Gator Country

Florida head coach Urban Meyer shakes hands with Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin after the Gators' 23-13 win against the Volunteers on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

In case they had forgotten, the Tennessee Volunteers reminded the No. 1 Florida Gators, who were 28-point favorites, that there are no easy games in the Southeastern Conference.

The Volunteers, forced to live down first-year coach Lane Kiffin’s derogatory remarks directed at head coach Urban Meyer and the Florida program last December and February, stood toe-to-toe for 60 minutes with the Gators before Florida finally scored a 15-round unanimous decision, 23-13, in front of an all-time record crowd of 90,894 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Gators survived a pair of turnovers by Heisman Trophy candidate Tim Tebow – an interception in the second quarter and a fumble at the Tennessee 2-yard line as Florida was driving to the touchdown that would have given them a 30-6 lead in the fourth quarter. But Dennis Rogan’s 35-yard fumble return of the fumble, an unsportsmanlike conduct play on Florida’s Jaye Howard for excessive celebration and Montario Hardesty’s 17-yard tackle-breaking touchdown run instead pulled the Volunteers within 10 points with 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.

A little over 2 minutes later, the Volunteers (1-2, 0-1 SEC East) got the ball back again after Florida was forced to punt, but senior quarterback Jonathan Crompton was intercepted on a fourth-and-6 play at the Tennessee 49 when he tried to throw into double coverage to Denarius Moore. Cornerback Janoris Jenkins was running with him step by step, and safety Ahmad Black floated over to make the interception, the Gators’ second of the game, with 1:51 remaining.

Tebow and the offense then ran out the clock for the Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC East), who travel to Kentucky next Saturday for a 7 p.m. game on ESPN2.

“Obviously, we could have played better,” said Meyer, who shared a brief handshake and comment with Kiffin afterward and then spent considerable time shaking hands with the Volunteers. “I don’t want to take anything away or disrespect an opponent. They have some talented athletes and this is SEC football, But ... we missed a lot of tackles. Tim didn’t play well but he played as hard as he’s ever played. Does it mean we have a lot of work to do? Absolutely. A lot of the time the work needed is dictated by the caliber of athletes you are going up against. I think a lot of times that gets lost in the nonsense. I’m happy with the win, we’ll certainly enjoy it but we’ll get back to work tomorrow.”

A 10-point third quarter by Florida, which dominated the period by running 11 more plays than Tennessee and outgaining the Volunteers 116-9, and a rugged performance by the Florida defense, which held Hardesty (20 carries, 96 yards) to just 29 yards on nine carries in the second half, secured the victory for the defending BCS national champions, who now have the longest winning streak in the nation at 13 (a school record) after Oregon knocked off Utah to end its 16-game streak.

“We came here to win,” Lane Kiffin said. “I was proud of how physical and tough our players played today. I knew we would play physical, tough and smart in a very hostile environment.”

For the game, Florida would hold a 322-210 edge in total offense, allowing Tennessee just 84 yards after the intermission, and the Gators outrushed the Volunteers 207-117 with Tebow gaining 76 yards on 24 carries, one of them a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter – the 46th of his career, tying him for second with LSU’s Kevin Faulk behind Georgia’s Herschel Walker. Tebow was 14-of-19 passing for 115 yards and the one interception, a diving effort by Tennessee All-American Eric Berry in the second quarter, who was all over the field Saturday for defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Berry finished with 11 tackles (nine solo).

“Superman (Tebow) is always there with the ball and we had to figure out how to tackle him,” Kiffin added. “He’s not only physical but he doesn’t wear out. We were going to try and pound him but we couldn’t stop him.”

Crompton, meanwhile, managed just 11 completions in 19 attempts for 93 yards and two interceptions – one by Joe Haden that set up the third of Caleb Sturgis’ three field goals (37, 29 and 35 yards) in the third quarter. A 7-yard touchdown run by Jeff Demps, who had a 101-degree fever, one of several Florida players affected by the flu and the heat in The Swamp, culminated a 13-play, 69-yard drive directed by Tebow, who was 4-for-5 on the drive for 23 yards and gained another 18 yards on runs. The drive took 6:52 off the clock in the third quarter and gave Florida what seemed to be a safe 23-6 lead.

