Tennessee Defensive performance: Vols lose 10-9 to Florida
By Jason Hall
Published:
Tennessee’s defense played about as well as possible in a losing effort to Florida Saturday. The Vols held the Gators scoreless at halftime for the first time since 1955 and allowed their first score in the fourth quarter. But a poor offensive showing did little favors for the “Orange Swarm” defense as Florida extended its winning streak to 10 games.
Tennessee’s defensive line lived up to the Swarm moniker on Saturday. The Vols totaled 3.0 sacks and 12.0 tackles for loss against Florida. Freshman defensive end Derek Barnett recorded his first career sack against starting quarterback Jeff Driskel in the third quarter.
Driskel was held to 59 yards on 11-of-24 passing and 30 yards on 14 rushing attempts. The junior quarterback threw three interceptions to Cameron Sutton, Todd Kelly Jr. and Jalen Reeves-Maybin respectively.
Reeves-Maybin saw another strong performance at linebacker with nine total tackles. He finished second to A.J. Johnson, who ended with 13, his second-highest total of the season.
Florida’s only two scores came in the fourth quarter as backup Treon Harris guided two successful drives after replacing Driskel. Matt Jones capped off a 30-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown. Austin Hardin connected on a 49-yard field goal attempt that game Florida its first lead of the game.
But Tennessee’s defense managed to force the Gators offense to punt with less than two minutes remaining, giving the offense one more chance to score. The Vols failed and the Gators intercepted Justin Worley’s pass before going into the victory formation.
Tennessee’s defense did all the things necessary to capture a victory without actually winning. Had the offense produced, the Vols faced an easy road to victory. However, due to an inept offensive performance, a stellar defensive effort will be overlooked by the final outcome.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
