Jeff Driskel’s disappointing September became a worst-case scenario for the No. 19 Gators on Saturday.
After muddling through a three-turnover performance in a loss to Miami on Sept. 7, Driskel suffered a season-ending fractured right fibula during the first quarter of Florida’s (2-1) 31-17 victory against Tennessee (2-2) in front of a crowd of 90,074 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“I hurt for him, and I hurt for us right now,” coach Will Muschamp said. “It’s going to hurt us. He’s a guy that’s won a lot of ballgames here, and it’s disappointing for him right now.”
Muschamp said after the game that Driskel would have surgery Sunday.
The injury to UF’s junior signal-caller forced Tyler Murphy, a junior who had not thrown an official pass for the Gators, into the starting role.
Murphy responded better than Florida could have envisioned, completing 8 of 14 passing attempts for 134 yards and a touchdown. He added 84 rushing yards and a second touchdown on 10 carries to help the Gators beat the Volunteers for the ninth straight time dating back to 2004 — the series’ longest stretch of dominance since Tennessee won 10 consecutive matchups from 1916-1953.
“It was always in the back of my mind that I might never play,” said Murphy, who has been surpassed on the depth chart by Driskel, Jacoby Brissett, John Brantley, Jordan Reed and Trey Burton during his career at Florida.
“I just kept working hard and kept fighting and kept faith in myself and kept praying for an opportunity. It wasn’t the way I wanted, but an opportunity is an opportunity.”
Murphy was given a chance after Driskel was knocked out of the game with 9:23 remaining in the first quarter.
Playing with a brace on his left leg after spraining his knee during a 21-16 loss to Miami, Driskel forced a pass into coverage on third and 3 during UF’s second possession that was intercepted by Tennessee’s Devaun Swafford and returned 62 yards for a touchdown.
After releasing the pass, Driskel was pulled awkwardly to the turf by Tennessee’s Marlon Walls, who rolled over the quarterback’s right foot. Driskel immediately signaled to Florida’s training staff for help and spent time being looked at on the sideline before using a pair of crutches to get to the locker room.
Muschamp did not learn the extent of Driskel’s injury until halftime but knew upon watching him ask for assistance that the Gators could be without their starter for an extended period of time.
“When he looked at the sideline and waved, I knew it was not good,” Muschamp said. “I’m disappointed for Jeff because he’s worked extremely hard for this season.
“One man’s misfortunes are another man’s opportunity, and Tyler Murphy certainly took advantage of his opportunity.”
Trailing 7-0, Murphy orchestrated a scoring drive on his second possession, which ended with a 23-yard field goal by Austin Hardin to cut the Gators’ deficit to 7-3. On Florida’s next drive, Murphy connected with Solomon Patton on a swing pass that turned into a 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown to give UF its first lead of the game.
“It’s tough for any team to lose your starting quarterback,” Patton said. “Jeff was doing a great job until he got hurt, and Murphy stepped up big time.”
The touchdown reception was Patton’s second of the season. The senior has spearheaded a productive Florida receiving corps that lost three of its top four pass-catchers from 2012.
“I’m pretty sure we were ranked the 10th wide receiver core in the Southeastern Conference,” Burton said. “We took that to heart. We didn’t believe that. We thought we were a lot better than that, and we are trying to prove that.”
Touchdown runs by Mack Brown and Matt Jones sandwiched a made field goal by Tennessee to give Florida a 24-10 lead midway through the third quarter.
The Volunteers never got closer than two scores the rest of the way, losing to the Gators by double-digits for the seventh consecutive season.
“Losing is never accepted at Tennessee and never tolerated,” UT coach Butch Jones said. “But I’m proud of our football team. I thought they showed resiliency. They didn’t quit. They gave us an opportunity to be in the game at the end of the game, and we have to keep getting better.”
UF would have been in deeper trouble early in the game if not for the play of its defense, one of the nation’s elite units.
Punter Kyle Christy mishandled a snap on Florida’s opening possession, giving Tennessee the ball on the UF 15-yard line. But instead of UT grabbing early momentum, the Gators defense punched the Volunteers in the mouth.
On the second play of UT’s drive, Buck linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. burst through the offensive line and hammered Volunteers running back Rajion Neal. The hit dislodged the ball, and Fowler had the presence of mind to recover it.
Fowler later added a second forced fumble. Florida’s defense forced six turnovers in the game.
“That was our whole game plan coming in,” defensive tackle Dominique Easley said. “Just to get turnovers.”
Easley was involved in a humorous encounter late in the second quarter. Tennessee quarterback Nathan Peterman — who completed 4 of 11 passes for 5 yards before being pulled in favor of Justin Worley — threw the second of his two interceptions into the arms of defensive lineman Darious “Bear” Cummings at UF’s 30-yard line.
Cummings appeared to be in position to return the interception for a touchdown until Easley inadvertently tripped him from behind.
“He’s too slow; you just gotta keep running,” Easley said. “I tried to get behind and help him out, but he started slowing down and then just started blowing.
“I seen him going down, so I didn’t want him to lose the ball, so as he was falling down, I just pushed him right when he got to the ground.”
The amusing play was temporal for the Gators, who must now adjust to life without Driskel. Florida plays at Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Saturday and need a sharp defense as Murphy works his way into the full-time starting role.
“Man down, man up, that was our complete reaction,” center Jon Harrison said. “Nobody is freaked out. It’s just our mentality. You have to be ready, and that’s what coach Muschamp prepares us for.”
Follow Phillip Heilman on Twitter @phillip_heilman.
Tyler Murphy runs down the field during the victory against Tennessee. Murphy is now Florida’s starting quarterback.
Jeff Driskel kneels on the field after suffering a fractured right fibula during the first quarter of Florida’s 31-17 victory against Tennessee on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Driskel is out for the season.
Darious Cummings intercepts a pass from Volunteers quarterback Nathan Peterman during Florida’s 31-17 victory against Tennessee on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida forced six turnovers in the game.
