With less than two minutes left to play and the Gators down 27-21 against Tennessee, UF quarterback Will Grier dropped back to pass on 4th-and-14.
Knowing the game was on the line and a 10-year win streak against the Volunteers at stake, Grier fired a pass to freshman Antonio Callaway, who caught it and turned up field.
The wide receiver darted towards the sideline and towards the end zone, eluding would-be-tacklers. And by the end of his 63-yard run, Callaway was in the end zone celebrating as Florida took a 28-27 lead with 1:26 left in the game.
Tennessee had the final opportunity to win the game as Aaron Medley lined up to take a 55-yard field goal with three seconds left. Medley’s kick had the distance, but it ended up wide right and the Gators (4-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) completed their comeback from 13 points down and extended their win streak over the Volunteers to 11 games.
“That was a lot of fun and something special,” UF coach Jim McElwain said. “Our guys didn’t panic and that was good to see. They played their hearts out for the Gators.”
Callaway was a huge playmaker for the Gators, finishing the game with five catches, 112 yards and the game-winning touchdown. He also added 30 yards on five punt returns.
“I like him a whole bunch and I’m so glad that he’s a Gator,” McElwain said of Callaway. “We knew there was something special in this kid when we were recruiting him and I think he has proven that. I don’t think he’s scratched the surface and he is still learning how to play.”
Grier struggled mightily through the first three quarters. But the redshirt freshman was able to step up when it mattered most, putting together two drives that solidified UF’s comeback.
A critical part of Florida’s success in the game was the team’s ability to come through in the clutch. The Gators were 5-of-5 on fourth down against the Volunteers and are now 10-for-10 on the season.
“I think football is a game where you’ve got to battle. You deal with adversity and you’ve got to respond,” Grier said. “We fought until the end and that’s what you’ve got to do to win games like that.”
Grier finished the game going 23-of-42 for 283 yards and two touchdowns and an interception.
Joshua Dobbs led Tennessee (2-2, 0-1 SEC), who emptied out the playbook in the first half. The Volunteers caught Florida’s defense napping in the middle of the first quarter they were able to pull off a trick play — a double pass — with Dobbs finding wide receiver Jauan Jennings who ended up throwing back to Dobbs for a 58-yard touchdown.
The Volunteers delved deep in their playbook again on a 4th-and-2 two drives later. Dobbs handed the ball off to running back Alvin Kamara who proceeded to throw a jump pass to Ethan Wolf for 24 yards. Running back Jalen Hurd finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to put Tennessee up 14-7.
UT had all the momentum in the game from that point as they went into the half with a 17-7 lead. Tennessee would extend its lead to 27-14 with more than 10 minutes remaining in the game after Hurd scored on a 10-yard rush.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones was then faced with a decision: Kick the extra point or go for two and make it a 14 point game. UT’s third-year coach decided to go with the former, rather than the latter.
“We just felt at that stage in the game that we had great confidence in our defense of getting off the ball and allowing them to push the ball down the field so we felt very comfortable with the decision,” Jones said.
Dobbs finished the game as Tennessee’s leading passer (83 yards), rusher (136 yards) and receiver (58 yards).
But his performance, along with Hurd — 102 yards rushing and two touchdowns — and three sacks and six tackles for loss for the defense wasn’t enough for the Volunteers.
They allowed Florida to storm back in the final minutes of the game and their offense got complacent as the Gators’ defense coming forcing a three-and-out that set up Callaway’s score.
McElwain said that the players on his team felt they couldn’t drop the game against the Volunteers and that it was a factor for them coming back and winning the game.
“You don’t lose to Tennessee and they didn’t. I don’t know if we deserved it or not, but I sure like it this way than the other way,” McElwain said. “It was pretty cool, wasn’t it?”
Follow Luis Torres on Twitter @LFTorresIII
UF wide receiver Antonio Callaway runs into the end zone for a touchdown during Florida's 28-27 win against Tennessee on Sept. 26, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
It started with a last-second, game-winning touchdown against Tennessee. It finished with so much more. Freshman wide receiver Antonio Callaway instantly became one of Florida's most dynamic and reliable playmakers. Here's two pieces from Luis Torres on Callaway. First, the recap from the Tennessee game (http://www.alligator.org/sports/football/article_8c6fd868-64c2-11e5-9b0b-534c41fed138.html); second, a midseason column on Callaway's performance (http://www.alligator.org/sports/columns/article_62ab9aae-77a9-11e5-9823-5b51e9aee96a.html)
