Florida’s Malik Davis fumbles a would-be 74-yard touchdown at the goal line

Florida Gators running back Malik Davis was inches from having a 74-yard touchdown run versus the Tennessee Volunteers. Too bad he fumbled at the goal line.

The Florida Gators were THIS close to taking a 20-3 lead over their SEC East rival Tennessee Volunteers midway through the fourth quarter. Florida running back Malik Davis would sprint past almost all the Volunteers defenders for what should have been a 74-yard touchdown run.

There was just one slight problem for the Florida running back. Davis would have the ball stripped from behind within inches of the goal line. Since the ball would fall out of the back of the end zone, it would be a touchback for the Volunteers. They would begin their drive at the 20-yard line going the other way.

This has been a trying game for both teams to say the least. Neither offense has been able to execute at a high level at all. This is what happens when two SEC teams are trotting out new starting quarterbacks at the start of the year. While Feleipe Franks has been so-so for the Gators, Quinten Dormady has been a pick machine for the Volunteers.

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Historically, this mid-September rivalry game between Florida and Tennessee has usually decided who comes out of the SEC East. That just may not be the case this year. Sure, both teams can be better as the season rolls on, but there might be other teams better than them in the East this year. One team that is absolutely not is the hopeless Missouri Tigers. They’re real bad.

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Hats off to Tennessee for not giving up on the play. Because the Volunteers were able to force a turnover, it would set up the first offensive touchdown of the game on the ensuing series. Tennessee running back John Kelly would find pay dirt on the next series to make it just 13-10 Florida inside of 10 minutes left.