GAINESVILLE - There are all kinds of sayings about what payback is like, but Florida found out firsthand Saturday what retribution feels like.
After going to Knoxville last season and knocking off favored Tennessee, the Vols returned the humiliation.
In front of a school-record 90,332, No. 12 Tennessee turned the nation's top scoring offense into a stumbling, struggling unit and stunned the No. 17 Gators 24-10 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
"I can say this is a huge, huge win for us," said Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer, who left the field with his index finger held high. "It is a tough place to play, and this is a good Florida football team. Things just didn't go the way we wanted to in the first half, and it was the defense that really kept us in the game.
"We didn't want to get embarrassed this year, so our team really stepped up and fought hard this year to come out with the win."
And the Gators stepped back.
The loss dropped the Gators to 2-2 for the first time since 1992 and puts them in a hole in their quest for the SEC East title. It also wiped out the good will generated by a close-but-not-quite loss at Miami on Sept. 6.
"It's hard for me to take right now," safety Daryl Dixon said. "We came into this game with high hopes."
Those hopes remained alive for most of the first half until a fateful play changed the momentum and gave the Vols new life.
Florida led 3-0 (after a 47-yard Matt Leach field goal) and seemed poised to head into halftime having held the Vols to 39 rushing yards on 18 carries and just 69 yards passing.
Then came the Hail Mary. With four seconds left, Casey Clausen lobbed a 48-yard pass into the end zone. Florida cornerback Guss Scott batted it into the back of teammate Keiwan Ratliff. The ball then bounced into the waiting arms of the Vols' James Banks.
The play was made possible after the Gators took over with 52 seconds left, ran 7 yards, called a timeout, threw an incompletion and ran for 1 yard.
"That's a (series) that'll be criticized, but I made the call," Florida coach Ron Zook said, adding his first thought after the final catch was "unbelievable."
"I threw it up, and I just saw a big crowd. So I knew we had a shot," Clausen said. "I saw about three or four Florida guys around it when it came down. I never saw (Banks) catch it. I just saw a lull and then all of our guys jumping around."
The Gators said the play didn't kill their spirit.
"We came out with the same intensity," Dixon said.
But it also did wonders for the Vols.
"It gave us a big lift," said Mark Jones, who tipped the ball. "It was a boost for our team going into the half leading instead of trailing."
It was all the Vols (3-0) needed. Florida did not regain its composure. In the second half, the Gators punted three times, failed on fourth down twice, and lost possession on Chris Leak's fourth-quarter interception (by Jason Allen).
Florida scored just once during the second half; a 5-yard run by DeShawn Wynn, who led Florida with 35 rushing yards. Florida was outrushed 139-73 and converted just 5 of 15 third downs.
"We'll know more when we look over the film, but whatever they did right against us, we have to correct," center Mike Degory said. "Eighty (rushing) yards? We've got to do better than that. We're a better offensive line than that."
Meanwhile, the Gators defense spent much of the second half on the field, eventually giving up long drives and three scores, starting with a 51-yard field goal by James Wilhoit.
The Vols also scored on a 1-yard run by Jabari Davis (set up by a 57-yard pass from Clausen to Bret Smith) and a 9-yard run by Davis with 8:38 left.
Clausen was 12-of-23 for 235 yards.
Leak and Ingle Martin combined to go 25-of-44 for 281 yards and two interceptions, but neither "were lighting it up the way we would have liked," Zook said. He said he will review the film today and decide if any changes need to be made to the two quarterback rotation Florida has used all season.
Davis led all rushers with 20 carries for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He replaced Cedric Houston, who sustained a rib/hip injury with 12:08 left in the third and did not return.
What's left for the Gators now? Regroup, Zook said.
"You go back to work," he said. "Our guys will rebound from this. They understand that we're a long way from being out of it. We've got a lot of ball to play, and we're going to get better."
