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KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – On a night in which Tennessee honored its 1998 national championship team, the current crop of Flights has managed to compensate for all of the nostalgia.
By making the 2018, the Gators look like a national club.
A series once rich in history that has provided many indelible moments has allowed some to be incompetent at first, thanks to the hosts.
Once the slapstick calmed down during the warm night, Florida had left Neyland Stadium with a 47-21 win on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 100,027.
Can not spell ineptitude without U-T. The Flights (2-2, 0-1 SEC) have now lost 10 consecutive conference games; Florida broke a six-game SEC skid.
Not exactly the melodrama of Manning-Wuerffel.
Subtract the flubs, and it was statistically an equal match. After all, both teams had 204 yards in the first half, and the Gators (3-1, 1-1) had only 387-364.
But Tennessee made six turnovers in the first 35 minutes of the game, and the Gators converted four into points.
"Six turnovers led to 24 points and we won by 26. I mean, that's it," said Gators coach Dan Mullen.
"So we created the big games, we had a lot of big games and explosive games in attack, what I have to see from us is a little more consistency, of our performance."
One of the two mistakes that Florida has not exploited could have served as a microcosm for the Tennessee evening.
23-3, Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano found the narrow wing Austin Pope isolated near the sideline of the Vols. But Pope was crushed by C. J. Henderson near the goal line and dropped the ball into the end zone, causing a touchdown.
"For me, it was the game that changed the game," Mullen said.
This was not the first forced mistake of the Tennessee night.
In the fifth UT offensive game, leading shooter Jachai Polite hit the Guarantano ball and linebacker David Reese, who was playing his first game of the season, recovered.
Four plays later, quarterback Feleipe Franks found senior redshirt R.J. Raymond – who entered the match without any college reception – for a 1-yard touchdown pass and a 7-0 lead in Florida.
On the Tennessee course, reserve tackle Luke Ancrum passed the third and 23rd Guarantano pass and gave it back to 7. Franks scored 1 of the two games later.
Firing on a 65-yard pass from Franks to Freddie Swain, a field goal (after a fumble from the Vols) and a safety, and Florida came in at half-time with a 26-3 lead.
Sixteen seconds after the start of the second half, it was 30-3. The Flights failed to kick off, and Jordan Scarlett (11 carries, 77 yards) scored from 19 yards a game later.
Before being able to say the 20th anniversary, a six digit crowd had dissolved to five. By the time Franks was in contact with Tyrie Cleveland for a 38-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, he dissolved into the bass.
And Florida had its first victory against a Power Five opponent since a 38-24 win over Vanderbilt on September 30, 2017.
"It's just across the roof," Swain said. "The defense knows we have the back, and we know the defense has their backs, so when we play with confidence and we perform at the level we did tonight, it's hard to fight."
Break the Gators.
And while you're there, restart this rivalry.
Contact Joey Knight at [email protected] Follow @TBTimes_Bulls.
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