Effort sparks 'what if' thoughts on UCLA

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A Florida fan holds up a sign as Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (15) takes the field against UT on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Although Tennessee fell short in its upset bid against No. 1-ranked Florida, the feeling afterward didn't compare to the previous Saturday when UT was upset at home by UCLA.

The 29 1/2-point underdog Vols bounced back by playing Florida a 10-point game, 23-13, Saturday afternoon in The Swamp.

"No one gave us a chance," UT All-American strong safety Eric Berry said. "We were supposed to lose by 50.

"I wish we would have played like this last Saturday. It showed how good we can be if we keep buying in and believing in ourselves."

Big-Time Collision: Berry gave a detailed description of his second-quarter collision with Florida quarterback Tim Tebow.

"I just bit down on my mouthpiece and gave everything I had," he said. "All those power cleans and squats I did this summer … At first, I thought, 'Dang, he done run me over.'

"I was listening to the crowd go, 'oh' when I looked at the JumboTron. Montori Hughes kind of hit him in the back and pushed him into me.

"It was a good collision."

The collision between the two All-Americans came on Tebow's 4-yard run in a Florida scoring drive and ended with both Berry and Tebow on the ground.

Hardnosed Hardesty: UT senior tailback Montario Hardesty came into the game with a 1.3-yard career per-carry average against Florida. But that's not how the Gators will remember him.

Hardesty carried 20 times for 96 yards and scored on a 17-yard run against one of the best defenses in the country in his final game against the Gators.

"We wanted to make it a physical game for all four quarters," Hardesty said. "I think we did that.

"I hate to lose and I feel like we had a lot of chances to win the game."

Despite the loss, Hardesty continued his outstanding play.

In three games, he has rushed for 345 yards on 64 carries. He is averaging 115 yards per game and 5.4 yards per carry.

Bad Starts: UT has started the season 1-2 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1982-83. But a 1-2 start doesn't always lead to a bad season.

In 2007, UT started out 1-2 but made it to the SEC championship game and finished with a 10-4 record.

In 1994, the Vols started 1-2 but finished 8-4 with a five-game winning streak.

In 1981 through 1983, UT started 1-2 but went 8-4, 6-5-1, and 9-3.

Lincoln Moves Up: UT place-kicker Daniel Lincoln kicked two field goals to move into sixth place among all-time Vols kickers.

Slowing The Gators: The Gators set an SEC record last season by scoring 611 points and had 118 points in their first two games this season.

That puts the play of UT's defense in perspective.

Florida's 23 points were the fewest it had scored since it managed only 17 in a three-point loss to Auburn in September of 2007.

Slowing James: UT succeeded in keeping longtime nemesis Brandon James out of the end zone.

James scared the Vols on the opening kickoff with a 50-yard return.

He totaled 97 yards on three kick returns, but UT didn't give him a chance to return a punt.

Last year against UT, James had a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown. In 2007, he returned three punts and four kickoffs for 193 yards, including an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown.

As a freshman, James had a punt return for a touchdown wiped out by a penalty. He still totaled 65 yards on four returns, including one for 35 yards.

Bad Stretch: The Vols have lost nine of their last 15 games. That's the worst 15-game stretch since 1979-80 when they also went 6-9.

Back With Bruce?: Kiffin had one last shot for the Gator nation at the end of his press conference.

Asked if he would "at least hum Rocky Top" since the Vols played close, Kiffin said no.

But, he added: "I'll come back down here with Bruce (Pearl) for the basketball game. He's 7-1 against Florida.''

Extra Points: The Vols are 8-9 in season-opening SEC road games since divisional play began in 1992. … They are 33-40-3 all-time in conference openers. ... Florida now leads the series, 20-19.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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