Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
The Tennessee Volunteers now face an uphill battle to reach the SEC Championship Game, let alone the College Football Playoff, after suffering a loss to the rival Florida Gators on Saturday.
Tennessee’s offense was simply smothered by Florida’s defense and the Vols’ defense suffered a death by a thousand paper cuts at the hands of Gators quarterback Graham Mertz and star running back Trevor Etienne.
Tennessee took the lead early with quarterback Joe Milton III finding Ramel Keyton for an 11-yard touchdown in the first quarter. But from there it was all Florida as the Gators scored touchdowns on each of their next four drives to end the half with a 26-7 lead.
Tennessee managed to get back on the board in the third quarter with a field goal and then a big stop on the drive after that. But a turnover on downs pushed them to the brink of elimination in the fourth.
Trey Smack tacks on 3 more! Gators lead 29-10 in the 4th. 🐊 pic.twitter.com/2TNbeBSP3n
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) September 17, 2023
In the fourth quarter, Florida managed to finally get into the endzone again with a 55-yard strike from Milton to Bru McCoy, cutting the deficit to 29-16.
That would be the end of the scoring though as Florida held Tennessee scoreless on what was the Vols’ final drive of the night.
A fight ensued after the game but the Gators celebrated at their home stadium victorious over their SEC rivals.