Florida Gators Take Down Tennessee Volunteers 31-19, Advance to Atlanta
Well, they did it.
The No. 6 Florida Gators have officially locked up the SEC East with a 31-19 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, and will be taking their talents to Atlanta to take on the SEC West champion, likely the Alabama Crimson Tide, on Dec. 19.
To get there, however, Florida had to defeat Tennessee, its final SEC East opponent of the season in this year's 10-game conference-only schedule. It wasn't always clean, especially during the first half, but Florida would eventually get it done.
The Gators entered halftime up just 17-7 over the Volunteers after out-gaining Tennessee 252-118 in net total yards. Florida's rushing offense would be one of the biggest eyesores in the stat book, rushing for just one yard on nine total attempts. Its passing game, led by quarterback Kyle Trask, would gain 251 yards and two touchdowns.
Florida's first-half drives would end in a field goal, punt, touchdown, missed field goal and a touchdown.
Tennessee scored on a 96-yard drive in the second quarter to put Florida at a deficit, however, it didn't last very long.
In the second half, the Gators were able to regain some momentum, but couldn't capitalize offensively very often. While tight end Kyle Pitts was quiet in the first half, he would spark the Florida offense in the second half with a 42-yard gain on its opening drive.
The Gators would go on to score via an eight-yard touchdown pass from Trask to receiver Trevon Grimes, his second touchdown reception of the day. Up 24-7, Florida would have all of the momenta on its side.
The Florida defense would show up during the second half as it did for much of the first half. Against a freshman quarterback, the Gators made Tennessee's Harrison Bailey look like a deer-in-headlights at times, pressuring him on multiple snaps, ultimately sacking him five times.
While the Gators had success on offense during the second half of play, their rushing offense continued to struggle, ending the game with just 21 yards on 16 carries.
Leading 24-7 entering the fourth quarter, the Gators' defense showed it could be consistent, even while being battered with plenty of warranted criticism over the course of the season.
Against an opponent the team would have success again, the Gators' defense wouldn't disappoint. In the second half, Florida forced four-straight punts against Tennessee, already having forced three punts, and one turnover-on-downs during the first half.
The Gators would get back on track during the fourth quarter of action, scoring yet another touchdown through the air, this time for receiver Jacob Copeland, who bounced back after a couple of drops earlier in the contest.
With 11:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, Tennessee turned to quarterback J.T. Shrout, benching Bailey and marking the second time a Florida defense has forced a starting quarterback to sit on the bench this season.
The Gators would play a bit softer on defense with Shrout in the game, allowing a successful scoring drive by Tennessee with less than six minutes remaining in the game. An 11-play 94-yard drive would lead to a Ty Chandler seven-yard touchdown run for the Vols, making the score 31-13.
Trask would end the game completing 35 of 49 of his passes for 433 yards and four touchdowns. Trask also kicked the final Gators' punt of the game, a pooch punt that forced the Volunteers to drive from inside their own five-yard line.
The Gators' defense would ultimately allow just three touchdowns—two with the game already in the hands of Florida—while forcing the Volunteers to punt seven times.
With 38 touchdown passes on the year, Trask is just one touchdown away from tying the school record for most in the season with 39 (Danny Wuerffel).
With the SEC East locked up, Florida will take a look at Saturday night's matchup with Alabama facing off against LSU. If Alabama wins, Florida will face Alabama in the SEC championship game on Dec. 19.
