Block against South Carolina propelled '06 Gators

Florida went ahead 17-16 on Tim Tebow's 12-yard run with 3:03 to play. But Blake Mitchell quickly led the Gamecocks down the field.

Mitchell hooked up with Sidney Rice for 27 yards, which would have put South Carolina at the Florida 7, but guard Jamon Meredith was flagged for a false start. The 5-yard penalty wiped out the long gain and moved the Gamecocks out of field-goal range.

Blake got South Carolina to the 31 with a short completion on third-and-17. Florida called timeout to ice Succop, who had a 47-yarder blocked in the third quarter, made a 47-yarder in the fourth and had an extra point blocked by Moss on the team's previous possession.

Many of the Gators held hands on the sideline and prayed. Moss, meanwhile, was busy pleading to stay on the field. Coaches gave in, then called for a "middle jump." Moss lined up at linebacker, ran toward the line of scrimmage at the snap, jumped as high as he could and blocked it with his left hand.

"I didn't even look," Strong said. "I was looking at our players and I saw them run on the field, so I figured we blocked it. I turned around and we had blocked it. Great feeling."

The Gators won their next three games to reach the national championship game, then routed Ohio State 41-14 in Arizona. Moss headed to the NFL, but his block remains as much a part of program lore as Spurrier's field goal against Auburn in 1966, Chris Doering's touchdown catch against Kentucky in 1993 or Ike Hilliard's stop-and-go move against Florida State in the 1997 Sugar Bowl.

"That was one of the finest plays we've ever been a part of," Meyer said.