Before a sellout Neyland Stadium crowd and through a constant first-half
downpour, the Florida Gators engulfed the Vols with a 24-point deluge in the
final 4:55 of the second quarter and went on to record a 30-13 victory.
No. 4 Tennessee, which came into this critical SEC encounter with execution
question marks, came unglued — committing a school-record eight fumbles and
losing three.
Florida turned two of those miscues into 10 points in the final three
minutes of the first half for a 24-0 lead at intermission.
The Vols cut into the lead with back-to-back scoring drives in the third
quarter, but Florida countered with a touchdown drive to start the fourth
quarter and put the game out of reach.
Rex Grossman did most of the damage for Florida connecting on 20-of-35
passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. The totals are more impressive
when viewed against his 3-of-13 start.
The turning point came on a third down and 13, when Grossman escaped a
blitzing Vol, broke a couple of tackles and picked up the first down with a
20-yard run. On the next play, he found Taylor Jacobs over the middle for a
52-yard gain to Tennessee’s 2.
From there it took the Gators four plays and a favorable call to put the
first points of the game on the board. Earnest Graham got the TD on a
one-yard run when he reached the ball toward the goal after being stopped
dead in his tracks. One official signaled a touchdown and the Gators broke
on top 7-0 with 4:52 left in the half.
Tennessee’s Corey Larkins fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the Gators were
back in business deep in Tennessee territory. The Vols defense stiffened,
but on third down and 13 Grossman found Carlos Perez for a 28-yard TD.
On the first play of UT’s next possession, Casey Clausen fumbled the snap
and Florida recovered again. Rashad Baker appeared to end the bad break
barrage with a key interception at the 2 yard-line for Tennessee, but the
Vols fumbled the next two snap attempts and ended up punting from the 3.
Blessed again with good field position and momentum Grossman led the Gators
down field. This time he located Jacobs in the corner of the end zone for a
seven-yard touchdown and a 21-0 Florida lead.
With only :36 remaining in the first half, it didn’t appear the Vols would
fall behind any further, but Troy Fleming had the ball ripped away while
running a delay and Florida found itself in field goal range with only two
seconds remaining. The Gators successfully converted the opportunity and the
shellshocked Vols found themselves facing a four-possession and 24-point
deficit in bad weather.
Tennessee had an opportunity to take an early lead in the first quarter, but
saw its scoring drive halted at the Florida 10 and Alex Walls had his
27-yard field goal attempt blocked.
The Vols also gave Florida a first down after forcing a fourth down when
called for a 15-yard penalty for illegal substitution. Overall Tennessee was
flagged for 11 penalties covering 78 yards. Included in among those
violations were three delay of game penalties and one for lining up offside
on offense.
It was Tennessee’s worst defeat since the 42-17 setback to Nebraska in the
1997 Orange Bowl. It was the worst regular season loss since the Vols were
pounded by Florida 62-38 on Sept. 16, 1995 in Gainesville. It was the worst
home loss since Florida beat UT 31-0 in 1994.
“It’s disappointing to anybody that follows Tennessee football,” said Coach
Phillip Fulmer in an interview broadcast on the Vol Network. “I apologize to
the fans. It was the worst four minutes and 55 seconds I’ve ever
experienced. It starts with me and goes to our coaches and the players.
“I congratulate Florida on a good game, but we did a lot to help them.”
Outside of the score, the game was close statistically. Florida had 69 plays
for 418 yards. Tennessee had 77 plays for 384 yards. Florida rushed 34 times
for 94 yards and the Vols gained 99 yards on the ground in 33 carries.
Tennessee had the ball for 33:07 to Florida’s 26:53. The Gators had 21 first
downs and UT had 20. The Vols converted 7-of-18 third down chances to
Florida’s 6-of-13. Tennessee picked off two Grossman passes while Florida
finished with no interceptions.
However while the Vols put the ball on the ground eight times, Florida
fumbled but once. Additionally all the Vols’ turnovers were deep in their
own territory while Florida’s three turnovers left Tennessee with a long way
to go to score.
“It was just a really poor job of executing as a football team,” Fulmer
said. “We didn’t do anything consistently well until the third quarter when
we looked more like a football team.”
Tennessee scored on third-quarter drives of 7 plays, 59 yards and 14 plays,
67 yards. Derrick Tinsley caught a screen pass and took it 15 yards for the
Vols first score and Jabari Davis capped the second drive with a one-yard
plunge. Walls misfired on the extra point, the first miss of the senior’s
collegiate career.
Starting tailback Cedric Houston left the game in the first quarter with a
thigh bruise and didn’t have any carries in the game. Tennessee wideout
Kelley Washington saw his first action of the season and caught seven passes
for 101 yards.
Tennessee takes on Rutgers next week in Knoxville.