DEFENSE RESTS AS GATORS FALL TO VOLS, 38-33
Florida's furious rally comes up short as Tennessee ends a 5-game losing streak to the Gators.
BY CARLTON REESE
Even when the Tennessee Volunteers do everything right against the Florida Gators, it seems to take a miracle, fluke or opponent mistake to still come away with a victory.
Saturday in Knoxville, the 11th-ranked Volunteers ran and threw with virtual ease against a dumbfounded Florida defense, building a late 17-point lead, yet still nearly caused a hundred thousand coronaries in Neyland Stadium before surviving in a rare 38-33 victory. The win was just the second in 18 tries against the 20th-ranked Gators and broke a 5-game losing streak in the series and it did not come as easily as it should have.
Two late touchdowns brought Florida back from a 38-21 deficit, but two failed 2-point conversion attempts rendered a potential game-tying field goal out of the equation. Instead, when Diwun Black recovered the ensuing onside kick with 16 seconds left, Florida was left with 53 yards and a likely Hail Mary pass to win.
A 14-yard gain on an Anthony Richardson-to-Justin Shorter pass set Florida up at the Tennessee 39-yard line with 11 seconds left. Richardson then missed a wide-open Shorter at the UT 25-yard line, setting up a final desperation pass that was intercepted by Kamal Hadden as time expired. The UT faithful breathed a sigh of relief before exploding with elation at the realization the Vols didn’t choke it away and that their team may be for real for the first time in nearly two decades.
“Did we play perfect? No.” UF head coach Billy Napier posited after the loss. “We didn’t do enough to win. There are no moral victories.”
Florida had no answers for Tennessee’s up-tempo offensive scheme. The Vols rolled up 576 yards offense, including a masterful 22-for-28 passing performance by quarterback Hendon Hooker who finished with 349 yards through the air. Hooker also carried 13 times for 113 yards on the ground, which seemed an open field for him every time he tucked the ball under his arm. Along the way, Tennessee never punted and was only stopped by two first-half fumbles during strong drives into Florida territory, and a turnover on downs on the Vols’ final possession.
“Hendon played his butt off tonight,” Vols head coach Josh Heupel said of his quarterback. “He played at an elite level: decisive with the football; accurate with the football… used his legs at the right time and created big plays there.”
Hooker made a full believer of Napier as well: "We had him dead to rights a bunch tonight. One of the things that makes him really unique is his ability to rush the ball and his ability to scramble, extend and escape."
The Florida offense gave equal fits to the Tennessee defense. Richardson, much maligned after two weak performances against Kentucky and South Florida, returned to his form of the opener against Utah. He completed 24 of 44 pass attempts for 453 yards and two touchdowns, statistically his best showing in a Gator uniform.
"I think when you go through a couple rough outings and then you go play on the road against a really good team, he responded today," Napier said. "He responded with character; he stayed focused."
Florida finished with 594 yards offense, but it was an untimely mistake in the fourth quarter that helped put the game out of reach. Trailing 31-21 in a game where neither defense asserted itself, Florida looked to be headed for a score that would bring the Gators within a field goal. On first down from the Tennessee 13, Richardson bobbled the snap then fumbled with 12:34 to play, giving the Volunteers possession. On the next play, Hooker threw to a wide-open Jacob Warren for 45 yards and nine plays later the Vols found the end zone on Jaylen Wright’s 5-yard run.
The loss dropped Florida to 2-2 overall and 0-2 in SEC play, effectively ending any pipe dreams of a trip to Atlanta. Tennessee now rides a wave of unbridled optimism at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
Despite the loss, Florida fans re-gained a measure of confidence in their quarterback which had eroded following two ugly games in which he threw four interceptions and no touchdowns. Richardson was the force in which coach Billy Napier had full faith.
On the opening drive, Richardson guided Florida 63 yards on 12 plays only to see it stall at the Tennessee 21-yard line when a 4th-and-2 run by Richardson lost a yard. That would be the first of six fourth down attempts and the only one that failed for Napier.
“(Napier) told me we were going to be aggressive because their offense is explosive,” Richardson said. “Their tempo is unmatched, so our game plan was to keep the ball out of their hands as long as we could. It’s him trusting me and trusting the offense and believing that we could convert, and we did.”
Napier came up aces with his decisions to go for it on fourth downs, but his decisions to go for a 2-point conversion attempt when down by 11 points may haunt him forever. The conversion attempt was reminiscent of Florida’s bizarre attempts at 2-point conversions when down 20-0 to Missouri in the 1966 Sugar Bowl. In that game, Florida needed three touchdowns and only PAT kicks to win, but opted for 2-pointers and lost 20-18 when it rallied for the three TDs it needed.
This time, the decision to go for two when down 11 meant risking the possible chance to tie with a field goal at the end, which the Gators most definitely would have had following the successful onside kick.
After Tennessee went up 3-0 on Chase McGrath’s 32-yard field goal late in the first quarter, Florida responded with an 8-play, 75-yard drive for a go-ahead touchdown, a 44-yard pass from Richardson to tight end Keon Zipperer who bulldozed through two defenders en route to the end zone. That momentum would be short-lived: On Tennessee’s next play from scrimmage, Hooker connected with Bru McCoy on a 70-yard pass play to the Florida 5. Two plays later, Hooker ran in from the 4, putting Tennessee back on top 10-7.
On Florida’s next possession, Richardson carved up the UT defense with Richardson hitting Trent Whittemore for 17 yards, Ricky Pearsall for 38 then Whittemore again for 14. Richardson’s 7-yard TD run put the Gators up 14-10 at the 8:28 mark.
After recovering a Vols fumble at the Florida 33, the Gators had a chance to suck the life out of the Neyland crowd and Tennessee spirit. Instead, Florida embarked on its least productive drive of the day, 12 yards, and punted. Despite pinning Tennessee back at its own 1, the Gators could not contain the ensuing drive which went 99 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, bringing all the game’s momentum clearly back to the Vols.
With Tennessee receiving the second-half kick, the Vols had the opportunity to go up a break on the next possession and did just that with a 10-play, 73-yard drive culminating in Hooker’s 16-yard scoring strike to Jabari Small and a 24-14 lead.
"You think about the end of the second (quarter) and the first part of the third, there was a momentum swing there," Napier said. "We had control of the game and let it slip away right there."
The Gators then answered with a methodical 75-yard drive that ended with a Richardson 1-yard TD run, closing the gap to 24-21. But as was the story the whole game, the Florida defense could not hold serve and Tennessee answered with a drive of its own, bolstered by Hooker’s 44-yard run on the first play. Jabari Small finished things off with a 1-yard TD run and a 31-21 lead that led to the drama of Richardson’s fumble on the next possession.
The Gators, not exactly reeling but in bad need of a winning streak will get that opportunity with three straight games back in The Swamp. Florida hosts Eastern Washington at noon next Saturday, before Missouri comes to Gainesville the following Saturday, Oct. 8, and LSU on Oct. 15.
Tennessee will be off next week before visiting LSU Oct. 8 then hosting Alabama the following Saturday.
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