Tennessee Football's win-less streak in Gainesville continues. The Vols fell to Florida Saturday night, 38-14 to open conference play.
Tennessee’s pace of play was no issue for Florida.
The Gators led the way early, scoring on their opening drive. Quarterback Emory Davis found Malik Davis to kick things off for Florida. The Gators opening drive was 10 plays for 60 yards.
It did not take long for Tennessee to answer back. Quarterback Hendon Hooker hit running back Tiyon Evans on a screen pass for a 47-yard touchdown.
The Vols first scoring drive was six plays for 80 yards. Tennessee scored in two minutes and five seconds.
At the end of the first quarter, Florida and Tennessee were neck-and-neck offensively. The Gators totaled 97 yards of offense after fifteen minutes of play, while the Vols totaled 92 yards of offense.
Florida took a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, after executing on a 47-yard field goal from kicker Chris Howard.
To start the second quarter, Hooker fired on a 75-yard pass to JaVonta Payton to give Tennessee the 14-10 lead. The pass was the Vols longest pass completion since Josh Dobbs connected with Josh Malone on a 75-yard touchdown on October 31, 2015.
Florida hit another field goal to close out the second half. The Vols finished with 48 more offensive yards in the first half, but trialed 17-14.
The second half's momentum was shifted entirely to Florida.
Florida scored on its opening drive for the third quarter with a 13-yard double pass from Jones to Trent Whittemore to Kemore Gamble.
Tennessee’s secondary had trouble defending the backfield. The Gators scored again with two minutes left to play in the third quarter. Jones found Rick Wells for a nine-yard reception to give the Gators a 38-14 lead.
The last score of the game came with 1:39 left to play in the game. Malik Davis found the end zone again, rushing for nine yards to secure a 38-14 win.
Week one and two started, Joe Milton finished the game for the Vols after Hooker was banged up on a play.
Tennessee finished with 423 total yards of offense. The Vols threw for 275 yards and rushed for 148 yards.
Florida finished with 222 rushing yards. The Gators rank second in the nation in the run game.
Hendon Hooker connected on 13 of 23 passes for 221 yards and two passing touchdowns. Hooker also rushed for 23 yards on 13 attempts.
