Kiffin wanted to avoid 'track race' with Gators

Audio slide show of Tennessee-Florida

Audio slideshow UT-UF

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Boring almost turned into an epic upset in The Swamp.

Tennessee was in contention throughout a hard-fought 23-13 loss to Florida on Saturday thanks to a strong running game and despite an inefficient passing game.

"We need to improve in the passing game but every game will be different," first-year UT coach Lane Kiffin said. "There will be weeks when we run, weeks when we throw it. It probably looked pretty boring to you, but even though it was boring there was a lot that went into that."

A lot of run blocking went into the 29-point underdog Vols proving bookmakers wrong. It was the second straight week the Vols lost but ran the ball well despite a defense loading up to stop the ground game.

"The offensive line definitely had some movement at the point of attack," said tailback Montario Hardesty, who rushed for 96 yards on 20 carries for a 4.8-yard average against the Gators' vaunted defense.

And when the Vols weren't running, they were mostly throwing short passes -swings, screens and the sort.

Freshman Bryce Brown was UT's leading receiver with three catches for 34 yards, including a 21-yarder, which was the longest gain of the day for the Vols. Brown also gained 21 yards on the ground.

Depth also was a concern.

"That team is much deeper than we are," Kiffin said. "I think if we get into a track race with them, we look like a lot of other people do when they come in here. We get blown out of the stadium."

Kiffin said he even secretly delayed his play calls to limit Florida's offensive chances.

"I didn't want that message to go to our team," Kiffin said.

Kiffin, who led some of the most explosive offenses in recent memory as the coordinator at Southern California, said it was hard to be so conservative.

"It's very hard and it's difficult but I was hired to win here," Kiffin said. "I wasn't hired for stats."

Much of the game plan was designed to protect quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who threw three interceptions last week against UCLA and was roundly criticized by media and fans. Kiffin said Crompton improved on Saturday. Crompton was 11-of-19 for 93 yards and two interceptions against Florida.

"He was obviously better today in a tougher environment against a better defense," Kiffin said. "That was great to see. It's a long season. It's not about one game.

"It was really good to see him play better today. Obviously, he didn't play as well as we would have liked because we have high standards for all our players. (He) missed a couple of things. He'll continue to improve."

One missed opportunity stood out when Crompton underthrew receiver Gerald Jones, who had broken free behind cornerback Joe Haden.

"That was a good play by Haden," Crompton said. "He had his back turned and at the last second instinct told him to turn around.

"Obviously if I had it to do over I'd put a little more air under it and let Gerald run under it. But when you're on the field and you see him that wide open you try to put it on him a little more."

Kiffin said UT was wary of facing Florida's blitz package and pass-rushing defensive linemen. That all but took UT's wide receivers out of the game. Jones had two receptions for 25 yards. Quintin Hancock had one catch for five yards.

"We did not give the receivers a ton of opportunities today," Kiffin said. "We weren't going to get into a drop-back game and come out here and get sacked six times and throw the ball around 40 times.

"You would have seen the point spread covered if we had done that, I promise you."

Even though UT's offense was incredibly one-sided, the Vols' were optimistic about the future.

"We're an inch away - point blank," offensive lineman Jacques McClendon said. "We're an inch away from being what we can be. It's going to click."