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#23 Vols Fall at #24/25 Florida, 26-20
No. 23 Tennessee fought
back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game, but
No. 24/25 Florida's Hail Mary pass gave the Gators a 26-20 win on
Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Tennessee (2-1, 0-1
SEC) entered the second half trailing, 6-3, and fell behind by as much
as 10 points before tying the game up with less than a minute to play.
Florida's final offensive drive resulted in a game-winning Hail Mary
for the Gators.
Dormady completed 21-of-39 passes for 259 yards
and three interceptions while John Kelly rushed for 141 yards and
caught six passes for 96 yards. Kelly averaged 7.4 yards per carry and
16 yards per reception.
Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks finished 18-of-28 for 212 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Florida
wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as the Gators went 65 yards
down the field in 15 plays, but were held to a 27-yard field goal by
Tennessee's defense.
The SEC rivals exchanged punts the
remainder of the first quarter and for the first two drives of the
second before Florida settled for another field goal to move ahead, 6-0.
On
the ensuing possession, the Vols answered with a 51-yard field goal by
freshman Brent Cimaglia to pull within three points and close out the
first half. It marked Cimaglia's first career field goal and the
longest by a Tennessee kicker since Michael Palardy made a 51-yarder at
Missouri in 2013.
Sophomore defensive back Nigel Warrior then
forced a fumble that was recovered by Darrell Taylor on Florida's first
drive of the second half. Tennessee went 43 yards on 12 plays,
including a 22-yard pass from Dormady to Callaway, but an interception
at the one-yard line ended the Vols' possession.
Following the
turnover, UT's defense forced a three-and-out punt which Callaway
returned for 39 yards to the UF-36. Tennessee then attempted its second
51-yard field of the night, but Cimaglia missed wide right.
The
Gators scored the first touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on
a pick-six by CJ Henderson, furthering their advantage to 13-3.
Justin
Martin then forced a fumble at the goal line that resulted in a
touchback and kick started Tennessee's scoring drive. Dormady directed
a five-play, 80-yard possession that ended with a 34-yard touchdown run
by John Kelly. After an extra point, the Vols cut Florida's lead to
13-10.
With 5:13 left in the game, UF's Franks threw a five-yard pass for a touchdown, giving the Gator's a 20-10 edge.
On
the next drive, Dormady found Kelly for a 52-yard pass before
connecting with Ethan Wolf for a 28-yard touchdown. Aaron Medley's PAT
pulled the Vols within three, 20-17.
Medley then made a 27-yard field goal to tie the game up, 20-20, with less than a minute to play.
As
time expired, Florida's Franks hurled a 63-yard, Hail Mary pass to
Tyrie Cleveland for a touchdown, sealing the Gators' 26-20 victory.
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