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.
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.
Florida football established the line of scrimmage
One of the primary reasons the Florida Gators were successful against Tennessee’s offense was the defensive front. Florida sacked Volunteer quarterback Joe Milton only once, but he was consistently knocked off his spot. Milton is best when he can set his feet and throw the football. Florida made sure he could not do that always.
Their dominance on the line of scrimmage also hindered Tennessee’s running game. Outside of three chunk plays, the Gators were outstanding in coverage against the Volunteers’ wide receivers. Milton had time to throw, but no receivers were open at times.
Tennessee had trouble stopping Florida’s running game
Some of what the Volunteers were able to do against Florida in the second half had a lot to do with Billy Napier’s conservative playcalling. Tennessee did hold Florida to three second-half points. Much of that also had to do with Florida throwing three passes in the second half.
Tennessee gave up 20 points in the second quarter. The Volunteers aided Florida with some penalties during the game. Tennessee allowed four consecutive touchdown drives in the first half, putting the game out of reach.
What’s next for Florida football?
Was Napier too conservative in the second half of the game? There’s an argument to say he was. However, Napier got a lead and did not want to allow an explosive offense like the Volunteers to get back into the game. He took the air out of the ball and kept Tennessee’s offense on the field.
Despite how it looked, this was a nice win for the Gators. They did not look ready to play against Utah on the road and fixed many issues against FCS-McNeese State. It’s more than obvious how Florida wants to play and have success. They want to run the football and play physical defense.
What’s next for Tennessee?
The Volunteers miss Jalin Hyatt, Hendon Hooker, and Cedric Miller. There wasn’t synergy between Milton and the wide receivers. Part of what made Tennessee so dangerous with Hooker was his accuracy. Milton does not have that.
The Volunteers had issues along both lines of scrimmage. Tennessee did not establish the run tonight, allowing Florida to bring pressure. Florida, however, got home with four at times as well. Josh Heupel and his staff must fix the offensive and defensive lines as they advance.