Defense wins another one for Tennessee Football
Although Florida did move the ball, and they lost Graham Mertz and Montrell Johnson Jr. to injuries, the defense still deserves a ton of credit for this one. They too often played with their backs against the wall and forced two turnovers. All three levels of the unit were good, even with Keenan Pili going out in the first half. Cornerbacks were the big story, though, particularly Jermod McCoy on island coverage.
Every aspect of Vols’ passing offense was an issue
Outside of one drive where they rolled out Nico Iamaleava, the Vols could not move the ball through the air. Iamaleava was inaccurate, he telegraphed too many passes which resulted in an interception, the offensive tackles struggled again, and DeSean Bishop also couldn’t pick up blitzes. Squirrel White ran two bad routes and missed a block on a screen too, so everybody struggled.
Running game got going late
Lack of help from the passing game allowed Florida to shut down the run early. However, after that touchdown drive by the offense to cut it to 10-7, the Vols finally found their running game. Dylan Sampson once again had two touchdowns, and he had to fight for every yard late, but after averaging under three yards a carry for most of the game, he finished north of 100.
A game of miscues for Florida AND Tennessee Football
Nico Iamaleava fumbled a snap on the opening drive and threw a pick. However, Florida made more. The Gators failed to convert two fourth downs, including a 4th and inches in the red zone, they had a goal-line fumble and set up a UT field goal with an interception, and they had a halftime field goal waived off with a substitution penalty. A missed field goal in overtime was the cherry on top.
Fourth down conversions made the difference
Speaking of those Florida miscues, Billy Napier’s failed coaching also included terrible fourth down plays. The Gators went into shotgun on that 4th and inches, and they threw a pass that was also broken up. On the two fourth down plays Tennessee Football had, the Vols ran it both times, including Sampson’s first touchdown. That’s what won the game.
