Instant Analysis: Florida falls to Tennessee 38-28
In what was a tale of two halves, No. 19 Florida (3-1, 1-1 SEC) got off to a hot start against No. 14 Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) but went cold in the second half, as the Vols defeated the Gators 38-28 on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to snap an 11-game losing streak against Florida. After Florida took a 21-0 lead over Tennessee in the second quarter, the Volunteers responded with 38 unanswered points.
With Georgia losing to Ole Miss 45-14 on Saturday, Tennessee is now the only team in the SEC East without a conference loss.
Instant Analysis now further examines the Gators' defeat.
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IT WAS OVER WHEN: An offense that operated with confidence and authority in the first half fell apart after halftime. Same goes for the defensive side of the ball, as well. A lack of a push up front from the offensive line - and some conservative, questionable play-calling - saw the Gators struggling to score after entering halftime with a 21-3 lead. On the other end, Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs eventually found his groove and torched the Florida secondary during the second half.
Three touchdown passes of 20, 67 and 42 yards to Ethan Wolf, Jauan Jennings and Josh Malone, respectively - and then a 5-yard touchdown run by Dobbs - lifted the Vols to a 38-21 advantage with 8:27 left in the game.
Florida eventually responded with a touchdown drive capped off by a score from freshman wideout Freddie Swain to cut its deficit to 38-28 with 4:17 remaining. However, after that play, the Gators attempted an onside kick with Jorge Powell that failed - and then the Vols went three-and-out. Florida found itself with the ball back with 3:10 left, but the Gators could not move the chains on four attempts.
THEY STOLE THE SHOW: On Florida's end, it was an overall dismal effort on both sides of the ball during the second half. However, graduate transfer quarterback Austin Appleby and wide receiver Antonio Callaway led the way for the offense in the first half. Appleby finished with 296 yards and three touchdowns against an interception on 23-of-39 passing, but had 213 yards and two touchdowns on 10-of-16 passing through the game's first two quarters. Returning to action after missing the North Texas game with a quad injury, Callaway finished with a team-best 134 receiving yards on four catches.
As for the Vols, Joshua Dobbs led the way with 319 yards and four touchdowns against two interceptions on 16-of-32 passing, while he ran for 80 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. His receivers, Jauan Jennings (111 yards, TD on three catches) and Josh Malone (91 yards, TD on four catches) also had big performances.
THIS STAT DOESN'T LIE: Florida's offense racked up 300 yards and scored 21 points during the first half, but recorded only seven points and 102 yards in the second half. Meanwhile, Tennessee scored only a field goal and had just 162 total yards in the first half, but bounced back with 35 points and 336 yards in the second half.
WHAT A PLAY: With Appleby leading the way on offense, there were a number of big-time catches in the first half that are deserving of this category. On the second offensive play of the game, Appleby hit Callaway for a 51-yard gain and later in the first quarter connected with Callaway for 43 yards. A 36-yard pass from Appleby to freshman Tyrie Cleveland propelled another scoring drive for the Gators, who took a 21-0 lead with 5:12 left in the second quarter.
Meanwhile on defense, Wilson backed up his trash talk early on in the contest, coming up with a key red-area stop when he intercepted Dobbs in the end zone on third down for the touchback. The pick took the wind out of Tennessee's sails during a drive that up to that point saw the Volunteers finding some momentum. At the start of the second half, Tabor got in on the interception affair and picked off Dobbs, after the Tennessee quarterback was pressured in the pocket into a bad throw by defensive tackle Caleb Brantley.
THIS MATCH-UP PROVED KEY: The Gators' defense as a unit established the tone from the get-go against the Volunteers during the first half, but lost steam in the second half. Dobbs and UT running back Jalen Hurd couldn't find much success in the running game against the Gators' front seven at the start of the game - and when the Vols managed to move the ball downfield or end up with good field position, Florida made a number of crucial stops.
However, in the second half, the Gators defense unraveled. Dobbs found success in the passing game, exploiting busted coverages by the Gators and often picking on nickelback Duke Dawson. The Florida defense lost its edge defending the run, struggling to wrap up Dobbs, Hurd and others throughout the second half.
Stay tuned with ITG, as we provide more post-game coverage tonight of Florida's victory against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.