KNOXVILLE — Two years ago Tennessee went to The Swamp and nearly left victorious.

The Vols led 20-7 with 5:43 remaining in the third quarter.

Butch Jones called a third-quarter timeout that allowed Florida head coach Jim McElwain to rethink a 42-yard field goal attempt. McElwain elected to go for it on 4th-and-6 from Tennessee’s 25. Quarterback Will Grier connected with Brandon Powell for a 21-yard gain, then Kelvin Taylor scored a touchdown on the next play that cut the Vols’ lead to 20–14.

A Jalen Hurd touchdown with 10:19 remaining put Tennessee in a better position to win the game with a 27-14 lead. But Jones opted to kick the extra point rather than going for two; a Gators comeback did not seem possible.

Oh, but it was.

The unthinkable rally was highlighted by two more fourth-down conversions. Powell scored a touchdown to cut the Vols’ lead to 27-21 with 4:06 left.

After a three-and-out by Tennessee, Florida retook the lead on Antonio Callaway’s touchdown, going up 28-27 with only 1:26 to play.

Tennessee’s offense had to go 68 yards to reach the end zone. It went far enough to put Aaron Medley in position to win the game with a 55-yard field goal attempt.

He missed narrowly wide right as time expired.

Medley had the spotlight shining on him, as he tried to bail out everything that went wrong in that disastrous fourth quarter.

Now a senior, Medley will make his final visit to The Swamp with 41 starts under his belt.

He hasn’t tried a field goal this season but has converted all 12 extra points. The Lewisburg, Tenn., native has connected on 52-of-73 field goals and 170-of-171 on extra points in his career. His lone extra point miss came in his freshman season.

He is tied with John Becksvoort for fifth-most field goals in UT history, only needing 19 more to tie Fuad Reveiz as the school’s leading kicker. Medley is concerned on “really trying to end on a good note this year.”

Improving his accuracy was an offseason focus.

“Understanding angles and the mental aspect of the game I think it has helped me a lot with experience,” he said. “I am looking for a really good year.”

When and if he has another game-winning kicking opportunity in the heat of the moment, Medley wants to “just keep the same tempo.”

“Making sure everything is the same whether it is an extra point or a long kick. Making sure everything is a smooth pace and not be over-aggressive,” he said.

Even when an opposing team has an opportunity to call a time out and freeze him, Medley has learned that “it really does not bother him.”

“It just delays what is eventually about to happen,” he said. “You just hit the reset button in your mind and go out there and do your thing.”