Florida Gators
Tennessee
Gators Shock Tennessee, 28-27, With Stunning 4th Quarter Comeback
Saturday, September 26, 2015 | Football, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Swamp made a storied comeback Saturday night.
So did the team that calls it home.
Down 13 points with less than five minutes remaining, freshman Antonio Callaway's electrifying 63-yard touchdown reception with 1:26 play was the difference in Florida's stunning 28-27 defeat of Tennessee before a frenzied Florida Field crowd of 90,527.
Volunteers kicker Aaron Medley was wide right on a 55-yard field goal as time expired, as the Gators (4-0, 2-0) maintained their mastery over their Southeastern Conference rival by defeating the Vols (2-2, 0-1) for the 11th straight time, dating to 2005, and for the 24th time in the last 30 meetings.
Three of those last 11 wins have come by one point, including the last two. Both of those defeats came after double-digit fourth-quarter leads.
The Vols know Florida frustration. And now UF coach Jim McElwain knows the Florida-Tennessee series.
"Our guys didn't panic and that was good to see," McElwain said. "They played their hearts out for the Gators and all the Gator fans and all the Gators that played before them. I think there's a feeling deep down, you know, that we just don't lose to Tennessee. And they didn't."
But it looked like they might.
UF quarterback Will Grier was shaky for three-plus quarters, until finding his touch late in the third quarter. After punting six times and throwing an interception on seven series spanning the first, second and third quarters, Grier engineered touchdown marches on three of his team's last four possessions, with the dagger touchdown to Callaway coming -- get this -- on fourth-and-13 from UF's 37.
"Football is a game where you've got to battle. You deal with adversity and you have to respond," Grier said. "We fought until the end and that's what you've got to do to win games like that."
On the decisive play, Callaway raced to the spot in the middle of the UT defense and set himself up to secure the first down. But after making the catch, he quickly spun away from a couple of defenders, hit the sideline, got a great block downfield from slotback Brandon Powell and raced into the end zone.
To paraphrase a saying that has haunted Gators for decades relative to another SEC rival.
"Run, Antonio, run!"
Yes, that kind of play.
"It was a memorable moment," said UF safety Keanu Neal, who like many of his teammates raced down the sidelines to see the play. "That was something we can look back on."
Added linebacker Jarrard Davis: "That kid is going to be something special."
Callaway's catch made Grier 23-of-42 for 283 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the game. He was 11-for-17 for 141 yards and two TDs on the final two drives.
"I feel like things started to slow down," Grier said of his second-half performance. "We never, as an offense, really got nervous; never got out of groove or anything like that."
The Vols certainly had plenty of time and enough playmakers to go down and win the game. Quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who ran through and around UF defenders in rushing for 136 yards and also catching a 58-yard touchdown on a trick play, managed to move his unit 31 yards, from the UT 37 to the UF 32, but a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 37 with four seconds left.
Enter Medley, who appeared to have missed his shot at the game-winner -- the crowd certainly thought so -- but UF coach Jim McElwain called for a timeout just before the snap.
Medley's second chance missed, also, barely inching past the right upright.
The Swamp was alive.
"That was one of the coolest games I've ever been a part of," tight end Jake McGee said. "The crowd was into it. Crazy last drive. Thought the field goal was in; it wasn't in. It can only boost you and keep you going."
"That was pretty cool out there," McElwain said. "A great atmosphere."
It was a concerned atmosphere for the better part of the game. Though Florida took an early lead on Kelvin Taylor's 4-yard touchdown run in the first period, the Volunteers answered with 20 consecutive points.
Tennessee led 17-7 at the half and stretched the margin to 20-7 with Medley's 37-yard field goal four minutes into the third period. The situation was getting dire for the Gators after another punt, but junior defensive changed that when he force and recovered a fumble deep in UT territory.
Taylor's second touchdown run, a 5-yarder with 5:42 to go in thr third quarter, made the score 20-14, but Dobbs and friends went on a slow, methodical drive of 16 plays and 70 yards. Tailback Jalen Hurd (28 carries, 102 yards) scored on a 10-yard run -- on third-and-goal -- to push the Volunteers ahead 27-14 with 10:19 remaining.
The Gators had done very little to that point offensively to think they would mount a comeback. Their defense had done very little at that point to suggest it could stave off another Vols' drive even if the offense could score.
But, Grier led UF on a 17-play, 86-yard march, converting fourth-and-7 and fourth-and-8 along the way. The second was a 16-yard pass to Powell, who three plays later, caught a 5-yard scoring pass from Grier to make the score 27-21 with 4:09 left.
"What can I say? The whole thing is fourth down," a dejected UT coach Butch Jones said afterward. "You have to close the game out, particularly when you have fourth-and-long. You've got to close the game out. You have to get in victory formation, milking the clock, and the game is over."
The Vols got the ball again and had a chance to do that.
Tennessee had 419 yards of total offense, including 254 on the ground against a UF defense that allowed 166 rushing yards to its first three opponents combined. Yet on the Florida defense's most critical stand of the night, the Gators forced a three-and-out, with defensive tackle Jonathan Bullard stuffing Dobbs for a 3-yard loss on third-and-6.
After a punt, Florida took over at its 41. Here's what the drive looked like: 4-yard loss on a screen to Taylor; dropped sideline pass by Demarcus Robinson; a second straight incompletion to Robinson.
Then, a 63-yard TD for Callaway.
"I was just worried about guys running down to celebrate with him and getting a 15-yard penalty," McElwain.
That didn't happen this time. Apparently, the Gators are learning some things on the fly.
Like how to win.
"I don't know if we deserved it or not," McElwain said. "But I prefer it this way. It was pretty cool, wasn't it?"
