Vols' Astonishing Rally Wrecks Florida, 38-28, Before 102,455 Stunned Fans

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Quack. Quack. Quack.

As it turns out, Teez Tabor, Florida’s trash-talking defensive back, a duck can pull a truck, sir.

Tennessee’s 14^th-ranked Volunteers sent shock waves throughout the college football world Saturday, rallying from a 21-point deficit against No. 19 Florida to stun the Gators, 38-28, before a sellout crowd of 102,455 at Neyland Stadium.

After turning in a poor first half, the Vols flipped the switch and dazzled the team’s frazzled fan base with a fierce comeback that left the Gators bewildered.

“That first half wasn’t us,” Vols coach Butch Jones said. “In the second half, we had an interception and after that scored five out of six touchdowns. We held (Florida) to 102 yards in the second half and three-and-out in every single possession but one.”

The astonishing rally, powered by quarterback Joshua Dobbs’ four second-half touchdown passes, enabled Tennessee (4-0, 1-0) to lay waist to a demoralizing 11-game losing streak to the Gators (3-1, 0-1). The Vols last beat Florida in 2004.

“I didn’t see anyone blink (when the Vols trailed 21-0). Nobody flinched. They just kept playing.”

Dobbs’ four scoring tosses went to Jalen Hurd, Ethan Wolf, Jauan Jennings and Josh Malone and covered 23, 20, 67 and 42 yards. The play to Jennings gave the Vols their first lead (24-21) of the game with 12:45 left in the fourth quarter.

He completed 16 of 32 passes for 319 yards with two interceptions in the first half. Dobbs rushed for 80 yards on 17 carries and helped the Vols pile up 498 total yards against the Gators’ No. 1-ranked defense – the Gators’ three previous foes were cupcakes Massachusetts, Kentucky and North Texas.

For good measure, Dobbs added a 5-yard TD run for the Vols’ final score that produced a 38-21 lead.

At halftime, Dobbs had 39 rushing yards and completed only 7 of 20 passes for 84 yards with an interception.

What was the difference in the two halves?

“Simple, just execution,” Dobbs said. “We were shooting ourselves in the foot in the first half. Once we started executing, that’s when the success came.”

It was the first time a Tennessee quarterback threw four TD passes in a game since Tyler Bray did the same thing against Kentucky in 2012.

The Vols have now won 10 straight games, including the final six in 2015. None were sweeter than this one on a brilliant sun-splashed fall afternoon in 89-degree heat. When Florida wilted down the stretch, the Vols kept hammering away and the Gators kept on cramping.

“It was crazy,” said Vols wide receiver Tyler Byrd, a freshman from Naples, Fla. “There’s no feeling like it, to be honest. That’s why I came here: crazy fans and 102,455 strong. It was great.”

While Dobbs triggered the offensive revival after halftime, defensive end Derek Barnett’s sack of Florida quarterback Austin Appleby, a transfer from Purdue playing for injured starter Luke Del Rio, lit a fire under his teammates. From that point on, Florida’s offense struggled mightily.

“I thought Derek Barnett took the game over,” Jones said of his junior standout who had two sacks, three tackles for loss, five tackles and a pass break-up. “I thought our entire team fed off him.”

Former Baylor School standout Colton Jumper led the Vols with eight tackles, his best effort at Tennessee.

The Vols also snapped another embarrassing skid: they had lost 11 consecutive SEC openers, 10 to the Gators and one to Georgia. Tennessee went 0-2 to start SEC play over the last eight seasons, but that streak also has ended.

Now, the Vols can rejoin the conversation of being a serious contender for the 2016 SEC East title and a longshot for the league championship in December.

The Vols on either side of scrimmage did little to threaten Florida in the first two quarters. Meanwhile, Appleby was firing away, throwing TD passes to DeAndre Goolsby for 3 yards and Jordan Cronkrite for 15 yards. Jordan Scarlett scored on a 1-yard plunge.

Appleby registered a second touchdown pass late in the final quarter, finding Freddie Swain on a 10-yard strike. He completed 23 of 39 passes for 296 yards with an interception. He was sacked three times.

Aaron Medley’s 28-yard field goal in the third quarter broke the Vols’ scoring drought and extended a mark of 276 games in which Tennessee has scored.

Then Dobbs went to work.

He found Hurd in the right flat – somewhat lonely because he was so open – for a 23-yard touchdown with 7:29 left in the third. The play capped a 62-yard, nine-play drive in 3:29.

A few minutes earlier, Dobbs threw an interception, but wasn’t affected by the turnover.

“At the quarterback position, you want a flat-line player,” Jones said. “You don’t want the ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys. You want someone consistent. That’s Joshua Dobbs. He’s very calm and collected and our team feeds off that.”

