As Florida's defense jogged onto the field clutching to a 23-13 lead with 6:01 remaining in the fourth quarter against rival Tennessee, All-America linebacker Brandon Spikes watched from the sideline.
Spikes developed tendinitis in his Achilles during practice this week and was unable to play the entire game Saturday.
The middle linebacker played the majority of the first half, but the pain was too great to keep him on the field full time, as he rotated in and out for much of the second half.
"I saw Spikes on the sideline with his shoes off and I went up to (defensive coordinator Charlie Strong) and I said, 'What's going on?'" safety Ahmad Black said. "'Why isn't our playmaker in the game?' He's hurt. I was like, 'Aw nah, he can't be.'"
With Spikes at less than 100 percent, Tennessee was able to run the ball effectively with senior Montario Hardesty, who racked up 96 yards on 20 carries and scored the first touchdown UF's defense has allowed all season.
Florida coach Urban Meyer said he felt the defensive line did a good job controlling the line of scrimmage, but when the Tennessee running backs were met in the hole, the Gators missed too many tackles.
Senior outside linebacker Ryan Stamper, who moved inside with Spikes sidelined, didn't blame UF's tackling woes on Spikes' injury.
Stamper led the team with 12 tackles - three of them for a loss - and recorded a sack and a forced fumble.
"We feel like the defense needs to be good enough to step up," Stamper said. "Spikes is the leader, he's a great player, but we feel like with the players we have on the defense we should be able to get it done."
The Gators' offense failed to get it done for most of the game, looking out of sync on its way to scoring just 23 points, UF's lowest output since losing to Auburn 20-17 at home on Sept. 29, 2007.
As a result, UF leaned on its Spikes-less defense, which responded by allowing Tennessee just 210 total yards of offense.
The secondary completely shut down the Volunteers' passing game, holding UT quarterback Jonathan Crompton to 93 yards on 11-of-19 passing.
Cornerback Joe Haden and safety Ahmad Black picked off Crompton, extending the Gators' streak to 15 consecutive games with an interception.
