OXFORD — The Florida crowd stayed standing in front of their seats until every last Gator walked by following the team’s 30-24 victory over Ole Miss on Saturday.

The biggest ovation, though, did not come until a left-handed sophomore who is equally as dangerous with his feet as his rocket arm eased past the crowd.

“Te-bow, Te-bow, Te-bow,” the crowd chanted.

University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow gave a small wave, shucked a towel from around his neck and headed for the locker room, the winner of four straight games for the then-No. 3 and defending national champion Gators.

Tebow threw for 261 yards and two touchdowns and set a school rushing record for quarterbacks with 166 yards on 27 carries and two scores. His final three-minute drive kept the Ole Miss offense off the field and secured the victory.

“Tim is his own worst enemy,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “He’s always in my ear shouting, ‘let me win the game.’ There was four minutes left and (Ole Miss) had all three timeouts left. In the past, it’s been an issue us not closing out games. But today, we were able to close out the game.”

Tebow ran for one touchdown and threw for one in each half as the Gators built a 27-9 lead. He also watched as another less-heralded quarterback got Ole Miss right back in the game.

Former Hinds Community College star Seth Adams had a brilliant day of his own, throwing for 302 yards on 18-of-31 passing and two long touchdowns.

“He made plays all game,” Tebow said of Adams. “We would get a big play then he would come back and get a big play. He has some good receivers who are real fast. He throws a really nice ball.”

Adams journey to the Southeastern Conference is the polar opposite of Tebow’s. After playing high school ball at Marshall Academy in Holly Springs, he went to Delta State for a year before transferring to Hinds. He came to Ole Miss last season and shared time under center before securing the starting job for good this season. On the year, Adams has completed 70 of 119 passes for 962 yards and seven touchdowns.

“I was happy with our offensive performance,” said Adams, a game-time decision at QB after he suffered a shoulder injury last week. “We had some miscues, but we played our butts off.”

Tebow, meanwhile, starred at Neace High School in Florida and two years ago when he made his college decision — it came down to Florida and Alabama — it was televised live by ESPN News. He teamed with Chris Leak last season to lead the Gators to the national championship and has the team is currently ranked fourth in the country this year, behind Southern Cal, LSU and Oklahoma.

“When things get tough, he’s our horse,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said of Tebow. “He had 27 carries which is far too many today, but I thought he played pretty well.”

Considering Tebow accounted for 427 of the Gators’ 507 yards, that is a mighty big understatement.

“We were just trying to get out of here with a victory,” Tebow said. “I don’t keep track of how many carries I have each game. I just try to go out and do my part to win the game.”