Tennessee vs Florida recap: 3 things we learned
By John Buhler
The No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers defeated the No. 19 Florida Gators in Week 4, 38-28. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this SEC East rivalry game.
The Tennessee Volunteers get an impressive SEC East win over the Florida Gators, 38-28 to move to 4-0 (1-0) on the season. This is Tennessee’s first victory over the Gators since the 2004 college football season. Rocky Top Nation is ecstatic over this huge rivalry win.
Florida had gotten to 3-0 thanks to a great defense, but has not had a consistent offense really since the Urban Meyer era in Gainesville. Tennessee began the year 3-0, but had not looked great in its three victories over Appalachian State, Virginia Tech, and Ohio.
Nobody can deny that Tennessee won this game over Florida handedly. The Volunteers were completely out of it at halftime, down 21-3. They rallied to outscore the Gators 35-7 in the second half. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this SEC East rivalry game:
1. Florida has limitations under center without Luke Del Rio.
Florida looked great early with Austin Appleby under center at quarterback, but the stage became too big for the former Purdue Boilermaker once the Tennessee crowd got into the game. One has to wonder if Luke Del Rio would have been able to keep the Gators’ lead had he been healthy for this game.
The Gators have a great defense for head coach Jim McElwain, but the offense remains a work-in-progress during his second year in Gainesville. Florida has an elite wide receiver in Antonio Callaway and usually runs the football well no matter the quarterback.
For Florida to have any hopes at defending its SEC East crown the rest of the way, the Gators will need Del Rio to be their starting signal caller. Appleby did fine in the first half, but the clock struck midnight for the Purdue graduate transfer in the pivotal third quarter.
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2. Joshua Dobbs can throw the football vertically.
This had been an issue all season long, but Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs proved that he can stretch the field with his arm when it counts. Dobbs had four passing touchdowns and 319 yards through the air against an elite Florida defense.
Things might have opened up in the Florida secondary once cornerback Jalen Tabor had to briefly exit the game with an injury. Dobbs is the most gifted player on the Tennessee offense and the Volunteers will go as far as he takes him this season.
Dobbs’ 67-yard touchdown bomb to wideout Jauan Jennings was a thing of beauty. By being able to stretch the field with his arm, it will make it all the more difficult to game plan for Dobbs and the Tennessee offense. This is an offensive game Tennessee can absolutely build on.
3. Tennessee is the team to beat in the SEC East.
With this convincing win over the Gators, Tennessee becomes the team to beat in the SEC East. Many projected Tennessee as the favorite in this SEC division, but the Volunteers had not looked stellar in their first three games.
Florida and the Georgia Bulldogs were also 3-0 entering play on Saturday afternoon. Tennessee’s two biggest division rivals now have an SEC loss after Week 4. Florida needs Tennessee to now drop to games in SEC play to win the East.
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Georgia just needs to beat Florida and Tennessee to take control of the SEC East. The problem is that Georgia looked terrible on the road at Ole Miss in Week 4, losing 45-14. Tennessee still has Georgia, Texas A&M, and Alabama as its next three games, but is in the SEC East driver’s seat entering Week 5.