KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Florida Gators’ five-game winning streak over the Tennessee Volunteers is over.
They generated enough offense after a few lackluster weeks by quarterback Anthony Richardson, but they couldn’t generate enough stops Saturday in a 38-33 loss at Neyland Stadium.
Florida begins SEC play 0-2 for the first time since the 1986 when it started 0-3.
Why Tennessee won
The teams traded the lead four times, culminating with a Tennessee touchdown with 7 seconds left in the first half. A 16-yard touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker to Bru McCoy capped a 99-yard scoring drive.
Tennessee opened the second half with a 10-play touchdown drive to build the lead to 10 points. A first-down fumble by Richardson on a quarterback from Tennessee’s 13-yard line effectively ended the Gators’ comeback hopes given the defense’s inability to slow down the Vols’ attack.
Standouts
Florida
— Anthony Richardson: The Gators quarterback accounted for his team’s 4 TDs (two passing, two rushing) and finished with 515 total yards (453 passing, 62 rushing).
— Ventrell Miller: The sixth-year linebacker returned from a foot injury sustained during a Sept. 10 loss to Kentucky.
— Justin Shorter: The fifth-year senior caught seven passes for 155 yards including a 39-yard grab on fourth-and-2.
Tennessee
— Hendon Hooker: The Vols quarterback threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 112 yards and another score.
— Bru McCoy: Led Tennessee with 102 receiving yards on five catches.
— Jeremy Banks: Vols linebacker had a team-high seven tackles.
Noteworthy
— The Gators were 4 of 5 on fourth down. The boldest of the calls was a fourth-and-2 from their own 27-yard line when Richardson connected with Shorter.
— Tennessee finished with 576 yards of total offense. Most allowed by Florida in 2021 was 530 to Samford.
— Gators coach Billy Napier was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on third-and-goal from the 1. He was angry after an official dropped a flag for delay of game but changed without seeing Tennessee’s Josh Heupel had called timeout. Officials announced they were reviewing previous play, so Napier was angered by change of mind.
