ATLANTA — In a matchup featuring more big punches thrown than the latest Rocky movie, Florida landed enough to beat Arkansas 38-28 in the SEC Championship Game before 73, 374 fans Saturday night at the Georgia Dome.

It was the Gators’ sixth victory in the SEC’s postseason showcase in eight tries since the conference expanded and created the title match of division winners in 1992.

Arkansas fell to 0-3 in SEC Championship Game appearances since joining the conference, but this was a heavyweight fight unlike the previous two early knockouts the Razorbacks had suffered in losing to Florida 34-3 in 1995 and Georgia 30-3 in 2002.

Florida (12-1 ) didn’t put the Razorbacks (10-3 ) away until cornerback Ryan Smith intercepted a pass by Casey Dick in the end zone on second-and-9 from the Gators’ 29 with 3: 15 left in the fourth quarter.

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“I am beat to death right now,” Florida Coach Urban Meyer said of the game’s emotional toll. “I can’t move.”

Florida, which came into the game ranked fourth in the Bowl Championship Series standings, can lobby now for a shot at No. 1 Ohio State in the BCS title game after No. 2 Southern California’s loss to UCLA on Saturday.

Michigan is No. 3 in the BCS standings, but lost to Ohio State in the regular-season finale.

Razorbacks Coach Houston Nutt stressed in his postgame comments that the Razorbacks did more than show up, that they came to win the game and rallied to take a third-quarter lead after falling behind by 17 points.

“They were a true champion that came through the front door on the Western side and easily could have been winners tonight,” Nutt said of his players. “But you can’t make mistakes at crucial times.”

The game’s most crucial mistake came with Arkansas leading 21-17 in the third quarter and Florida punting from its 41 on fourth-and-1 after Meyer had called his last timeout to consider whether to go for the first down.

Punter Eric Wilbur hit a long drive that sent Reggie Fish running back toward the goal line. He lost track of where he was on the field and tried to make an over-theshoulder catch inside the 5, lost the ball and couldn’t recover it as the Gators swarmed him.

Cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Gators a 24-21 lead with 3: 47 left in the third quarter.

“We had a lead, we had momentum, we had everything,” Nutt said. “You just can’t make mistakes like that in a championship heavyweight game.”

Another special teams mistake, a blocked punt by Jarred Fayson, helped Florida jump to a 17-0 lead in the second quarter. But the Razorbacks scored three touchdowns in an 8: 22 span of the second and third quarters to take a 21-17 lead.

The big plays for the Razorbacks included a 48-yard touchdown pass from Casey Dick to Marcus Monk, defensive end Antwain Robinson’s 40-yard interception return for a touchdown and linebacker Weston Dacus’ interception that set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Darren McFadden to Felix Jones.

Then came Fish’s muff.

“Things like that happen sometimes, and returning punts is a tough job,” Dacus said. “We had a bunch of mishaps.... That wasn’t what lost the game for us.”

On the first play of the Gators’ next possession after they regained the lead, freshman receiver Percy Harvin scored on a 67-yard run to push Florida’s lead to 31-21 with 14: 22 left in the fourth quarter.

Harvin finished with a combined 167 yards rushing and receiving, including a 37-yard touchdown catch, and was voted the game’s MVP.

McFadden, a sophomore tailback and the Razorbacks ’ MVP this season, was slowed by an ankle injury he sustained in the first half. But he came back to play and finished with 21 carries for 73 yards and 2 catches for 27 yards.

“Darren wasn’t the same from the first quarter on,” Nutt said. “He got his ankle rolled up and he wasn’t full speed, wasn’t himself.”

McFadden and Dick weren’t the only Razorbacks to throw touchdown passes. Senior receiver Cedric Washington hit Jones with a 29-yard touchdown pass with 12: 29 left in the fourth quarter to make it 31-28.

“There were a lot of ups and downs in that thing,” Arkansas offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “It was very emotional, and our kids fought their guts out.

“ Our plan was to establish the run early, but they did a good job of stopping that, so it got to a point where we had to do everything in our power to score points.”

Florida responded with a trick play of its own when receiver Andre Caldwell threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tate Casey to cap an 80-yard drive and give the Gators a 38-28 lead at the 9: 04 mark.

Florida also pulled off a fake punt in the third quarter, when Harvin ran for 17 yards and a first down.

“I think you saw us shoot everything we had,” Meyer said.

The Gators were able to run enough clock after Smith’s interception that Arkansas got just one more offensive play.

“We gave them a run for their money, but we didn’t get it done,” Arkansas defensive coordinator Reggie Herring said. “We played a very talented team, and give them credit. They did what they had to do, and we did just enough to lose the game.”

The Gators earned the SEC’s automatic BCS bid and will play in the Sugar Bowl if they don’t qualify for the title game in Glendale, Ariz.

Arkansas likely is headed to the Cotton Bowl or the Capital One Bowl.

Nutt said after the game he’s not sure about the Razorbacks ’ bowl destination.

“We’re going to a great bowl,” Nutt said. “We’re going to be excited about it when that time comes.”