Tennessee chomps the Gators 38-33
By Tom Mabry, Knoxville Daily Sun - UT Football Writer
September 25. 2022

Image by Tom Mabry

Knoxville Daily Sun “Fact Checking:” Tennessee had lost to the Florida 15 out of the past 16 meetings. Another Fact: The Vols hadn’t beaten the Swamp Lizards since 2016. So why were some Tennessee fans leaving the game with 7:55 remaining and the Vols ahead 38-21? Didn’t they know the Gainesville Group wouldn’t just take that score lying down?

Those fans breathed a sigh of relief - after a successful Gator onside kick - when QB Anthony Richardson’s final pass was intercepted at the Vols’ 6 yard line by defender Kamal Haden to secure a 38-33 win. So, too, did Coach Josh Heupel, who could only say: “How much fun was that?”

With the Heisman House Tour outside of the stadium, dark horse candidate Hendon Hooker enhanced his odds on the national stage with 461 total yards and two touchdowns in the victory. Playing without receiver Cedric Tillman, emerging stars Jalin Hyatt and Bru McCoy each caught five passes. McCoy started the “Bru Birds” singing with a 70 yard reception which got the Vols going in the second quarter and a nice touchdown reception in the back of the end zone which gave the home team a 17-14 lead with seven seconds left before halftime.

Tennessee was hoping that the Anthony Richardson of the Gators loss to Kentucky would show up at Neyland Stadium, but instead the one who directed a first game dismantling of Utah appeared. Touted as one of the SEC’s most talented athletes, Richardson was 24-44 passing for 453 yards and two touchdowns and added 62 yards rushing with two more touchdowns. Justin Shorter had seven receptions for 155 yards, Ricky Pearsall five for 103 yards and a late touchdown that closed the gap to its final margin, and Keon Zipperer tallied Florida’s first touchdown reception of the year with a 44 yard reception where he bowled over several Vols defenders to gain paydirt.

With the foregoing statistics, it’s easy to see why the call-in “experts” derided both defenses. Florida has a quality defender in Ventrell Miller who caused a crucial early Tennessee fumble and safety Rashad Torrence II had thirteen tackles. All SEC Academic award winner Amari Burney picked up 2.5 sacks. Overall, though, the Gators’ defense was not a match for the Vols’ explosive offense.

Image by Tom Mabry

The Vols were porous as well, with receivers seemingly running loose all over secondary. The breakdown at the end of the game leading to Florida’s last two touchdowns can be explained as Florida played keep away from the Tennessee offense, which only had nine possessions in the game. The defense’s exhaustion was exemplified by a rare Tennessee flop by Omari Thomas on the Gators last TD series near the goal line. On a positive note, the defense recovered a crucial Richardson fumble which led to an even more crucial Tennessee touchdown together with the interception which put the game away.

Tennessee’s rushing offense was led by Hooker with 112 yards and Jabari Small with 90 yards and a touchdown. To say the Tennessee front controlled the line of scrimmage might be a stretch, but the numbers show that the front five led by Cade Mays continues to impress.

The weakness of the Vols appears to be the young secondary, but injuries have delayed progress and time will tell whether the tackling improves and opposing receivers are covered better. With Top 25 teams Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky upcoming on the schedule, the room to improve becomes a need to improve, and quickly.

Here’s the great news: Tennessee has started the season at 4-0 and will most likely become a Top Ten team when the weekly national polls appear. An open date should allow the team to nurse their injuries. Also, this team has shown the resilience to come back and win tough games, as was evidenced by this win and the one at Pittsburgh. A dangerous LSU squad awaits the Vols in two weeks at Baton Rouge’s Death Valley. Let’s see if “It’s Great to be a Tennessee Vol” continues with an exciting offense and newfound will to win.

Image by Tom Mabry

GAME NOTES

• The Orange and White Fan Checkerboard at Neyland benefit a program that’s trying to right itself after years of little success, institutional buffoonery and overwhelming mediocrity. The fact Tennessee still has one of the most rabid fan bases in the country is remarkable - almost as remarkable as the Cleveland Browns.

• The Nissan Heisman House Tour visits eleven campuses across the country and Tennessee was the fourth stop this year. Former Vols defender and Pittsburgh Steeler draftee Cam Sutton graciously posed for photos with adoring fans before the game. When asked about Hendon Hooker, the Tour delegation expressed approval. With his 22-28 passing for 349 yards and over a hundred rushing with a banged up shoulder on the national stage, the gang opined that Hendo’s stock significantly improved against Florida. “There are ups and downs and aches and pains throughout a football game. It's a physical game," Hooker said.

• Your reporter recalls the days when people said that nationally televised games on free TV would harm attendance. Neyland had a full house and more who wanted in couldn’t get tickets. The going price for upper deck tickets an hour before the game was $400 a pop.

• Despite the ubiquitous Gator Chomps and less numerous middle finger salutes, fans from the two sides were generally cordial to one another despite the heated Southeastern Conference rivalry. Florida men tended to find Tennessee tailgaits where the libations were flowing, the food was good and as one blue clad visitor pronounced, the “women were even better.”