Following a Florida punt, the Vols hit tight end Ethan Wolf over the middle in the end zone and suddenly Tennessee was within 21-17 after the 51-yard, three-play march to paydirt with 0:59 on the clock. The drive took only 59 seconds.

Florida was shaken.

“Obviously, this was very disappointing,” Florida coach Jim McElwain said. “My hat is off to (Tennessee) and how they came out at halftime and really took it to us with explosive plays. The third quarter was kind of miserable.”

The Vols were pumped up.

As the fourth quarter began, Tennessee’s defense started rattling Appleby – Derek Barnett had two quick sacks – and things weren’t as easy as they had been for the Purdue transfer, playing for injured starter Luke Del Rio.

The Vols forced a three-and-out with a defensive spirit that wasn’t apparent in the wins over Appalachian State, Virginia Tech and Ohio to start the season.

Tennessee wasted no time padding its lead.

Dobbs fired a downfield pass to Jennings, who sidestepped a Florida defender, somehow stayed inbounds and rambled 67 yards for a touchdown that gave the Vols their first lead of the game at 24-21 with12:45 remaining. Jennings finished with 111 yards on three receptions.

It was a 78-yard, four-play drive in 1 minute, 29 seconds.

On Florida’s next possession, Tennessee defensive back Todd Kelly Jr. intercepted an Appleby pass deep in Gator territory.

“Tennessee has a great defense,” Appleby said. “Their offense started going, created a tempo. They did a really good job, but we put up 28 points in a hostile place and I’m proud of the way our guys fought.”

Dobbs found a streaking Malone for a 42-yard touchdown pass, capping a quick 42-yard, 3-play drive in just 46 seconds.

Tennessee 31, Florida 21.

The Vols weren’t finished though.

Dobbs ran 5 yards for a touchdown and the point margin swelled to 38-21 with 8:27 left in the game. That was another quick drive as well – 50 yards, four plays in only 1:47.

The Vols’ 38 straight points were the most allowed by Florida since Nebraska scored 36 in 1982.

And Tabor, whose trash-talk were widely reported on social media all week long, may be eating those words right about now.

Tennessee, 4-0 for the first time since 2003, will get ready for a road test at Georgia on Oct. 1, a game that will be televised by CBS. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

The Bulldogs were crushed 45-14 on Saturday by Ole Miss.

SCORING

Florida                 7 14 0 7 – 28

Tennessee          0 3 14 21 – 38

First Quarter

UF – DeAndre Goolsby 3 pass from Austin Appleby (Eddy Pineiro kick), 13:35

Second Quarter

UF – Jordan Cronkrite 15 pass from Appleby (Pineiro kick), 14:10

UF – Jordan Scarlett 1 run (Pineiro kick), 5:12

UT – FG Aaron Medley 28, 2:39

Third Quarter

UT – Jalen Hurd 23 pass from Joshua Dobbs (Medley kick), 7:29

UT – Ethan Wolf 20 pass from Dobbs (Medley kick), 0:59

UF – Freddie Swain 10 pass from Appleby (Pineiro kick), 4:17

Fourth Quarter

UT – Jennings 67 pass from Dobbs (Medley kick), 12:45

UT – Josh Malone 42 pass from Dobbs (Medley kick), 8:27

UF – Freddie Swain 10 pass from Appleby (Pineiro kick), 4:17

Attendance: 102,455

YARDSTICK

                                         UF                          UT

First Downs                      17                           22

Rushes Yards                   31-106                   46-179                

Passing Yards                   296                        319

Comp-Att-Int                     23-39-1                16-33-2

Plays-Total Yds                 70-402                  79-498

Fumbles-Lost                    1-1                        1-0

Punts-Avg                         8-48.6                   5-43.2

Penalties-Yds                    9-75                      5-40

INDIVIDUALS

RUSHING – Florida: Jordan Scarlett 10-44, Austin Appleby 7-24, Mark Thompson 8-20, Jordan Cronkrite 4-13, Lamical Perine 2-5; Tennessee: Jalen Hurd 26-95, Joshua Dobbs 17-80, Alvin Kamara 2-6, Team 1-minus 2.

PASSING – Florida: Appleby 23-39-1-296; Tennessee: Dobbs  16-32-2-319, Jauan Jennings 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING – Florida: Antonio Callaway 4-134, Tyrie Cleveland 1-36, Freddie Swain 2-27, Cronkrite 5-26, DeAndre Goolsby 5-26, C.J. Worton 1-22, Brandon Powell 1-9, Josh Hammond 1-8, C’yontal Lewis 2-7, Scarlett 1-1; Tennessee: Jennings 3-11, Josh Malone 4-91, Tyler Byrd 3-40, Hurd 2-25, Ethan Wolf 1-20, Jason Croom 1-15, Kamara 1-12, Josh Smith 1-5.

(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)