KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A week ago, an emotional Florida coach Will
Muschamp pointed out to the media that it was wrong for its criticism of
the Gators' conservative game plan in a lackluster victory in the
opener against Bowling Green.
Now, maybe Muschamp owes the media —
and certainly UF fans — an apology for stating last week that the
Gators were going to have to somehow grind out low-scoring, ugly wins in
the SEC this season.
It appears he was wrong.
In a stunning reversal of
their first two performances this season, the Gators, led by sophomore
quarterback Jeff Driskel, came to life in a big way Saturday night,
crushing Tennessee 37-20 with a barrage of big plays in a decisive
second half.
The victory, before a hostile crowd of 102,455 at
Neyland Stadium, elevates No. 18 Florida to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the
SEC. No. 23 Tennessee, which was planning on snapping the Gators'
seven-game winning streak in the rivalry, falls to 2-1 and 0-1.
Trailing
14-10 at the half, the Gators outscored UT 27-6 in the second half,
lighting up the Vols with huge play after huge play.
The
highlights were an 80-yard TD run by fullback Trey Burton out of the
Wildcat formation in the third quarter and a 75-yard TD pass from
Driskel to senior wide Frankie Hammond Jr. with 9:53 to play in the game
that gave the Gators a 34-20 lead.
Place-kicker Caleb Sturgis sealed the victory with a 49-yard field goal a little more than three minutes later.
“We
have put a tremendous emphasis on winning the fourth quarter, winning
the second half and wearing down our opponent,” Muschamp said.
On this night, the Gators wore down the Vols and then buried them with big plays in the second half.
“We
have athletes all over the field,” Driskel said. “And we know if we
keep giving them the ball, eventually they are going to break.”
The Gators tied the game at 20-all on Burton's 80-yard dash down the sideline with 3:15 left in the third quarter.
It was just a start.
Driskel threw a 23-yard TD strike to tight end Jordan Reed in the closing seconds of the third quarter to put UF up 27-20.
Then
the Gators broke the game open with the 75-yard scoring pass play
produced by Driskel and Hammond. On a third-and-7 play, Driskel avoided a
cornerback blitz and found Hammond open about 15 yards down field, and
with one sharp cutback turned it into a touchdown.
“We had a good
game until about late in the third quarter,” UT coach Derek Dooley
said. “We just gave up some huge plays and never really could get it
going on offense.
“I give Florida a lot of credit. They did a real
good job late in the third quarter and early in the fourth. We never
could recover. It's a disappointing loss.
“You can't give up those plays in this league and expect to win the game. You just can't.”
It
was a convincing victory for the Gators, who rolled up 555 yards of
total offense, a whopping 336 on the ground. Showing great growth
between his second and third starts at quarterback, Driskel completed 14
of 20 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 81 yards
on eight carries.
The Florida defense also did its part. The
Gators intercepted quarterback Tyler Bray twice (Lerentee McCray and
Matt Elam) and put steady pressure on him in the second half. Although
they sacked Bray only once, they bumped him out of his comfort zone once
the UF offense took command of the game.
Bray completed only 50
percent of his passes (22-of-44) for 257 yards and two touchdowns. The
Gators also shut down the Tennessee running game in the second half and
held the Vols to 83 yards rushing for the game.
“It was great
competition,” Elam said. “You're going to get beat (in coverage). It's
about what you do after you get beat. It's all about how you respond.
“You can't get down when bad things happen. He's a great quarterback, they have great receivers, they're going to make plays.”
But the Gators made more on both sides of the ball.
“We know we have a great defense that is going to give us a lot of chances and give us the ball back quickly,” Driskel said.
Driskel said he was not surprised by the way the game played out, with all those big offensive plays.
“Not at all,” he said.
For
the third week in a row, the Gators won the fourth quarter 10-0. It's a
big turnaround from a year ago, when UF was outscored in the fourth
quarter in SEC games 72-22.
