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No. 14 Tennessee emphatically snaps 11-game skid vs. No. 19 Florida

 
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) throws to a receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Florida Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) TNWP125
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) throws to a receiver during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Florida Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne) TNWP125
Published Sept. 25, 2016

KNOXVILLE, Tenn.

Months of back-and-forth digs about an 11-game winning streak and SEC East supremacy came down to which team could handle the pressure in Saturday's second half at Neyland Stadium. • Florida ducked. Tennessee trucked. • The Gators gave up 38 consecutive points in a 38-28 collapse that left the normally loud and brash Gators speechless as Rocky Top blared for a deafening crowd of 102,455. • "As I said, back it up," Florida coach Jim McElwain said of his team's trash talk. "They didn't back it up, did they?" • No, they did not.

A team that crowed all offseason about No. 14 Tennessee's unproven hype lost to the Volunteers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) for the first time since 2004, while suffering the program's biggest blown lead since allowing Miami to come back from 23 down in 2003.

No. 19 UF (3-1, 1-1) started the game looking like the conference's defending East Division champion. Quarterback Austin Appleby looked nothing like a replacement starter; he completed more passes of 30-plus yards in the first half (three) than UF had through the first two games (two).

The defense dominated. The Vols ran nine plays inside the UF 10 in the first half; they came away with only three points, plus a diving interception by cornerback Quincy Wilson.

"Everything was working," running back Mark Thompson said. "Everything was firing on all cylinders."

Until suddenly it wasn't.

When UF went up 21-0, the Gators had outgained Tennessee 273-97. After that, the Vols outgained UF 401-129.

"We were able to wear them down," Tennessee coach Butch Jones said, "and it was just a mentality that they weren't going to be denied."

The Vols imposed their will on both sides of the ball. Tennessee dropped five passes in the first half but avoided costly mistakes in the second as they ran over, around and through a secondary that led the months of UF trash talk.

It was Wilson, after all, who guaranteed a UF victory on Tuesday by comparing Tennessee's hopes to a duck's futilely trying to pull a truck.

Joshua Dobbs took advantage of a communication breakdown to start the comeback with a 23-yard lob to running back Jalen Hurd midway through the third quarter. Then he hit tight end Ethan Wolf, who caught a pass with his fingertips for a 20-yard score.

Three minutes later, Dobbs unleashed a 67-yard touchdown strike to Jauan Jennings over cornerback Jalen Tabor — the same Tabor who bragged repeatedly about beating the Vols for the 12th year in a row.

"I think it was a new issue for the defense," said Wilson, who declined to talk about his guarantee. "I've never seen us come in the locker room like that at the half and then come back out like that."

The offense had its own set of issues.

After having downfield success in the first half, the Gators took fewer deep shots because McElwain was admittedly nervous about his pass protection — and with good reason.

Star defensive end Derek Barnett had two sacks and batted down a pass in the second half alone.

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During one stretch, UF ran 17 plays and gained zero or negative yards on 10 of them. The Gators' first six drives in the second half were an interception and five three-and-outs.

"They came out, and they were bringing it — they really were," Appleby said.

And they kept bringing it until the final whistle.

With five seconds left, Jones called a timeout. He jumped on the sideline and pumped his arms in the air, whipping the orange-and-white-checkered crowd into a frenzy.

The Gators' sideline was quiet. After months of chatter, there was nothing they could say.

The scoreboard said it all.

Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.