Gators Confident They Will Bounce Back from Humbling Loss

Florida head coach Jim McElwain paces the sidelines during Florida's 38-28 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Gators Confident They Will Bounce Back from Humbling Loss

Saturday, September 24, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter

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Florida blew a 21-point lead as Tennessee storms back with 38 consecutive points.

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Most of them wore headphones to block out the noise and escape into their own world. All of them had a stunned look on their face as they walked out of Neyland Stadium on Saturday night.

The Gators needed more time to absorb exactly what happened on a gorgeous Rocky Top afternoon. The Gators owned one half of their SEC East showdown against Tennessee, and the Volunteers owned the other.

The final in a classic tale of two halves: Tennessee 38, Florida 28.

Florida's 21-0 lead in the first half fizzled into a 38-21 deficit midway into the fourth quarter when Vols quarterback Josh Dobbs capped a string of 38 consecutive Tennessee points with a 5-yard touchdown run. The Gators responded with a 16-play, 86-yard scoring drive to trim the lead to 10 with 4:17 left, but by then Rocky Top was blasting for everyone along the banks of the Tennessee River to dance to into the night.

Moments later, the Vols and their fans began to celebrate Tennessee's first win over Florida since 2004, snapping an 11-game losing streak that had every orange-clad Vols fan on edge all week as the Gators continued to talk brashly about the matchup.

"It hurts. It always hurts to lose,'' said Florida defensive back Quincy Wilson, who riled up Tennessee fans on Tuesday when he guaranteed a Gators victory. "We are definitely humbled."

Several Gators spoke confidently in recent months about extending their winning streak over Tennessee. Florida came out the more confident team Saturday, racing around the field and making big play after big play in the first half.

Making his first start for the Gators, Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby threw for 213 yards and two scores in the first half. Receiver Antonio Callaway had four catches for 134 yards. Wilson had an interception in the end zone and in the second quarter, and fellow cornerback Teez Tabor picked off a pass to end a Vols' scoring threat on Tennessee's opening drive of the second half.

The Gators appeared on their way to a dandy dozen over the Vols.

And then Tennessee's offense woke up, its defense began to buzz, and the announced crowd of 102,455 finally had something to cheer about.

The tidal wave of momentum was too much for the Gators.

"At halftime, if we're up by 50, if we're up by 1, you have to play the second half,'' running back Mark Thompson said. "You can't come out lax; you can't come out feeling comfortable. It's the SEC. Every team is good. So you got to play better than them."

For the first time since the year of Facebook's birth, the Gators failed to beat the Vols.

Now they must look in the mirror.

The Gators were the team full of bravado and verbal jabs entering Saturday's game. The Vols remained relatively quiet in comparison.

"I don't know if it helped us or hurt us,'' Florida linebacker Alex Anzalone said of the chirping. "The biggest thing was the big plays. We didn't stop them. That's what hurt the most."

Florida head coach Jim McElwain doesn't censor his players' freedom of speech. He preaches that your actions are not without consequences. Your words, too.

If you talk trash and don't back it up, you'll hear about it. Tennessee fans let Wilson and Tabor have it from the start. While both Florida cornerbacks had interceptions to quiet their detractors, they didn't get in the last word.

The Vols did.

Next, McElwain is interested to see how the Gators respond from blowing their biggest lead in a loss since a 38-33 defeat at Miami in 2003. Florida led 33-10 before the Hurricanes stormed back.

"I think what it does is really test who you are as a person, test who you are as a man,'' McElwain said. "In failure, some of the greatest lessons you can ever learn about who you are and what you are all about are taught."

"Look, this was a good football team we played. They beat us. So, that's the way it is. You can't change it. How do you not make it two [in a row]? You go back to work and you take care of the now. There's really no secret formula."

Some of the flaws the Gators will work on were exposed Saturday.

The Gators suffered multiple communication breakdowns in pass coverage. The offense disappeared for most of the second half. Five of Florida's first six drives after halftime were three-and-out. And the Gators defense, coming off a school-record performance by allowing only 53 yards in a shutout victory over North Texas, gave up 498 yards.

Appleby threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns in his first Florida start. He threw a costly interception in the second half that led to a Tennessee score.

The loss was disappointing for the Gators, but they stressed they remain confident heading into the heart of the conference schedule.

"I wouldn't want to be out there with anybody else,'' Appleby said. "We're going to find out what we're made of. When you get beat, now everything is really in the light. We are going to be critical of ourselves. With that being said, we've got a lot to be confident about. This is still a special group. We are going to come together. We are going to get closer.

"You are not going to see us go into a hole. If anything, we're going to turn it up even more. We'll be back."

Their first chance is at Vanderbilt next weekend.