Florida Football: 3 takeaways from important win over Tennessee
By Dante Pryor
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier runs onto the field before first half action as Florida takes on South Carolina at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 12, 2022. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]Ncaa Football Florida Gators Vs South Carolina](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F88535a2385e9ff6f4ff52dd8632107f538490472e3ccfadaec68fceef390664e.jpg "Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier runs onto the field before first half action as Florida takes on South Carolina at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 12, 2022. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]Ncaa Football Florida Gators Vs South Carolina")
Florida football came into its home tilt with No. 11 Tennessee as 5.5-point underdogs. Those odds were well warranted. Florida looked out of sync in its season opener against the Utah Utes. Florida football worked on some things against McNeese State before hosting the rival Volunteers.
The Volunteers, on the other hand, looked good against their Power Five non-conference opponent, Virginia.
Florida opened the game as if they were the favorites. Tennessee had no answers early against the Gators’ offense. In addition, Florida was outstanding defensively, bottling the potent Volunteer offense. Things did slow down for Florida in the second half. However, the defense held serve in the second half of the game.
Florida head coach Billy Napier did play things close to the vest with a three-possession lead in the fourth quarter.
The Volunteers never looked in sync offensively. Joe Milton threw a beautiful 55-yard touchdown pass to Bru McCoy, but the Volunteer offense did little outside of that big play. Napier and the Gators did an outstanding job of using the clock to their advantage and not putting the ball in danger to get the win.