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Gators score too many FGs and collapse vs. the run, ending their shot at the SEC and national titles.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
© St. Petersburg Times,
published December 2, 2001

[Times photo: Jim Damaske] Defensive back Buck Fitzgerald celebrates after Rex Grossman's 2-point conversion pass to Jabar Gaffney, left, fell incomplete.

GAINESVILLE -- This is exactly why they play the game.

Tennessee 34. Florida 32.

Coming into Saturday afternoon's game at Florida Field, Tennessee was an 18-point underdog while Florida was in the driver's seat for a trip to the SEC Championship and a shot at the Rose Bowl and a national title.

But next week, the underdog will be in Atlanta playing for the SEC Championship and the Gators (9-2, 6-2 SEC) will be at home.

Bolstered by a 226-yard rushing effort from senior tailback Travis Stephens, Tennessee defeated Florida in front of a stunned record crowd of 85,771 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Vols (10-1, 7-1) earned their third SEC Eastern Division title in five years.

"We are very disappointed, very disappointed," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. "We got our butts kicked, that's all I can say."

Florida quarterback Rex Grossman was 33-of-51 for 362 yards and two touchdowns. The sophomore threw for more than 300 yards in 10 of 11 games this season, but he didn't want to talk about individual awards Saturday.

"We've just got to swallow this one and start preparing for the bowl and next year," Grossman said. "This season's pretty much over."

In many ways, the game was a mirror image of last year's contest in Knoxville. This time, it was the Gators who spent so much time driving down the field only to come away with three points.

Florida senior Jeff Chandler kicked field goals of 20, 27, 35 and 52 yards. Tennessee didn't have a field goal, although kicker Alex Walls missed a 44-yarder with seven minutes left in the first half. Instead, it ran, threw a little, then ran some more and scored touchdowns.

"They ran it down our throats last year, but they had the field goals," Spurrier said. "We had (a lot) of them tonight, and that maybe was the difference."

That and Stephens, who rushed at will against the Florida defense, including a 35-yard touchdown with 13:04 left in the third quarter that gave the Vols a 21-20 lead. Stephens also had a 68-yard run on a draw midway through the fourth quarter that set up Jabari Davis' 1-yard touchdown with 8:30 left to give Tennessee a 34-26 lead. Tennessee is 17-0 when having a back rush for more than 200 yards.

"Obviously, it was a heck of an effort by a lot of people in this football game," Vols coach Phil Fulmer said. "We've been looking forward to this game for a long time."

Florida, which was playing without starting tailback Earnest Graham, rushed for 36 yards on 23 attempts. Robert Gillespie and Ran Carthon had 21 yards each. The Gators threw for 371 yards.

Trailing 34-26, Florida mounted a 66-yard drive capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass from Grossman to Carlos Perez. The Gators had a chance to tie with 1:11 left, but Grossman's 2-point conversion pass to Jabar Gaffney failed. "We thought we had a decent shot, but they just covered us well," Spurrier said.

The Vols rushed for 242 yards on 31 carries. Florida defensive coordinator Jon Hoke admitted he didn't expect what happened.

"If you had told me before the game they would run like this, I would have said, "No way,' " Hoke said. "We just didn't execute."

Tennessee shocked the Gators and silenced the crowd by quickly taking a 14-0 lead. It was the third time this season Florida allowed a touchdown in the first quarter. The Gators failed to score in the first quarter for the first time.

But Florida got a 1-yard run by Grossman, a 21-yard pass from Grossman to Gaffney and two field goals from Chandler to take a 20-14 lead at halftime.

The Vols opened the second half with Stephens' 35-yard scoring run and the seesaw battle was on again, with three lead changes in the half. Florida's final lead was 23-21 with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Three plays likely will haunt the Gators: the failed 2-point conversion; a personal foul penalty for a late hit out of bounds after Florida had stopped Tennessee on fourth and 6 at the Florida 43 (it gave UT the ball with a first down on the 28 and led to a touchdown); and a botched fourth-down attempt in the third quarter. After being called for offsides, UF went for it on fourth and 6 on the UT 36, but Grossman was sacked and lost 8 yards. Tennessee scored on the ensuing possession.

"We had play-action going for man-to-man," Spurrier said. "We should have punted there. You never know what little calls will cost you."

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