Did Florida hold on Hail Mary vs. Tennessee?
By John Buhler
The Florida Gators won their Week 3 game against the Tennessee Volunteers on a Hail Mary. However, did the Gators get away with a hold on the final play?
The SEC East rivalry game between the No. 24 Florida Gators and the No. 23 Tennessee Volunteers came down to one riveting final play. Florida redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks was able to escape pressure to find wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland on a 63-yard Hail Mary.
Florida would go on to win 26-20 over Tennessee in Gainesville, as many on the Volunteers’ sideline thought the Gators would take a knee to go to overtime. However, Florida head coach Jim McElwain wanted the win in regulation. That being said, are we sure Florida didn’t get away with a blatant hold on that final play?
From the looks of it, Florida left tackle Jawaan Taylor does seem to get a bit of Tennessee defensive lineman Jonathan Kongbo’s jersey. That brief grab of the jersey by Taylor allowed Franks to get free enough to heave it into the end zone for Cleveland to grab.
The officials may have missed that call. However, it was a quick grab of jersey that the officials just may not have seen. Though it does look like Florida got away with a hold, maybe the Volunteers should have done a better job of coverage in the end zone?
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This was Florida’s first win of the season. The Gators last played in Week 1 against the Michigan Wolverines down in Arlington, resulting in a bad loss for the Florida program. Florida had its Week 2 game against Northern Colorado canceled due to Hurricane Irma.
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As for Tennessee, this was the Volunteers’ first loss of the season. While they beat the Indiana State Sycamores at home in Week 2, the Volunteers needed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to mess up in double overtime to win in Week 1 in Atlanta.