The Quick Slant: Tennessee 38, Gators 28
Saturday, September 24, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
Florida suffers its first loss to Tennessee since 2004 despite racing to a 21-0 lead.
The Gators scored two more touchdowns and owned a 21-point lead before a field goal by Vols kicker Aaron Medley right before the half put the No. 14-ranked Vols on the board. Rocky Top was stunned.
The Gators were the ones stunned in the end.
The Volunteers reeled off 38 consecutive points to grab control and send the No. 19-ranked Gators to their first loss of the season. More importantly to the Tennessee faithful, the Volunteers snapped their 11-game losing streak to the Gators, winning their annual SEC East showdown for the first time since 2004.
Here is a closer look at the Florida-Tennessee game:
WHAT IT MEANS: Tennessee's victory over the Gators, coupled with Georgia's loss at Ole Miss, puts the Volunteers in the driver's seat in the SEC East race. The Gators now must find a way to recover mentally from their second-half collapse. Florida went three-and-out on five of its first six drives in the second half and the other one resulted in an interception on the first play.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Tennessee coach Butch Jones was under immense pressure to defeat the Gators in his fourth attempt. As Jones walked off the field at halftime trailing 21-3, boos from Neyland Stadium poured down. The Vols responded after halftime to improve to 4-0.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: The Gators rolled up 300 yards of total offense in the first half. If not for a couple of late drives after Tennessee opened a 17-point lead, the Gators would have mustered less than 100 after halftime. They finished with 402 yards overall to Tennessee's 498.
SUBPLOT: Making his first start for the Gators, Appleby replaced injured Luke Del Rio and finished 23 of 39 for 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Appleby looked sharp in the first half, but the UF offense disappeared for most of the second half as the Vols stormed back.
UP NEXT: The Gators return to the Volunteer State next week when they play at Vanderbilt. Florida will seek to erase what happened in Knoxville from its collective mind and defeat a Commodores team that will enter as the underdog.
