GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For the second straight week, the Florida Gators fell behind early in their home stadium. For the second straight week, quarterback Emory Jones got his team back in the game. This time, the opponent wasn't nearly as taut as top-ranked Alabama. That was a big difference.
And so was Jones, who was even better than he was a week ago.
Jones, the fourth-year junior, passed for 209 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a career-high 144 yards, as the 11th-ranked Gators withstood an early hit from Tennessee before rallying for the game's final four touchdowns and a 38-14 win in front of 88,478 at Spurrier/Florida Field. For UF (3-1, 1-1), the win was its first in Southeastern Conference play and opened the squad's schedule against East Division opponents.
A week after rallying his team from an 18-point deficit with four touchdowns drives in what eventually became a 31-29 loss against the defending national champion Crimson Tide, Jones completed 21 of 27 passes, averaged 9.6 yards on his 15 carries, led an offense that totaled 505 yards and converted nine of 13 third downs, and triggered five touchdown drives of at least 59 yards.
"That's my dog, and my dog balled," tailback Dameon Pierce said of the UF QB, who accounted for more than half the team's 283 rushing yards. "You've got more to come. That's just scratching the surface for Emory."
Florida fans sure hope so. For the second straight week they came to the ballyard expecting to see sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson — at least a cameo appearance — back from a hamstring injury suffered in Week 2 at South Florida. The team's rushing leader was cleared to play (like last week), but stayed on the sideline while Jones did his thing. Things, actually. Really good things.
Jones became the first quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009 against Florida International to pass for at least 200 yards and rush for at least 100.
"Every game I'm getting more confident and trying to build that," Jones said. "I'm just warming up, honestly."
Sixth-year senior wideout Rick Wells (12) celebrates his 9-yard scoring reception in the third quarter.
Jones threw touchdown passes of four yards on the game's opening drive to tailback Malik Davis and nine yards to sixth-year senior wide receiver Rick Wells late in the third quarter to help the Gators open a three-score cushion. In between, though, the Volunteers (2-2, 0-1), scored touchdowns on a pair of long pass plays, the second a 75-yard bomb to go ahead 14-10 and put the "Swamp" on something of an edge.
The angst was short-lived, though, thanks to the steady hand Jones gave to his teammates.
Or as Pierce put it, "I'm telling y'all he's just [now] getting comfortable out there, just getting his feet. We expect even more from Emory."
So does his coach.
"I think you're seeing him really settling down," UF coach Dan Mullen said. "He did a great job of managing our offense and getting us into our plays."
UF scored first. After stopping UT on the opening series, Jones had a 12-yard run on the first snap, the Vols were hit with a 15-yard face mask penalty, and Jones found Justin Shorter for 16 yards to the Tennessee 17. Five plays later, Davis caught a 4-yard TD pass off a misdirection play for a 7-0 lead less than six minutes in.
The Vols, though, came right back: six plays, 80 yards in just 2:05. Runs of 15 yards by quarterback Hendon Hooker (13 of 23, 221 yards, 2 TDs, no turnovers) and 16 by Jabari Rush moved the ball to midfield. That's where Hooker dropped a screen to tailback Tiyon Evans, who ran through a pair of arm tackles and went 47 yards for the tying touchdown.
"I was blitzing, then I heard some commotion and turned around and seen him running," junior linebacker Mohamoud Diabate said. "Simple missed tackle, something we're able to take care of. We got that cleaned up."
For the most part, yes.
The Gators seemed up for the answer, moving to a first down at the UT 25, but back-to-back penalties (a false start, followed by a delay of game) led to an incomplete third-and-15 pass and left matters to kicker Jace Christmann, who replaced Chris Howard after his missed extra point last week. Christmann's 47-yard field goal gave UF a 10-7 lead with just over a minute to go in the first quarter.
Four snaps into Tennessee's next possession, Hooker set up and dropped a picture-perfect pass to JaVonta Payton running totally uncovered up the left sideline with safety Mordecai McDaniel chasing helplessly about 10 yards back. The 75-yard touchdown strike — against a unit operating without Kaiir Elam (knee), its best defensive back — put the Vols up 14-10 at the 11:31 mark of the second.
Cue the aforementioned angst.
Tailback Nay'Quan Wrightrushed seven times for 32 yards, but 23 of them came on his second-quarter touchdown run.
After a couple punts were swapped, Florida retook the lead with 4:15 to go in the first half. A poor Paxton Brooks punt of 34 yards set up the Gators at the UT 41. A 6-yard completion to Wells on third-and-5 and 20-yard Jones pass to Xzavier Henderson put the ball at the Tennessee 28. After an offsides penalty, tailback Nay'Quan Wright broke through the line and into the second level for a 23-yard scoring run and 17-14 lead.
The Gators blew a mega-chance to open up the game late in the half. They forced a punt and got 30 yards worth of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties to start a drive at the UT 40. On fourth-and-2, a great Jones play fake led to Jacob Copeland running uncovered up the right sideline. Jones hit him in the numbers for 17 yards to the Tennessee 15. Instead of taking the initial hit and ducking out of bounds, Copeland tried to fight for extra yardage — and fumbled on a secondary hit. The Vols recovered with 1:07 to go in the half.
UT didn't settle for just a big stop. The Vols went on the attack. Jabari Small carried twice for 20 yards and Hooker completed passes of 20 yards to Small and 18 more to Velus Jones Jr. to the UF 30 with six seconds left, but Chase McGrath pushed a 47-yard field goal wide right as time expired.
"We made a couple mistakes here and there," Mullen said of the opening two periods. "We went in [to the locker room] and challenged them."
Said Diabate: "The message was eliminate the big plays."
And for the offense?
"Go out there and play," Pierce said. "We were moving too slow. Like we were thinking too much."
Wide receiver Trent Whittemore (14) throws his 13-yard touchdown to tight end Kemore Gamble off a double-pass trick play in the third quarter.
UF got the second-half kickoff and needed just six plays to go 78 yards, thanks to a 33-yard yard Jones-to-Shorter hit and another 13 yards to tight end Kemore Gamble against the blitz that put the Gators at the UT 17. On second down, Jones spun a backward pass to wideout Trent Whittemore, who double-passed it to Gamble for a 13-yard touchdown (the first of his career) and 24-14 lead less than three minutes into the third quarter. The Gators were off and running.
"I was extremely disappointed the second half unfolded the way it did," UT coach Josh Heupel said.
Tennessee, with runs of 6, 10, 8 and 11 yards, moved into Florida territory, then converted a fourth-and-5 pass to the UF 35. Four plays later, it was fourth-and-5 again, only this time Hooker put a pass to Jimmy Calloway, crossing right to left, right in the wideout's hands. He dropped it. UF ball. Jones and the Gators capitalized with a 70-yard drive, keyed by a 24-yard Jones run and finished when he hit Wells in the right flat for a 31-14 lead.
A 9-yard touchdown run by Davis with 1:39 left wrapped the scoring for the night and gave the Gators a 28-0 advantage over the last 34:15 of the game, with nearly 300 second-half yards (292), compared to 162 for the Vols.
"Proud of our guys," Mullen said. "Coming off last week, an emotional and big physical game, we had a great week of practice."
They finished it with a big win, a great second half and another terrific performance from a quarterback who looks to be blossoming more with each week.
"Everything I'm doing, my teammates have seen me do this and more," Jones said. "They trust in me, believe in me. I'm just trying to get better week to week and keep this rolling."
