Photo by Bill Shipley – Tennessee quarterback Quinten Dormady is seen here in the Vols’ opening win over Indiana State.
The Tennessee Vol’s were minutes away from possibly closing out a comeback win, or at least a chance of winning in overtime, against the Florida Gator’s on Saturday. Instead, Vol’s fans are entering the week with a familiar nagging feeling of; “Here we go again.”
Missed field goals,poor execution and countless missed tackleswere too much to overcome for a Tennessee team that, on many levels, never seemed to quit playing. In fact, Tennessee beat Florida in several key stats as the Vol’s showcased their powerful running game courtesy of John Kelly.
But, the cumulative mistakes resulted in the Vol’s leaving sixteen possible points on the field. Those scoring misses, three failed field goal attempts and a turn-over only a few yards away from the end zone, proved costly. Quinten Dormady, the Tennessee Quarterback, was picked off three times during the game.
Tennessee, a credit to the players, looked as if they had overcome the turnovers and mistakes. They roared back with great defensive plays and fantastic runs by Kelly. The Vol’s tied things up 20 – 20 and looked to force Florida to win with a long field goal, or go to overtime.
However, the mistakes by Tennessee continued. Florida took advantage of an ill-timed Volunteer penalty which was then followed by a kickoff out of bounds. Within seconds Florida had snatched momentum back after the Vol’s late fourth quarter rally and UT scoring drive.
The Tennessee defense seemed to hold as they forced short plays by Florida which probably would end in a long field goal. The Gator’s had other plans. Florida’s redshirt freshman quarterback Feleipe Franks launched a 63-yard pass. Tennessee, once again, failed to make tackles as Feleipescramble out of the pocket.
The Gator quarterback had plenty of time to set his body and feet for a long pass. Too make matters worse, the Tennessee defense let the Florida receivers run right past them with little or no pressure. It would set Tennessee up for a loss against a team they should have beaten handily.
Tyrie Cleveland, and other Florida receivers, sprinted past the Volunteer secondary without being touched.Cleveland was already fifteen yards behind the defense before they recovered and caught the ball for the Gator’s touchdown ending the game.
The Stats:
- First Downs: TN/23 FL/14
- Total yardage: TN/442 FL/380
- Rushing: TN/183 FL/168
- Per Carry: FL/5.8 TN/5.5
- Per Pass: FL/7.6 TN/6.6
- Time: TN/32.45 FL/27.15
- Turnovers: TN/3 FL/3
NOTES: The last time Tennessee won at Florida was in 2003. The Vol’s turned the ball over three times Saturday due to interceptions. One ended a red-zone drive where Tennessee were as close as one yard for a touchdown. Combine that possible touchdown, extra-point with the three missed field goals and the Vol’s end up leaving sixteen points on the field. Next up for the Volunteers; UMass.
