Five takeaways from Florida's 38-28 loss to Tennessee

With Florida’s 38-28 loss to Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday in the books, Inside the Gators now shares five things we learned from the defeat.

1. An offense that tallied a number of explosive plays in the first half shockingly went quiet in the second half.

The Gators offense rolled into the game with a swagger in its step and got the passing game going from the get-go. At a point in this game, it looked as if Florida could have a quarterback competition on its hands moving forward when Luke Del Rio (sprained MCL) returns to the mix, as graduate transfer Austin Appleby was looking sharp and successfully stretching the field vertically. After Appleby connected on deep bombs of 51, 43 and 36 yards to Antonio Callaway (on the first two) and then Tyrie Cleveland, the Gators had racked up 21 points and 300 total yards by halftime.

So, what happened in the second half?

Not only did the Volunteers make a number of key adjustments defensively, but the Florida offense looked rattled by the hostile environment at Neyland Stadium and the offensive line struggled to get much of a push up front (more on that below). The run game became non-existent, taking away the ideal play-action opportunities where Appleby thrived in the first half.

The offensive play-calling also became somewhat pedestrian and conservative, following a first half where the Gators weren’t afraid to test it deep. However, much of that has to do with the run game being shut down and then Florida subsequently unable to open up play action for Appleby. There were a numerous of questionable screen play calls, though, from Florida offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and head coach Jim McElwain. Florida went for a stretch in the second half where five of six drives ended in punts, and much of that had to do with the Florida’s rushing attack being unable to spark much.