But Tennessee had other ideas.

It looked like Florida would start quickly against the Volunteers when Brandon James ran the opening kickoff back 50 yards before a face-mask tackle by Tennessee’s Art Evans set the Gators up with a first down at the UT 30. But after Tebow converted a fourth-and-2 play with a 3-yard run, he was hurried into an intentional grounding by Ben Martin and Florida had to settle for Sturgis’ 37-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Tennessee came right back by running it down Florida’s throat, eating 8:33 of the clock with a 15-play drive that reached the Florida 7 before Lincoln booted a 24-yard field goal to tie the game at 3-3. On the drive, the Volunteers converted its first three third-down plays, with Hardesty busting a 20-yard run on third-and-12 on the first one at the Tennessee 25. Hardesty almost converted a fourth third-down play—a third-and-19 at the Gator 20—with a 13-yard run that was ended by Jarious Jenkins and Ahmad Black.

Florida answered back with an 11-play, 72-yard drive that moved into the second quarter. Tebow had two completions for first downs—a 12-yard to David Nelson and a 10-yarder to Demps—on the drive and then finished off the drive with four straight rushes from the Tennessee 6, the second a 5-yard run which ended with Tebow burying his shoulder and head into Berry, who was pushed back.

Berry answered back the next time Florida had the ball when he made a diving, one-handed interception on a Tebow pass intended for Riley Cooper. A Hardesty 10-yard run set the Vols up with a first down at the Gator 4, but after Hardesty was stuffed following a 1-yard run, Crompton threw incomplete twice and Tennessee settled for 20-yard Lincoln field goal that cut the Gators’ lead to 10-6.

The Gators drove 52 yards on 11 plays near the end of the half and settled for a 29-yard field goal by Sturgis with 51 second left before half for a 13-6 lead that stood at halftime.

Haden’s interception on the third play of the second half set up another Gator scoring drive, this one an 8-play, 47-yard trip that ended with a 35-yard field goal by Sturgis. On Tennessee’s next possession, a costly chop block on the first scrimmage play set the Vols back to their own 25 and led to a punt. Florida took over at its own 31 with 6:59 to go in the quarter and Tebow took the Gators 69 yards in 13 plays, using all but seven seconds of the remaining time. Tebow completed 4 of 5 passes—the only incompletion a dropped pass by his roommate Cooper inside the Tennessee 5—but he then ran twice for 12 yards to set up Florida at the UT 7. On the first play, Demps took the handoff and raced into the end zone untouched and Sturgis’ kick made it 23-6 heading into a very interesting fourth quarter.

The Gators looked like they would put the game on ice with their long drive but then Tebow’s fumble and Rogan’s recovery and return gave Tennessee new life.

“We weren’t throwing the ball well,” Meyer said. “So we went to the ground. The objective was to win the game so we managed to gain some yards, but you still have to take care of the ball.”

The fact that his quarterback was the one who made the fumble didn’t sit well with either Meyer or Tebow.

“It was a stupid error by me,” Tebow said.

An error for which his teammates helped him atone.

HOW THEY SCORED
No. 1 FLORIDA 23, TENNESSEE 13
At Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida Field, Gainesville
Scoring by quarters 1 2 3 4—Total
Tennessee Volunteers 3 3 0 7—13
Florida Gators 3 7 10 0—23
FIRST QUARTER
FLA – FG Caleb Sturgis 37 at 11:33. Drive: 7 plays, 10 yards, 3:27 following opening kickoff return of 50 yards by Brandon James and another 15 yards on a face-mask penalty by Tennessee’s Art Evans that gave Florida a first down at the Volunteers’ 30-yard line. Key plays: On fourth-and-2 at the 22, Florida elected to go for first down and Tebow gained 3 yards. But on second-and-7 from the 16, Tebow was sacked by Martin and initially grounded the ball, the resulting penalty leading to the field goal. Score: Florida 3, Tennessee 0.

