Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) scored 38 straight points as Joshua Dobbs threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score while the defense stonewalled the No. 16 Gators (3-1, 1-1) for most of the second half. Georgia has won 10 consecutive games in the series dating back to 1996.
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“That first half of football, that wasn’t us”, Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. Resist that temptation. This was nothing like the 2015 Georgia game.
Gators with 213 yards through the air compared to Tennessee’s 84.
Hurts was 16-of-24 passing for 164 yards and ran for 54 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown to cap the opening drive.
Now he hits the road for the first time.
However, in the second half, the game seemed to change for the receiving core. In the second half?
For now, though, Tennessee has a win over Florida, a victory that reinvigorated their season and gave them so much more to play for the rest of the way. Each team’s offense looked completely inept at different points in the game, and today, it was Tennessee’s offense that made the necessary plays to close out a much-needed win. But it wasn’t just about busted plays. Bothered by bad field position and relentless pressure from the Vols, the Gators’ meltdown on offense was similar to the one on defense.
After hearing months of trash-talking from the Gators and the disapproval of their own fans in the first half, Tennessee had no choice but to respond and play with desperation. Dobbs threw a pick at Florida’s 8 on the Vols’ first drive – his second of the game (the first came in the end zone) – but the Vols’ defense picked him up. Florida had not allowed a TD pass in the first 14 quarters of the season. The Mountaineers went to the locker room with a 21-13 lead and the score probably could have been a little worse had there been any urgency to their offensive drives, which were methodical and efficient outside of a Skyler Howard interception. The Vols showed more poise in the second half.
When Florida takes the field in Knoxville later today against Tennessee, there will be an urgency surrounding the game not seen in almost 20 years.
Josh Dobbs connected with Jalen Hurd and Ethan Wolf in the third quarter for two touchdowns that brought the Vols within 21-17 going into the final frame. They forced a three-and-out. But Dobbs, who finished with 319 yards passing and 80 on the ground, led them to their long-awaited win over their fiercest SEC East rival. The suddenly anemic Gators offense facilitated Tennessee’s very big comeback. Barnett also passed John Henderson (20.5, 19998-2001) and James Wilson (20.5, 1989-93) on UT’s all-time sack list. Jennings and fellow receiver Tyler Byrd were some of the only bright spots in the first 35 minutes. Florida did not record a single first down on its first six drives of the second half. And then he caught it, and raced 67 yards to paydirt. The defense kept their heads in the game, and it only took one play for a harried Austin Appleby to throw a ideal strike to Vols safety Todd Kelly Jr.
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In the first half of games this season, Dobbs is completing just 50.8 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and three interceptions, and he’s averaging 3 yards per carry. Baker Mayfield knows how you feel, bud. The defense forced another three-and-out. Florida made it 21-0 on a one-yard Jordan Scarlett rushing touchdown with 5:12 to go before halftime. He soon compensated for that, however, catching a short pass from Ward on a bubble screen and taking it in for a touchdown from 48 yards out. Jauan Jennings’ three catches went for 111 yards and a touchdown.
