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 held on to its early lead
The Gators came out of the blocks white hot offensively. They did a tremendous job of taking advantage of their huge offensive line. A 62-yard run highlighted Florida’s first half by running back Trevor Etienne. The younger Etienne brother — his older brother is Travis — ran for 154 yards on the day.
His fellow backfield mate, Montrell Johnson, struggled with just 23 yards rushing.
Quarterback Graham Mertz was solid, taking what the defense gave him without putting the football in danger. The Wisconsin transfer completed 16 passes — three pass attempts in the second half — for 166 yards and one touchdown. Most important for Mertz and the Gator offense no interceptions.
The Volunteers had no rhythm offensively
Joe Milton put up good numbers this evening, completing 20 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns. Most of those yards came on three chunk plays. Milton completed passes of 55, 43, and 41 yards. The Volunteer offense did not have the cohesiveness that made it dangerous in 2022.
They were inefficient on a down-to-down basis. Tennessee did not run the football well. Running back Jaylen Wright led the Volunteers in rushing with 63 yards but averaged under four yards per rush attempt. The wide receivers were missing this evening outside of those explosive plays.