingly against the Trojans — and their best player back in Wells — who was little more than a high-profile cheerleader and assistant coach on the sideline at the L.A. Coliseum.