GAINESVILLE, Fla. _ It was all so quiet. It was an afternoon of studying at the library, or getting stood up at a coffee shop, or watching a really bad play. Until suddenly it wasn't.
Despite a punt-heavy first three quarters leaden with miscues, the fourth proved to be the difference on Saturday in Florida's 26-20 win over Tennessee in Gainesville.
It started right from the beginning of the final frame, when UF cornerback CJ Henderson grabbed an interception and returned it for a touchdown. After three quarters of waiting, fans finally had their first touchdown.
From there, the game took an unexpected turn from defense-heavy to offense-happy. No. 23 Tennessee followed the score with its own touchdown. Florida answered with one of its own _ a quick pass from quarterback Feleipe Franks to wideout Brandon Powell that gave No. 24 UF its first offensive touchdown of the season. Tennessee responded with one more on a toss from quarterback Quinten Dormandy to tight end Ethan Wolf.
The back-and-forth streak ended when Franks threw an interception with 3:57 left in the game. Tennessee capitalized and tied the game at 20 with 50 seconds left.
Then, with nine seconds left, Franks dropped back and evaded pressure. He stepped up in the pocket and heaved it toward a streaking Tyrie Cleveland, who grabbed it with no time left just in front of the south goal post. Game over.
Before that, though, the story of the game was one of missed opportunities for both teams.
After driving to the Tennessee 16 to open the game with, among other things, a 22-yard pass to Brandon Powell and a defender-dragging 7-yard run from Mark Thompson, Florida's offense looked poised to score its first touchdown of 2017.
Back-to-back delay of game and false start penalties ensured they settled for a field goal instead.
Early in the second quarter, carrying momentum off a shanked 34-yard punt from Tennessee's Trevor Daniel, the Gators advanced to Tennessee's 25 thanks in large part to a 19-yard reception by freshman Kadarius Toney.
Franks got sacked. Once again, UF (1-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) called on kicker Eddy Pineiro.
On Florida's first drive of the second half, running back Lamical Perine took a handoff up the middle and turned it into a 21-yard gain.
He fumbled at the end of the run, and Tennessee (2-1, 0-1 SEC) recovered.
On the ensuing Tennessee drive, the Gators forced the Volunteers into a third-and-19 predicament. UT escaped with a 22-yard pass.
When Florida's offense finally broke through on what appeared to be a 74-yard touchdown run by freshman Malik Davis, it was ruled upon review that Davis fumbled at the 2-yard line. Tennessee took over on a touchback.
Tennessee, however, missed its share of opportunities as well. This was especially true for kicker Brent Cimaglia, who booted one field goal attempt wide left and another wide right. If he would have made them, UT would've earned a 9-6 lead. He also missed another kick after UF's touchdown.
UF amassed 380 total yards to UT's 442, while Franks finished 18-of-28 passing for 212 yards. Davis led the Gators in rushing with 94 yards, and Cleveland led the receivers with 93 yards through the air.
