Tennessee Stat Book
The Neyland Stadium crowd of 102,455 was on its feet, the majority wearing Tennessee orange, sensing their beloved Vols might somehow find a way to score an upset.
Florida coach Urban Meyer surveyed the situation: Fourth-and-6 at the Gators' 39, scored tied 10-10 with just over seven minutes remaining in the third quarter.
It was time for the Gators to run a fake punt for the first time since a 2008 meeting with Arkansas, when a sluggish Florida offense needed the same sort of pick-me-up.
So Meyer made the call for a play he said the Gators had "been working on since the beginning of the year.''
Sophomore Omarius Hines, a 6-foot, 219-pound receiver, took the snap from the up-back position and cut around left end, evading Tennessee's Austin Johnson and bouncing off other would-be tacklers before being hauled down 36 yards down field.
Vols coach Derek Dooley, who had moments before charged out on the field to greet his players after they forced an apparent three-and-out, clapped furiously to encourage his defense to dig in once more.
Too late; the moment had passed and the stadium dropped several decibels.
Six plays after the fake-punt conversion, the lead was Florida's for good. John Brantley found a wide-open Frankie Hammond in the backof the end zone to make it 17-10.
"When you have experienced offensive players, you don't have to do that kind of stuff,'' Meyer said, explaining his roll of the dice. "When you have inexperienced players you have to somehow create a play.
"In this stadium, if you flip (momentum) the other way, we all know what happens in this stadium . . . it's not good.''
Florida (3-0, 1-0 SEC) made good on its trickery en route to the 31-17 victory over Tennessee (1-2, 0-1) Saturday afternoon, marking the first time in series history that the Gators have won three in a row in Neyland Stadium.
Florida extended other streaks with the win: It was its sixth straight over the Vols, its 23rd consecutive regular-season win and 13th road win in a row.
Formation Recognition: Not long after Florida's touchdown on the heels of its fake punt, Tennessee faced a third-and-6 at its 40.
The Gators made yet another big play - draining further energy from the Tennessee fans in the stadium - when Florida cornerback Jeremy Brown jumped in front of a Matt Simms slant pass intended for Denarius Moore like he knew the play was coming.
As it turns out, Brown did.
"Coming out they were in a formation they usually throw the quick in,'' Brown said. "I figured when he came out, they had to be going slants, and sure enough, he (Moore) ran it just like he does on film.
"He jogged off the ball, and cut it back in.''
Five plays later, Mike Gillislee scored what proved to be the winning points on a 5-yard TD run to make it 24-10.
Stop the Run: The Gators made a pretty simple adjustment to hold UT to 29 yards rushing on 23 carries.
"We put Duke Lemmens up on the line with Jaye Howard as a fifth lineman,'' Florida defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. "The plan was to put big, physical guys up front to neutralize their run game.''
Meyer said that was key.
"I never felt like they were taking control of the game like they did against Oregon,'' Meyer said. "They had some big hits in the run game (against Oregon).''
UT's longest run against the Gators was 12 yards.
Gator Bites: Florida's 31 points were its most at Neyland Stadium since a 35-29 win in 1996 . . . Forty-one percent of the Gators' travel squad was either true freshmen or redshirt freshmen . . . Meyer is 24-2 against SEC East teams, with single losses to Georgia and South Carolina.
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Softball: Tennessee 2, Georgia 1
Tennessee defeats Georgia 3-2 in…
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Comments » 30
VolGrad writes:
It will be so awesome to take out all our frustrations on the gator-urbanites down in the swamp next year. I'm already looking forward to that.
Go Vols!!!
Keep working 'em, Dooley!
VolGrad writes:
Obviously my "pest-patrol" software is not working too well right now.
Go Vols!!!
Observer43 writes:
The fake punt call was a "stroke of genius", darn I wish Myer wasn't such a good coach!
