Tennessee vs Florida: Highlights, score and recap
By John Buhler
The No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers defeated the No. 19 Florida Gators for the first time since the 2004 college football season in Knoxville, 38-28.
The Tennessee Volunteers had lost 11 straight ball games to the Florida Gators entering Saturday afternoon’s meeting in Week 4. These two teams have been bitter rivals in the SEC East since its formation back in 1992. On Saturday, Tennessee prevailed for its first win over the Gators since 2004 by beating Florida, 38-28.
Tennessee came out and laid an egg in the first half at Neyland Stadium. The Volunteers trailed the Gators, 21-3 at halftime and it looked like another miserable game for the Volunteers against the Gators.
This was a tale of two halves, as Tennessee came out and destroyed Jim McElwain’s Gators. Florida managed only eight yards of total offense in the third quarter. Tennessee outscored Florida, 14-0 in the third quarter to make it 21-17 Florida entering the deciding fourth quarter.
Florida looked strong early, but couldn’t overcome the inefficiencies of backup quarterback Austin Appleby, who had to start in place of the injured Luke Del Rio. Tennessee leaned on a resurgent defense led by defensive end Derek Barnett.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs overcame a dreadful first half to be the best player on the field in this SEC East rivalry game. Tennessee prevails over Florida for the first time in over a decade.
Three Stars
- Joshua Dobbs: Dobbs had a fantastic second half for the Volunteers. He led Tennessee to its first win over Florida in 12 years. Dobbs completed 16 of his 32 passes for 319 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. On the ground, he had 17 rushes for 80 yards and a touchdown.
- Jauan Jennings: Jennings may have only had three catches in the game, but his 67-yard paydirt from Dobbs was the first nail in the coffin for Florida in this one. Jennings finished 111 receiving yards.
- Antonio Callaway: Florida had a solid receiving game from Callaway in the first half. He had four catches for 134 yards. Callaway has to do a better job of returning kicks going forward.
Highlights
Next Game
Florida’s next game will be on Saturday, October 1st on the road against the Vanderbilt Commodores. Kickoff from Nashville next Saturday is at 12:00 PM ET, airing on the SEC Network.
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Tennessee’s next game will be on Saturday, October 1st on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs. Kickoff from Athens next Saturday is at 3:30 PM ET, airing on CBS.