STARKVILLE — The problem with a gamble is that they don’t always pay off.

Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen called an end-around fake punt on his own 27-yard line in the fourth quarter and it failed, setting up a clinching touchdown by Florida’s Chris Rainey as the second-ranked Gators escaped Scott Field with a 29-19 victory on Saturday.

Wideout Robert Elliott tripped and fell for a 4-yard loss after appearing to have some open real estate in front of him.

“It wasn’t like we were churning up and down the field on offense,” Mullen said of his reasoning behind the fake. “It was a key point in the game, I thought we needed a play.”

MSU freshman defensive back Jonathan Banks had two interception returns for touchdowns as Florida quarterback Tim Tebow completed only 12 of 22 passes for 127 yards and no touchdowns. He rushed for 97 yards and a score, but was sacked three times and took plenty of punishment.

“Tim isn’t trying to be a hero,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. “But we might be asking him to do too much.”

Offensively, the Bulldogs were able to accomplish little, as Anthony Dixon was held to 55 yards on 15 carries and quarterback Tyson Lee was picked off three times and sacked three times..

The Gators added a 26-yard interception return of a tipped Tyson Lee pass by Dustin Doe to salt away the contest with 8:25 left in the fourth.

Or so the Gators thought.

After Major Wright picked off Lee at Gator 2, Tebow was clobbered in the back of the end zone and Banks picked off the wounded duck and returned it for six to cut the lead to 29-19 with 3:43 to play. Mississippi State was stopped on the two-point conversion and never again threatened.

The game may have finished mild, but started wild.

After an exchange of field goals, Tebow capped a 9-play, 67-drive with a 26-yard scramble that he turned into a TD despite a high snap.

Despite being held to an anemic 74 yards of offense in the first half, the Bulldogs stopped the Gators twice in the red zone and forced two field goals.

“We watched a lot of film and knew their red zone tendencies,” MSU defensive end Dernell McPhee said. “We knew they liked to get the ball to Tebow there. I felt like we frustrated them and made them do some things they don’t usually do”

Then the former Heisman winner made an uncharacteristic mistake. After the Gators blocked a Bulldog punt and recovered the ball on the 7, the Gators were in prime real estate. But on first down Tebow, who had been harried all night by the Bulldogs’ pass rush, threw off his back foot into the end zone. The ball was tipped by Damein Anderson into the hands of Banks, who streaked down the sideline for a 100-yard TD return to cut the Gator lead to 13-10 going into the half.

Red zone struggles were the topic all week in Gainesville after 23-20 win over Arkansas that cost the Gators the No. 1 ranking. Florida was first in the BCS with Alabama second.

Florida entered the game 76th in red-zone efficiency. Players and coaches attributed it to several things: Poor play by wide receivers and offensive linemen, the loss of Mullen and do-everything playmaker Percy Harvin, Tebow’s recent concussion and new offensive coordinator Steve Addazio’s play-calling.

“We had a great pass rush and I happened to be at the right spot at the right time,” Banks said. “I knew I could return it, but I saw Tebow in front of me and (Dernell) McPhee was blocking for me. I was exhausted afterwards, but you just have to suck it up.”

Quarterback Tyson Lee and the Bulldog offense finally got a big play early in the third, as he hit Christian Ducré on a 55-yard swing pass. But the Bulldogs were stymied in the red zone and forced to settle for a Derek Depasquale field goal.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com