KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With the Gators down a touchdown and looking for a spark, coach Will Muschamp outsmarted himself and put his team in a bind.
Then Trey Burton came to the rescue.
After the defense forced a three-and-out following a failed fake punt at its own 45, Florida started the next drive with Trey Burton under center and quarterback Jeff Driskel lined up at wide receiver.
Speed took over the game for Florida.
“Very resilient for our kids,” Muschamp said. “They overcome our coaching a lot and I think in that situation they certainly did. That was a huge turning point.”
Burton took the direct snap and beat the Volunteers defense to the outside. A stiff-arm down the field freed the junior for a career-long 80-yard touchdown run.
“I knew he was fast. I didn’t know he had that kind of speed,” Driskel said.
“I tried to catch him, just in case. I was running from the other sideline, but I couldn’t quite get there. That was awesome. That was a huge play for us.”
Until that point, Florida had allowed 319 yards of offense, including a 12 play, 81-yard touchdown drive that put Tennessee ahead 20-13.
On the next UT possession following Burton’s touchdown, Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray pressured quarterback Tyler Bray into an interception to safety Matt Elam.
Florida responded with 17 unanswered points.
The Volunteers had not learned from the first time Burton ran the read-option.
Burton went untouched for a 14-yard touchdown in the first quarter for Florida’s first touchdown.
“It was a shock,” Volunteers coach Derek Dooley said. “Nobody recognized it. We weren’t able to route. It was just a bad play. I don’t know what else to say.”
Tennessee linebacker Herman Lathers added: “It’s more of the outside guys and the safeties. It just didn’t fit right. We didn’t get to all of the checks that we needed to go to. It was just mistakes.”
Whatever the problem, Tennessee didn’t have an answer for Burton, who finished with three carries for 91 yards and two touchdowns. He added 38 receiving yards.
“We felt like we had the counter on the backside and it was blocked beautifully,” Muschamp said.
“They overpursued the speed sweep. Trey cut it back outside and outran them.”
Team effort with rushing attack: In front of 102,455 fans and a Volunteers defense expecting the run, the Gators were without their top offensive weapon.
Mike Gillislee was standing on the sidelines with his helmet at his side.
Florida lost 3 yards on its first drive on a busted end-around by Andre Debose and runs by freshman Matt Jones and quarterback Jeff Driskel.
After sitting out the first drive for undisclosed reasons, Gillislee struggled throughout the first half, gaining 14 yards on eight carries.
He sustained a groin injury in the fourth quarter last week against Texas A&M but grew stronger as the game progressed in Neyland Stadium.
The senior and top rusher in the Southeastern Conference piled up 115 yards on 18 attempts.
Florida averaged 9.7 yards per rush in the second half and finished with 336 rushing yards — its highest tally against Tennessee since 1977.
The zone rushing attack caused Tennessee problems in the second half.
Six Florida rush attempts in the second half went 10 yards or more.
“I’m not surprised,” Lathers said. “Florida is a good football team. They work on it at practice. We just didn’t hit the right spots at the right time and they gashed us.”
Gators without Green: Florida set season highs for passing and rushing while missing its starting right tackle.
The coaching staff ruled sophomore Chaz Green out with an ankle injury.
“Chaz Green had a bad ankle,” Muschamp said. “Not really sure what he’d be able to do.”
Green dealt with cramps last week in College Station, Texas.
Junior guard Kyle Koehne started for Green at right tackle.
Florida’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack to the Volunteers after giving up eight against the Aggies.
“Hats off to Kyle Koehne,” Muschamp said.
“Stepped up and played right tackle. He’d been an inside player his entire career at Florida. Went up there and played right tackle. He did a heck of a job against guys like (Jacques) Smith and (Curt) Maggitt who can really rush the edge.”
Florida moving on up: Following their win in Knoxville against Tennessee, the Gators moved up four spots to No. 14 in the latest AP poll. Four remaining opponents, LSU, FSU, Georgia and South Carolina, are in the top 10.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Running back Trey Burton (8) sprints to the endzone in an 80-yard scamper for UF's second touchdown in its 37-20 victory over Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
Running back Mike Gillislee (23) runs through Tennesee defenders during the Gators' 37-20 victory over Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
