Knoxville, TN – Jeff Driskel threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for 81 yards, leading the 18th-ranked Florida Gators past No. 23 Tennessee, 37-20.
In back-to-back weeks, the Gators (3-0, 2-0 SEC) won on the road against a conference opponent, beating Texas A&M last Saturday. Trey Burton added two scores on 91 yards for Florida on just three carries. Mike Gillislee ran for 115 yards, as the Gators beat the Volunteers for the eighth straight time.
Tennessee (2-1, 0-1) led the Gators at halftime 14-10, but after missing an extra point off a one-yard touchdown score to give them a 20-13 lead, the Volunteers gave up 24 unanswered points.
"We have put a tremendous emphasis on winning the fourth quarter and winning the second half and wearing down our opponent," said Gators coach Will Muschamp. "That's something that we've been able to do in the first three games. Again, that's something that our kids have bought into."
Tyler Bray struggled in the second half after throwing two touchdowns through the first two quarters. He finished 22-of-44 for 257 yards and threw two interceptions that Florida converted touchdowns.
"We're good, we're moving, we're tempo-ing, we're getting first downs," said Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, "And we just hit a bad stretch at the wrong time."
Jordan Reed caught a team-high five passes for 60 yards, including a 23-yard touchdown grab that gave Florida the go-ahead score. With just under 10 minutes to play in the game, Driskel connected with Frankie Hammond Jr. on a 75-yard catch and run touchdown to give Florida a 14-point advantage.
Caleb Sturgis was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts for the Gators, connecting on kicks of 20, 25 and 49 yards.
The Gators scored the first points of the game after Lerentee McCray intercepted Bray and returned it 25 yards to the Vols' 35. On the third play of the drive, Burton scurried into the end zone from 14 yards out.
After forcing the Gators to go three and out on their next possession, Bray led a 60-yard scoring drive in three plays. After connecting with Justin Hunter on 42-yard strike, Bray hit Cordarrelle Patterson on a 2-yard slant pattern for a touchdown.
On Tennessee's following possession, Bray connected with Patterson on a 4th- and-9 to give the Volunteers a first down on the Florida 18. Four plays later, Bray connected with Mychal Rivera for a 6-yard touchdown to give the Vols a 14-7 lead.
Florida scored two field goals, one on its last possession of the half and another on its first possession of the second half.
Bray led a 12-play, 81 yard scoring drive on Tennessee's first possession of the third, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by middle linebacker A.J. Johnson. However, place kicker Derrick Brodus missed the PAT, which only gave Tennessee a seven point lead.
The Vols were forced three and out on their following possession, and on the Gators' first play from scrimmage, Burton took the handoff 80 yards for a touchdown.
Game Notes
Saturday's matchup was the first time since 2007 that both schools came into the meeting ranked .... Florida has only lost one game in the state of Tennessee since 2000 ... Florida outgained Tennessee in total yards 555 to 340.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.