GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Tennessee Volunteers shattered a streak and busted a myth Saturday night in roughly 90 minutes of real time.
Tennessee’s 10-game losing streak inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium was halted by the Vols scoring all 31 points of a stunningly lopsided first half. The Vols, who eventually won 31-11, also quieted those negative voices claiming that programs already eliminated from contention for a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff have nothing left to play for and therefore lack motivation.
On the next-to-last Saturday of this regular season, Tennessee played its best game of the year.
“I think this team cares about each other, and they love competing,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said after notching his third win over Florida in the last four years. “They love playing ball with each other. You guys have heard me say that we haven’t put all of it together at the same time yet, and after tonight I’m still going to say the same thing, but we continue to push forward and get better.”
Playing a Florida team that was back in the Swamp for the first time in more than a month, the Vols scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and wound up outgaining the Gators by a 452-261 margin. When the objective was to milk the clock in the second half, Tennessee did that as well and ended up with nearly 36 minutes of possession time.
Sure, it’s easy to make the argument that Florida is having an awful season, but the Gators did defeat Texas and led Georgia with five minutes remaining. There is also the fairly significant detail that four of the 10 Florida teams that defeated Tennessee in Gainesville from 2005-23 wound up with losing records.
“I really think it starts with our coaching,” Vols junior linebacker Arion Carter said. “The standard that we set here is always the standard, and we don’t deviate from it. Regardless of what their record is and our record is, we still have an agenda to push.
“The mindset going in was dominating and being at our best when we needed it.”
Tennessee improved to 8-3 overall and to 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play before this Saturday’s regular-season finale against visiting Vanderbilt, which is 9-2 and 5-2. The combined 17-5 record of the No. 18 Vols and the No. 12 Commodores is the best this in-state rivalry has produced since 1941, when they were a combined 15-3.
“We’re going to go out there and prepare the right way like we did this week,” Carter said. “We’re going to go out there with the mindset of making it happen.”
While Tennessee and Vanderbilt are a combined 17-5 heading into their in-state rivalry, Florida and Florida State are a combined 8-14.
Congrats to all those who nailed that before the season.
Tennessee’s ground-and-pound approach against Florida yielded 51 carries for 248 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and three touchdowns.
DeSean Bishop was the leader of that attack with 24 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns, while Star Thomas added nine carries for 71 yards and a score. It also included Daune Morris, who had 14 carries for 41 yards.
Morris, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound freshman, starred at Murfreesboro’s Oakland the past two seasons after playing his sophomore year at Red Bank.
“For young players and for their families, it doesn’t always happen exactly when you want it, and I’m just saying this in general,” Heupel said. “Guys who keep pouring into it and keep working and keep competing and can prove and show that they’re going to play at the level that you need to win an SEC football game, those guys win out 100% of the time.”
Morris has 34 carries for 129 yards and a touchdown this season, and he has been Tennessee’s primary punt returner the past two games, replacing Boo Carter in that role.
“I’m really proud of Daune and his growth as a young player,” Heupel said. “We have total trust in him in the return game as well as playing the running back position. He has all the traits, and now it’s all understanding and growth and practice habits and consistency. Everybody believes and trusts in him — pass protection or whatever it might be.
“It’s how you become a good player and then a great player. There are no shortcuts. You’ve got to go through the forest, and you’ve got to go through the work. I’m proud of what he’s done this year.”
Alabama and Auburn tuned up for their Iron Bowl by whipping up on Eastern Illinois and Mercer by the combined score of 118-17.
The Crimson Tide are 9-2 and need a win to clinch a playoff berth, while the Tigers are 5-6 and need a win for bowl eligibility.
“A lot of the things that we have goals for are all there,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said Saturday. “The things that we set out to do in January are right there in front of us. We need to go attack it.”
This will be the Iron Bowl’s seventh different coaching pairing in seven seasons: Nick Saban and Gus Malzahn in 2019, Steve Sarkisian and Malzahn in 2020, Saban and Bryan Harsin in 2021, Saban and Carnell Williams in 2022, Saban and Hugh Freeze in 2023, DeBoer and Freeze last year, and DeBoer and D.J. Durkin this year.
Saban tested positive for COVID and missed the 2020 game, when Sarkisian stepped up from his role as offensive coordinator and led the Tide to victory.
“It’s one of the greatest rivalries in college football,” Durkin said Saturday. “It certainly means a lot to a lot of people around here, including myself and my team.”
Durkin will try to become the first Auburn interim coach to win the Iron Bowl, with Bill Oliver having lost in 1998 and Williams in 2022.
Auburn had one of the nation’s worst offenses through nine games this season, with Freeze getting fired following a 10-3 home loss to Kentucky.
Durkin was then promoted and gave the play-calling keys to Derrick Nix. Since that transition, Auburn has racked up 563 yards in the 45-38 overtime loss at Vanderbilt and another 547 against Mercer. As a result, the Tigers have gone from 110th nationally in total offense to 83rd.
“I’m so happy for Derrick Nix,” Durkin said. “He’s a great football coach and a great person. That’s a guy taking advantage of his opportunity calling plays, and we’ve all seen what he’s done here in two games.
“I could not be happier. He’s showing what he’s capable of.”
Oklahoma took another step toward a playoff invitation with Saturday’s 17-6 downing of Missouri, which is now 7-4 following its 5-0 start. The Tigers will try to stop their late-season slide this weekend at Arkansas.
“We’ve got a chance to go play for a trophy,” Mizzou coach Eli Drinkwitz said. “I appreciate the way our guys fight, and that hasn’t changed. I told them to stick together and to ignore all the outside noise.
“We need to finish this season the right way.”
Vanderbilt’s 45-17 rout of Kentucky marked the seventh home win this season for the Commodores, setting a program record. … Eastern Illinois had two first downs against Alabama, the fewest allowed by the Tide since 1946. … In his first career start, freshman quarterback Deuce Knight accounted for 401 (239 passing and 162 rushing) of Auburn’s 547 total yards. … Kentucky still holds a 48-45-4 series lead over Vandy despite Saturday’s setback. … South Carolina tallied season highs with 579 yards and 51 points during a 51-7 rout of Coastal Carolina.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.