Dylan Sampson punched it in on a one-yard touchdown run in overtime after Trey Smack missed a field goal from 46 yards to secure a 23-17 victory for Tennessee Football over the Florida Gators. The Vols, ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll, improved to 5-1 with the win and 2-1 in the SEC, while UF fell to 3-3 and 1-2 in the SEC.
Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway hit Chimere Dike over the middle for a 27-yard touchdown pass on 3rd and 18 with the Gators down 17-10 and just over a minute to go. Billy Napier almost went for two but called it off and took the game-tying extra point after UT called a timeout. That sent the game to overtime.
Trailing 10-0 with just over seven minutes to go, Tennessee Football scored 17 straight points. It started with an 11-play 75-yard drive capped off by a Dylan Sampson touchdown run after Florida scored a touchdown of its own while seeing Graham Mertz get hurt in the process. Then Arion Carter had an interception to tie it up.
After the two teams traded punts, the Vols then started a drive in the fourth quarter on the Florida 29-yard line. Sampson had a 23-yard touchdown run two plays later to put the Vols up. He finished the game with 27 carries for 112 yards and those two scores.
For the second straight week, the Vols went into halftime trailing 3-0, Nico Iamaleava fumbled on a handoff exchange on the opening drive of the game in which the Vols were moving the ball. However, Florida made numerous mistakes in the first half as well, which kept the Vols in it.
Up next for the Gators is a return home as they welcome a visit from the Kentucky Wildcats next week. Tennessee Football, meanwhile, returns home to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in a matchup that still is intriguing but doesn’t have the hype we thought it would have two weeks ago.
