For the second time in two seasons, Tennessee’s defense was beaten deep on a deep touchdown pass in the closing seconds of a game. Last season’s bomb from Jacob Eason to Riley Ridley didn’t hurt the Vols, as Joshua Dobbs answered it with a Hail Mary of his own to Jauan Jennings.
The second one Saturday in Gainesville occurred as time expired and did cost Tennessee the game, as the Vols lost 26-20 against Florida.
Immediately after the contest, many pointed the finger at Butch Jones for losing the game.
Anger toward Jones was so heated, the following “quote” from SEC Network analyst, and former Auburn head coach, Gene Chizik went viral after the game:
Gene Chizik on @SECNetwork right now "We've just got to get Butch a nice tie for when he's sitting next to me up here on set next wknd"
— Will Lowery (@jwlowery29) September 16, 2017
The only problem? It never actually happened. It is a fake quote.
Here’s SEC Network anchor Peter Burns after seeing the “quote” from his colleague:
I can confirm that this was NOT said. https://t.co/zNgx1eBkFv
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) September 17, 2017
Making the situation worse, another outlet ran with the quote, giving credit to something that was not even said:
Once again, the problem here was the quote was never happened. SEC Network anchor Dari Nowkhah took issue with it and responded with his own tweet:
This was NEVER said. Ever. I have sat next to him all night. Someone starting idiotic rumors. https://t.co/tEr3ATCS5c
— Dari Nowkhah (@ESPNDari) September 17, 2017
Here’s your latest reminder that you can’t believe everything you see online, in case you didn’t know that already.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
