Tennessee beats Florida, shows it’s a CFP contender

In one of the more notable games of the week, Hendon Hooker put on a show and won Tennessee its’ first victory against Florida in years. This win showed the Volunteers are one of the top contenders in the SEC East and the College Football Playoff.

The Tennessee Volunteers beat the Florida Gators, 38-33. The Volunteers won this game behind their high-powered offense. This game started with mistakes by both teams. After a catch by Princeton Fant, Fant fumbled the ball after a catch thrown by Hendon Hooker.

While Florida went down the field, they couldn’t take advantage of the turnover. First, the Gators missed a 50-yard field goal. Then, the Volunteers were led by Hooker’s arm down the field. Jacob Warren couldn’t hold on to a Hooker pass in space to keep the drive going. Tennessee had to settle for a field goal.

Anthony Richardson responded on the next drive. The Gators scored a touchdown in possibly the most Anthony Richardson way. Richardson scrambled inside the pocket and threw a laser (that was looked firmly thrown) to Keon Zipperer for a touchdown.

Hendon Hooker fought back on the first play for the Volunteers. In a play where Bru McCoy was wide open, Hooker found him for a pass that ended putting the Volunteers inside the 5. Tennessee ended up scoring six.

Anthony Richardson and the Gators’ offense came back at Tennesee on the next drive. Richardson found his receivers for two 15+ yards plays on a drive that ended up a touchdown for the Gators.

Tennessee’s offense looked to return the favor on the next drive, but Hendon Hooker fumbled the ball as they were driving down the field. The Gators recovered, and Florida’s offense had a chance to go up two scores. Instead, the Gators struggled to move the ball after getting a first down, and Richardson had to throw it away on third and long to end the drive.

Although the Gators struggled on offense during that drive, they put the Volunteers in horrible field position. Tennessee started its’ offense at their 1-yard line. Hooker launched the Volunteers’ passing game despite the bad field position. Hooker led Tennessee to a touchdown in the final moments of the half.

Tennessee would keep the good times rolling in the beginning moments of the third quarter. This time, it was the running game.  Jabari Small went for a huge gain that flipped the field for the Volunteers. After the run, Hooker made key throws that led to a touchdown for the Vols.

The Gators were down big, and Anthony Richardson wanted to close that lead. He led Florida down the field for a touchdown to make it a three-point game. Although it was a one-possession game, Hooker was about to take over.

A couple of plays later, Hooker had a huge run. Hooker looked downfield and didn’t see anything he liked, so he kept it and ran. He ran for 43 yards. This put the Volunteers into the red zone. Tennessee scored a  touchdown couple of plays later, and it was a two-possession game.

It seemed like the Gators were going to make it a one-possession game again until Richardson fumbled the ball and the Vols recovered. Hooker unleashed Tennessee’s offense once again and scored a touchdown.

Tennessee was up by 11, and it seemed like the game was over with 7:55 in the fourth. Despite the long odds, the Gators did not give up. The Gators went down the field and scored a touchdown. Something notable to remember is that the Gators went for two on this drive to make it a 9-point game.

This was somewhat confusing because it wouldn’t change the game from a possession perspective. The Gators missed the two-point conversion. Either way, it seemed like the game was over. That was until the Vols had a turnover on downs. Richardson went to work and led the Gators to a quick touchdown. The Gators missed the two-point conversion.

Above all odds, Florida recovered the onside kick and had a chance to win the game. It should be noted that if the Gators kicked their two extra points instead of going for two twice, they could have gotten a field goal to put this game in OT. Instead, the Gators had to hope for a miracle, trying to go 47 yards in only 11 seconds.

Despite a solid completion from Richardson that went for 14 yards, the Gators could not score a touchdown on the final drive. Richardson threw an interception on a hail mary during the game’s final play.

This game proved that Tennessee is a playoff contender. This win, combined with the win against Pitt, shows that this team is among the best in CFB. While Florida may be overrated and inconsistent, Tennessee is legit. Until proven otherwise, I think the Volunteers have a fighter’s chance against Bama and Georgia.

While this take may look ridiculous after the Bama-Vols and Georgia-Vols game, I think that Tennessee stacks somewhat well against the top of the SEC. So, for now, I have Tennessee as a playoff contender. While we wait to see what happens when they play against Bama and Georgia, Tennessee can be considered a contender for the CFB playoff.

Florida loses this game, and its’ season hits another turnstile. Despite the loss, I think Florida has some positives to take from this loss. The offense wasn’t consistent. Although the Gators weren’t consistent, Richardson and the rest of the offense seemed to be improving at consistency throughout the game.

Although being one of the top three teams in the SEC East does not include Florida, the Gators are still a good team.  I think one of the takeaways from this game has to be the poor coaching decision by Billy Napier. Going for two was not a good idea. No matter what the analytics say, it cost this team late and is probably the worst coaching decision of the Napier era in Florida.