KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — No. 19 Florida's 38-28 collapse to No. 14 Tennessee came with some lessons. Every Gators player interviewed afterward repeated the line that none of UF's national title teams finished undefeated.
While it seems unlikely this UF team will match those other ones, the Gators had a few other takeaways Saturday.
Appleby steps in ably
QB Austin Appleby looked like a more-than-capable replacement for injured starter Luke Del Rio (knee). Appleby, a graduate transfer from Purdue, finished 23-of-39 for 296 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in his first start at UF.
"Austin played plenty good enough for us to have a chance," coach Jim McElwain said. Appleby's strong arm clearly added a different wrinkle to UF's passing game.
He completed more passes of at least 30 yards in the first half (three) than UF had through the first three games combined (two).
"I think there was one 'Oh no' moment when I scrambled around a little bit and tried to make too much happen on the pick," Appleby said. "Other than that, I think I did a pretty good job of standing in there and following the game plan and getting the ball to the open guys."
WR back, but punt return instincts lacking
Sophomore WR Antonio Callaway had an eventful day. Callaway — the hero of last year's comeback win over the Volunteers — returned after missing the North Texas game with a quad injury. He caught a 51-yard pass on the second play from scrimmage, but muffed the first punt, letting the Vols recover at the UF 2. A defensive stand by the Gators negated the mistake. Callaway made a similar one in the closing minutes when he called for a fair catch at the 2 instead of letting the ball bounce into the end zone. "Not very smart," McElwain said. Callaway finished with a career-high 134 yards on four catches — all in the first half.
Spreading the ball around
UF's other receiving targets were among the only other notable highlights. TE DeAndre Goolsby, above, had his second career touchdown catch, 1:25 into the game. Tyrie Cleveland, a four-star freshman, returned from a hamstring injury and had his first career catch, a 36-yarder. Another freshman, Freddie Swain, snagged his second career touchdown, a 10-yarder when the game was out of reach.
Ejection
The loss could carry over into next week. Gators WR Brandon Powell was ejected in the second half after officials said he threw a punch at a Tennessee player — a ruling that was disputed on replays. "I didn't see anything," McElwain said. The SEC's guidelines call for the play to be reviewed by the league office regarding any potential suspension for next week against Vanderbilt.
Backups stay back
The quarterback shenanigans were much ado about nothing. McElwain suggested that one of his true freshmen backups, Feleipe Franks or Kyle Trask, would play. Rio didn't participate in team warmups but did show up in uniform with a brace over his injured left knee just before kickoff — and threw around with Appleby. Neither Franks nor Trask took a snap, though Franks took the second-team reps during warmups.