KNOXVILLE — Curses — both the supernatural kind and the ones you never want your mom or pastor to hear coming from your mouth — filled Neyland Stadium in the closing minutes of Saturday's game.
After Florida scored twice in the final 4:49 to pull within five points, then recovered an onside kick near midfield with 16 seconds remaining, nightmare visions resurfaced for the University of Tennessee from dramatic losses in 2015 and 2017, as well as 2000, when the Gators secured improbably wins on desperation passes in the final seconds.
Suddenly many of the sellout crowd of 101,915 — who moments earlier were so confident the streak of five straight losses in the series was coming to an end that they mockingly mimicked Florida's Gator chomp cheer — were hit with a pucker factor as another dubious, heart-wrenching loss seemed highly probable.
But similar to the ending two weeks earlier at Pittsburgh, when Tennessee blew a second-half lead only to find a way to hold on for an overtime win, it was the Volunteers' beleaguered defense — which had given up a ghastly 594 yards to Florida's offense — that helped take another giant step in restoring the program's past glory.
With Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson feeling the pressure from Byron Young, his final desperation heave fell short of his receivers in the end zone and into UT defensive back Kamal Hadden's arms at the 6.
Not since Linda Blair's head rotated 360 degrees has there been a tougher exorcism.
Any lingering belief in ghostly Gator curses was lifted, and Vols fans filed out singing the praises of a team that will almost certainly move up from its national ranking of 11th and into the top 10 this week.
"The past is the past, but obviously this was huge for our fan base," UT second-year coach Josh Heupel said. "The fumbles early in the game, not covering the onside kick at the end, those are things we have to work on as well as clock management at the end of the game.
"We couldn't get off the field the way we needed to when we had them in third-and-long, but at the end it was just a matter of somebody making a play. Find a way to get off the field, and we did that."
Ending Florida's domination of the series — 16 wins in the previous 17 meetings, including five straight coming into Saturday — actually did require an otherworldly effort.
Even after Tennessee forced Florida to punt for the first time — after consecutive eight-play, 75-yard scoring drives by the Gators to take a 14-10 lead — the kick was downed at the Vols' 1-yard line with 2:50 left before halftime.
A possession that began with quarterback Hendon Hooker — who was seen wincing during the commercial break — taking the shotgun snap in his own end zone ended with him connecting with Bru McCoy in the back of the Florida end zone just seven seconds before halftime.
That 12-play, 99-yard scoring drive shifted momentum squarely back to Tennessee and also helped move Hooker's name into the early discussion for Heisman Trophy contenders.
The drive highlighted each of the traits that make Hooker elite. He remained calm in converting on third-and-10 from his 12, rifling a pass to tight end Princeton Fant for a 10-yard gain to maintain possession. On the next snap, Hooker lofted a 43-yard spiral that Ramel Keyton — who was filling in for injured All-Southeastern Conference receiver Cedric Tillman — made a spectacular diving catch at the Gators' 35.
"I got a one-on-one, just took advantage of that matchup, and Ramel made a great play on the ball," said Hooker, who became the first UT quarterback since Josh Dobbs to throw for 300 yards (349) and run for more than 100 (112).
Two more completions and a 16-yard run by Hooker put the Vols at the Florida 4, and two plays later he hit Bru McCoy for the touchdown that put them back in front for good.
"I think that's when the game changed for our offense," said Vols running back Jabari Small, who was questionable to play after an upper-body injury in last week's win over Akron but finished Saturday with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown and 32 receiving yards and another score.
"It doesn't matter about the situation, you have to fight and compete and finish the drive," Small added. "I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow, but right now it just feels good to get the W.
"I told Coach this week, 'Don't hold me back. Don't limit me. I'll do whatever you ask of me to the best of my ability.'"
The drive to end the half was the first of four straight that resulted in Vols touchdowns. They opened the second half with a 10-play, 73-yard drive, capped by Hooker's scoring toss to Small that finally put the Gators behind by two scores and left them in a mode of having to answer with points on each possession.
"Obviously that (drive before halftime) was huge in the way that the game played out," Heupel said. "We score on that one and again to start the third quarter, converted some long yardage situations along the way, which was huge."
After four straight double-digit losses to the Gators, including last year's 24-point blowout when they were shut out in the second half, the Vols now stand 4-0 with a pair of gutsy wins over nationally ranked opponents heading into an off week before visiting LSU on Oct. 8.
"The work we're putting in is showing in wins," Small said. "To beat Florida, our rival, it just shows how far we've come. The future is bright for us."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.