99gator writes:
No doubt
volman2010 writes:
Ya think he's a good coach! I think he is just an OK coach..After all look at his record before Tebo and now watch this season play out.. They really have not ran across a good team but when they do they will lose big time..They are not a top 15 program at this point and expect they will fall to the 20's before the season is out unless the pollsters give them credits for being Florida... The fake punt was a stupid call and only succeeded because we missed a tackle.. The play was actaully defended well by UT and Fl did not fool anyone.. Ask Myers he will say they were very very lucky.. However, I hang this loss on Simms, Cunningham, OKU, Gooch and the DF coaching.. Strighten those guys up and we win by 14 at least.. We gave them the game.Florida did not beat us like in past years..That is forsure
volman2010 writes:
This is why the DF coach gets F in my book and the OF coach gets a D-- Both of them are playing to safe and not being agressive enough.. If the dB were told to play tight and the LB told to delay blitz we have a different outcome.
Meyers said:
"When you have experienced offensive players, you don't have to do that kind of stuff,'' Meyer said, explaining his roll of the dice. "When you have inexperienced players you have to somehow create a play."
At least he does get my point and why he out coached Wilcox..
TennVol01 writes:
Coach Dooley ... yesterdays game was a much improved one and I am proud of the team. But...why did you wear black when we played Oregon...and why did many of your assistants wear black against Florida?? We are the proud Orange and White ... not BLACK and a little orange. Get rid of the Kiffen black and return to UT's true colors. Better luck against UAB.
richvol writes:
The fake punt was the turning point in the game. It was a brilliant call at just the right time and if it had failed the momentum could have carried UT to victory. It was a gamble by Meyer and it paid huge dividends.
10SE writes:
The black looks good. Back in the day the coaches used to wear grey with a little orange. Lighten up.
bigOutfan writes:
Wear the black, it looks great!!!
livinginknoxnow writes:
You mean when Meyer went unbeaten at Utah and turned Bowling Green into a winner? Is that what you mean he's just an OK coach?
He's a damn good coach. He made a gutsy call at a crucial moment, and it paid off. He put in Tim Tebow on 4th and 1 as a freshman...against Tennessee.
I congratulate Tenn - your team is certainly moving back in the right direction, because this rivalry is better when both teams are rocking the top ten. Dooley looks to be a good coach, and given some more talent and seasoning, the Vols will be strong soon.
sambad writes:
I agree with anyone who says take away the black. Our colors are orange and white. I won't even buy a shirt that has much black on it since that isn't our color. I won't go to baseball games since they have black in their uniforms. If they want to add a color to our orange and white my choice would be a powder blue. It looks good with orange and white. Black is ugly and reminds me of Kiffin the KOOK.
RemembertheAlamo writes:
I answered this in another article. Why do you post the same things in several articles. I cannot believe you worry about what the coaches are wearing and whether it is in style or not. They wear a different color for a reason, go read the other post.
mercyseat writes:
Meyer also has a Master's Degree in sports management.
thereturnoftriumph writes:
Meyer has made UF special really special. Every Gator player longs to be on it. Special teams eats first before offense and defense do.
It shows on the field.
Neyland writes:
Urban showed some grit in calling the fake punt. We made mistakes of our own, at times poor blocking, bad decisions in throwing the ball. Florida played an average game for their talent level. We had opportunities and didnt capitalize like we should have. We were the victims of several bad calls or no calls that went in florida's favor. On the fake punt there were three different holds that allowed him to get free. We missed a tackle but the holds allowed him free. Next no call is when simms ran and was tackled 3 yards out of bounds, yes the game was out of hand at that point but you still have to make that call reguardless. The SEC needs to look at the officials and the consistancy in there officiating. Ive watched plenty games this season and not just Tennessee games and the officials are horrible. Another point is the strip, it was an easy call on the feild to make and yet we had to challenge it to get the call. The league office needs to better train the officials or get rid of them. Lets have more consistant calls. Florida did out scheme us and I'm not saying we were hosed by the officials but the consistancy in the officials is terrible. Coach Dooley keep working them and run up the score on UAB. GO VOLS!!!!!!!!
leedsvol2007 writes:
It just goes to show that there are different viewpoints when watching a game.
First, Tyler Bray in not physically or mentally ready to be a starter in the SEC. He does have terrific talent but he needs to refine it.
