Sunday rewind: Florida 28, Vols 27

Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball for a touchdown after a catch against Florida during the first half in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball for a touchdown after a catch against Florida during the first half in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
photo Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) runs the ball for a touchdown after a catch against Florida during the first half in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Looking back at Tennessee's come-from-ahead 28-27 loss at Florida on Saturday.

SATURDAY'S STAR

Quarterback Josh Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd nearly led Tennessee to just its sixth win at Florida. Though he had just 83 yards passing, Dobbs ran for 136 yards and caught a 58-yard touchdown pass on a trick play. Hurd added 102 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries and did most of the work to get that total. The Vols ran for 254 yards, but it wasn't enough.

SATURDAY'S STAT

Florida faced five fourth downs on Saturday. The Gators converted every single one of them. The three biggest conversions came on the final two drives in the fourth quarter as Florida desperately rallied from a 27-14 deficit. The final of the five turned out to be the game-winner: Receiver Antonio Calloway turned a 15-yard pass into the 63-yard touchdown that won the game for the Gators.

TURNING POINT

Even after coughing up a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter, Dobbs hit Ethan Wolf for a nice gain and ran Tennessee into the edge of Aaron Medley's field-goal range. He badly missed his first 55-yard attempt, but Florida called timeout before the snap. The second one had enough distance, but narrowly flew right of the right upright as time expired to seal Tennessee's fate.

HIGHLIGHT PLAY

The Vols had two trick plays work to perfection in the first half. Jauan Jennings looked off the defense on a double pass that ended with Dobbs taking his throw back across the field all the way for Tennessee's first touchdown. The second was a jump pass from running back Alvin Kamara on fourth-and-short. He started like he was going to run up the middle, then lobbed a converting pass to Wolf.

WHAT IT MEANS

Tennessee lost for the 11th straight time to Florida, and the last two have been by a point each. The Vols again failed to close out a key game and let a big win slip away in heartbreaking fashion for the second time in three weeks, and head coach Butch Jones's decision not to go for two following Hurd's second touchdown loomed large. Tennessee has to pick up the pieces with Arkansas up next.

BY THE NUMBERS

14-3: Tennessee lost for only the third time under Butch Jones when leading at halftime. Florida now is responsible for two of those losses. The Gators rallied from 6-0 last season in Knoxville and 17-7 at home on Saturday. The third defeat came against Oklahoma two weeks ago.

2-5: Tennessee has won just two of the seven games decided by four points or less under Jones. Both wins were against South Carolina (23-21 in 2013 and 45-42 in overtime last season). The five losses: Georgia (in overtime) and Vanderbilt in 2013, Florida and Georgia last season and Saturday.

254: The Vols averaged a paltry 50.2 rushing yards per game in its previous 10 losses to Florida. Tennessee exploded for 254 on Saturday thanks to quarterback Josh Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd. In the first 10 games of the Vols' streak against the Gators, Tennessee had more minus-yardage games (two, in 2006 and 2011) in the streak than 100-yard games (one, in 2009).

3-of-15: Florida converted just three times on 15 third downs. Of course, that stat became irrelevant because the Gators converted five times on fourth down on 12 of those third-down failures. Three of those conversions preserved Florida's comeback win.

1997: Dobbs became the first Tennessee quarterback to catch a pass in a game since 1997. Peyton Manning hauled in a 10-yard catch against Arkansas his senior season. Dobbs turned a double pass into a 58-yard touchdown on Saturday.

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events