Head coach Dan Mullen, defensive lineman Kyree Campbell and the Gators celebrate Saturday night's pounding of Tennessee in front of more than 100,000 fans at Neyland Stadium. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
Gators Pass First Road Test, Now Face Bigger One
Sunday, September 23, 2018 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – More than 100,000 fans flowed into Neyland Stadium here in anticipation of a special Saturday night along the Tennessee River.
The locals had spent the past week preparing for a feast, much like the Volunteers did Thursday night when they dined on gator meat at the team meal in a symbolic nod toward Florida's upcoming visit. Adding to the festivities was the return of the 1998 UT national championship team, led by current Tennessee Athletic Director Phil Fulmer, to be honored for their historic season 20 years ago.
By the time the Gators dressed and left their locker room nearly four hours after kickoff, the only throng in Knox County in the mood to celebrate hung outside where Florida's team buses awaited. As the players exited the building, the orange-and-blue-clad crowd handed out high-fives, took selfies and asked for autographs.
The Gators happily obliged.
The annual Florida-Tennessee showdown was over early. The Gators made sure of that with the help of the Vols, who committed six turnovers and barely put up a fight in Florida's 47-21 victory.
The Southeastern Conference East Division matchup was billed throughout the week more as a memento from the past than anything to do with the present. Still, with two storied programs in transition years under first-year head coaches – Florida's Dan Mullen and Tennessee's Jeremy Pruitt – one team was going to leave feeling a lot better about today and tomorrow than the other.
The Gators left no doubt, silencing the Tennessee crowd by the end of the first quarter.
"This is still a big game,'' Mullen said. "We're getting better."
Mullen wondered aloud prior to the game about how his new team would respond to its first road test. Florida won two of three at home to open the Mullen era, but a loss to Kentucky in the second game dampened some of the enthusiasm around the program.
The Gators did their part Saturday to renew interest as they prepare for what is certain to be an emotional trip to Mississippi State next weekend. Mullen built the Bulldogs into a consistent winner in nine seasons as Mississippi State's coach and left after last season to return to Florida and try to help the Gators reclaim a spot among the nation's elite.
No one is claiming a victory over the Volunteers did the trick, but after what transpired on an unseasonably warm East Tennessee night, it's easy to see the Gators are way ahead of the Volunteers on the road to the top.
"We have some solid potential here," Mullen said. "We've got to go start taking advantage of it quickly."
Florida's defense made the opening statement when defensive end Jachai Polite crushed Vols quarterback Jarrett Guarantano on Tennessee's first drive. As Guarantano cocked his arm for a pass, Polite hit him from the backside to force a fumble that linebacker David Reese caught before the ball hit the ground.
Four plays later, quarterback Feleipe Franks tossed a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end R.J. Raymond. On the Vols' next drive, defensive lineman Luke Ancrum picked off a Guarantano pass deep inside Tennessee's territory. Two plays later, Franks scored on a 1-yard run to bring Neyland Stadium to a hush.
It went like that the rest of the night as the Gators scored 24 points off turnovers to deal Tennessee its 10th consecutive SEC loss. Florida's 47 points set a school record in Knoxville and provided another reminder of how the visitors have dominated this rivalry. Florida defeated Tennessee for the 23rd time in the last 29 meetings.
Playing in his first game of the season, Reese returned from an ankle injury and set the tone with a jarring hit on Guarantano in the first quarter, knocking the Tennessee quarterback's helmet off and into the end zone. A junior, Reese was among those Gators who remembered a 21-0 lead two years ago here vanishing in a 38-28 loss, which snapped UF's 11-game winning streak in the series.
Gators receiver Freddie Swain dives into the end zone to finish a 65-yard touchdown reception that put Florida up 23-3 in the second quarter. (Photo: Jay Metz/UAA Communications)
The Gators needed a Hail Mary by Franks on the final play of the game to beat the Vols a season ago at the Swamp.
This one was as easy as a stroll on Fulmer Way.
"It was a relief knowing that it was not two years ago, that it wasn't going down like that,'' Reese said.
The Gators led 26-3 at halftime. When Volunteers sophomore Shawn Shamburger fumbled the opening kickoff to start the second half and UF's Brian Edwards recovered at Tennessee's 19, the game bordered on the verge of being over. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Jordan Scarlett raced 19 yards for a touchdown and 33-6 Florida lead.
The first wave of Vols fans began to exit. For much of the second half, the ESPN cameras zoomed in on downtrodden fans who had lost whatever hope they had when they sat down in their seats.
"You had to be dialed in and focused, especially coming into an environment like this,'' said Franks, who completed 9 of 18 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns. "It's one of the most important things you've got to have coming into an environment like this."
Next up, a trip to Starkville to face a Mississippi State team that was upset 28-7 at Kentucky on Saturday.
If the Gators thought the crowd was hostile on Saturday, wait until they step on the field at Mississippi State, where fans have vented their frustration at Mullen's departure for the past 10 months. Oh, and Gators Athletic Director Scott Stricklin, a Mississippi State alum and former Bulldogs AD, is probably going to hear a boo or two from the home crowd.
With what's coming, Saturday's trip to Tennessee seems more like a road quiz for Florida. The Gators outclassed the Vols, who along with Arkansas, appear to be the weakest links in the SEC's powerful chain at the moment.
The Bulldogs offer a more difficult test.
"I know the talent of the team that we're going to play," Mullen said. "They're one of the most talented teams in America and a physical, physical football team. We've got to be ready for a battle. We're getting better. The consistency has to improve."
The Gators aced their trip to Tennessee. They arrived back in Gainesville shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday. Following some rest, they get back to work Monday to find more about what kind of team they really are.
"As long as we prepare, I think we're as good as any team,'' Franks said. "You've got to keep that mindset, keep on going out there and grinding. We've got another big game coming."