UT – FG Daniel Lincoln 24 at 3:00. Drive: 15 plays, 66 yards, 4 first downs, 8:33 time elapsed following Florida kickoff. Key plays: Tennessee was 3-for-4 on third-down conversions on the drive. Montario Hardesty gained 20 yards on the first third-and-12; Jonathan Crompton hit Gerald Jones for 17 yards on the second and Crompton picked up the third on a 2-yard QB sneak. Tennessee almost picked up the first down when Hardesty scooted 13 yards on a third-and-19 from the Florida 20. Score: Tennessee 3, Florida 3.

SECOND QUARTER
FLA – Tim Tebow 1 run (Stugis kick good) at 12:48. Drive: 11 plays, 72 yards, 5 first downs, 5:12 time elapsed following Tennessee kickoff. Key plays: Emmanuel Moody gained 23 yards on the first play; Tebow connected with David Nelson for 12 yards on a third-and-10 at Vols’ 38; after completing a 10-yard pass to Jeff Demps for another first on the first play of the second quarter, Tebow ran four straight times for 16 yards, on his second carry he lowered his shoulder into Tennessee’s Eric Berry for 5 yards. Score: Florida 10, Tennessee 3.

UT – FG Lincoln 20 at 5:56. Drive: 6 plays, 17 yards, 1 first down, 2:08 time elapsed following Eric Berry interception of Tebow pass to Ryan Cooper at the UF 20. Key plays: After Crompton scrambled for 6 yards on first down, Hardesty ran for 10 to give Tennessee a first-and-goal at the UF 4. But the Florida defense allowed just one more yard and forced two incomplete passes. Score: Florida 10, Tennessee 6.

FLA – FG Sturgis 29 at 0:51. Drive: 11 plays, 52 yards, 3 first downs, 5:05 time elapsed following 30-yard kickoff return by Brandon James. Key plays: Demps got 21 yards on an option pitch from Tebow on the first play; on third-and-14 from his own 46, Tebow had five wideouts, brough Hernandez in to block and then suckered the Vols on a blitz, hitting Hernandez with a little screen pass that he turned into an 18-yard gain; Tebow third-down pass to James for a first down at the UT 17. On third-and-four at the 11, Tebow rolled left and threw a bullet to James in the end zone, but the ball and free safety Janzen Jackson arrived at the same time, the ball falling incomplete. Score: Florida 13, Tennessee 6.

THIRD QUARTER
FLA – FG Sturgis 35 at 9:33. Drive: 8 plays, 47 yards, 2 first downs, 4:19 time elapsed following Joe Haden interception. Key plays: The running of Tebow, who picked up 22 yards on 3 carries. Score: Florida 16, Tennessee 6.
FLA – Jeff Demps 7 run (Sturgis kick good) at 0:07. Drive: 13 plays, 69 yards, 5 first downs, 6:52 time elapsed following Tennessee punt. Key plays: Florida converted three times on third down; Tebow was 4-for-5 passing for 23 yards and picked up another 18 yards on 5 carries. Score: Florida 23, Tennessee 6.

FOURTH QUARTER
UT – Montario Hardesty 17 run (Lincoln kick good) at 8:11. Drive: 7 plays, 63 yards, 4 first downs, 3:26 time elapsed following Tim Tebow fumble and 35-yard return by Dennis Rogan to the Florida 37. Key plays: Tebow was stretching for extra yardage when he lost control of the football and Rogan scooped it up at 2; an unsportsmanlike penalty on Florida’s Carlos Dunlap for celebrating a tackle for loss; first down run by Bryce Brown to the Florida 20; Hardesty’s tackle-breaking run. Score: Florida 23, Tennessee 13. 

GAME INFO
Attendance: 90,894.
Officials (SEC): Referee, Penn Wagers; Umpire, Rick Lowe; Head Linesman, Allama Matthews; Line Judge, Paul Petrisko; Back Judge, Stan Murray; Field Judge, Brad Freeman; Side Judge, Richard Rooker; Replay Official, Ben Oldham.
Weather: Partly sunny, temperature at kickoff 89 degrees, heat index of 97. Winds from the East at 9 miles per hour. Relative humidity 57 percent. There is a 30 percent chances of rain.
Records: Tennessee 1-2, 0-1 SEC East; Florida 3-0, 1-0 SEC East.
Next games: Tennessee vs. Ohio, Sept. 26, 7 p.m. EDT (PPV); Florida at Kentucky, Sept. 26, 7 p.m. (ESPN2).

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