Volunteers coach Butch Jones put it lightly when he said after the game that his team played the worst half of football it could play offensively.
Tennessee generated 31 yards on 25 plays of offense in the first half. For the game, the Volunteers averaged 3.9 yards a play and committed six turnovers.
Florida feasted on redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman, who completed 4-of-11 passes for five yards and two interceptions in his first career start. The defense responded to coach Will Muschamp’s challenge during the bye week for perfection after giving up two early touchdowns against Miami on Sept. 7.
“That was the whole focus to be more sound on defense, and to make sure everything we did on defense was perfect,” defensive tackle Darious “Bear” Cummings said. “Everybody came and told us how good of a defense we were, and we felt insulted because that wasn’t the best we could’ve played against Miami. We came out and I feel like we made a statement today against Tennessee.”
Cummings provided a moment of levity for No. 19 Florida (2-1, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) during a 31-17 win on Saturday. On third and 9 at the UF 27, Peterman lost his grip while throwing the football. Cummings snagged the wobbly pass and looked to score a 70-yard interception return.
Then, Dominique Easley ran into Cummings around the UT 40.
“I told them in the locker room after the game, ‘I don’t know who looks worse — me jogging on campus or Darious returning that interception,’” Muschamp said.
The interception marked Tennessee’s fourth turnover in less than a half of football. Florida did not fare much better, committing three turnovers itself, but Tennessee could never generate any consistent offense.
Dante Fowler Jr. and Michael Taylor recovered fumbles while Jabari Gorman, Brian Poole and Marcus Maye snagged interceptions in addition to Cummings. After the first 30 minutes, Tennessee had more interception yards (62) than passing yards (5).
Muschamp wasn’t happy with the 149 passing yards from Peterman’s replacement, Justin Worley. Tennessee beat Florida on wheel routes up the sideline, including safety Cody Riggs on an 18-yard touchdown pass to Pig Howard.
Yet despite the late snafu, Florida came much closer to the “perfect” defense that its coach expects. Against Miami, the defense surrendered two first-half touchdowns to quarterback Stephen Morris.
The defense to its coach on Saturday: Challenge accepted.
“With that whole bye week, he basically put us through camp again,” Easley said. “He expects perfection, so we can’t get mad at him for that.”
Added Fowler: “He challenged us a lot. Our defense, we take pride in it and take it very seriously. We came out with a very big chip on our shoulders and we wanted to play hard. We want to perfect it and do what we’re supposed to do — play fast and physical.”
Follow Adam Pincus on Twitter at @adamDpincus.
Four Gators converge to tackle Volunteers running back Rajion Neal (20) during Florida’s 31-17 victory against Tennessee on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Safety Marcus Maye intercepts a pass during Florida's 31-17 win against Tennessee on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