Second, the departed Lane Kiffin ran off BJ Coleman who would have likely been our starter this season.
This was Simms third start and he is still growing into the system. He is also right now working with 2 true freshman and 1 redshirt freshman wide receiver.
I watched the game on TV and listened to our radio broadcast.
On one pass that dropped incomplete Justin Hunter miss-read the coverage and cut to the hash when he should have cut to the boundary. Had he done so he would have had at least a 30 yard gain.
I saw Simms grow up quite a bit in this game. In the 2nd half his drops were quicker, the velocity on his passes improved, and he successfully evaded the rush and made some plays. In short he started catching up to the speed of the game.
Overall I thought Dooley, Chaney and Wilcox had an excellent plan and were not out-coached.
We are rebuilding and were able to put another level brick on the wall but at this point it is only the foundation that is being laid.
GoVols!
AncientVolFan writes:
Just curious, hasn't our band wore black and orange for how many years? I don't recall.
RCVOLIN10 writes:
it's time for everybody to realize this team is just not good. The cupboard was left bare by the 2 previous coaches. UT is short on numbers and very young. The QB is not SEC capable, he is obviously in over his head. That said, some good freshman are here. They will develope and become good players. A few have a chance to be outstanding. The Hunter kid has size and ability like Green and Julio Jones. The young O-linemen have great skills. It will take a couple of more recruiting classes to fill out the roster. Dooley will do a good job if given time. It won't happen overnite but the seeds are planted. I don't blame them a bit for not using Bray this year, he needs to grow and learn. Sims will just have to take the lumps for now.
12Hours writes:
From where I sat (West Side) I noticed the defensive coaches wearing black and offense wearing white. So, I think the reason is so that they can be spotted easily by the players and stand out from the sea of orange jerseys.
mybolognahasasecondname writes:
Yes but he didn't know he coaches a bunch of thugs. Or, he doesn't care?
Vol1973 writes:
Meyer not a genius... just desperate.
TKO writes:
Great call by Meyer, have to hand it to him. Still would not trade Coach Dooley for any coach.
Great guy with a passion. He's hungry and wants this program to become a national power. He knows the circumstances and what our weaknesses are. They will be addressed and the Big Orange will be back. The man took responsibility for the squad not being aware, but things just happen. He will create a few plays himself over the years to come, no doubt.
GBO!
TKO writes:
You pathetic moron. if you are so sure, go tell them yourself. Right. These guys are not thugs, but you are one hell of an idiot.
CRFVols writes:
Maybe he should have went for Criminal Justice.
johnlg00#206211 writes:
I pretty much agree with you except for your point about BJ Coleman. The way I heard it, Coleman virtually demanded that he be named the starter coming out of spring practice even though he was not, in the opinion of the coaching staff, the clear-cut winner in the spring competition. Ex-CLK told him that he was still in the running and would get a full shot in the summer camp, but Coleman had painted himself into a corner with his ultimatum. I wasn't there, so I don't know for sure, but if the account I am passing along is anywhere close to correct, it hardly amounts to ex-CLK running Coleman off. I will say that it would have been interesting to see how Coleman would have stacked up against Simms, but we will never know now.
VolsMan4Life writes:
Yeah blue would be awesome. Then we would look almost like the gators with orange and blue....why don't you people ShutTheFckUp and support the team instead of critizing every fncking little detail!!!!
navarrebeachvol writes:
nice :-)
OwensboroVol writes:
There was a Volunteer player who made a hit on the Florida player who shrugged off the Vol and kept running. It looked like the Florida Player was only about 2 yards up field when he was hit. I had a very bad angle on the play and was wondering if anyone with a better angle can tell me if it would have been a first down if the Tennessee Player had stopped him in his tracks. Anyone who could answer this would be greatly appreciated. I'm currently in an heated argument with a Florida Alumni over the play. Really, I would sincerely appreciate anyone who could give me an honest answer.
Thanks!!An honest answer would be appreciated by my friend as well. He may be a gator, but he is one hell of a friend.
Thanks
Lizardgrad89 writes:
These posts would make sense if UT didn't have just as many problems and arrests as UF.
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