Florida fans will have fond memories of Saturday’s win against Tennessee.
A 13-point fourth quarter comeback breathed life into The Swamp and the more than 90,000 who inhabited it.
Antonio Callaway’s breakaway catch-and-run will be remembered for years to come.
The 11-game win-streak against a Southeastern Conference rival lives on.
But the hype shouldn’t.
Outside of those final 10 minutes, Tennessee simply manhandled Florida, and the early mistakes will cost the Gators if it happens against a top-five team in Ole Miss this weekend.
"I don’t know if we deserved it or not," coach Jim McElwain said, "but I sure like it this way than the other way."
But the wins won’t keep sliding in Florida’s favor if the slow starts continue to mount on both sides of the ball.
After taking a 7-0 lead five minutes into the first quarter, the Gators punted on five of their next seven drives — the two drives that did not end in punts were an interception and one play before the half.
Trick plays threw the Gators for a loop and had coach Jim McElwain joking about adding them to his playbook.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd trampled UF’s defense on the ground, with the two combining for 238 rushing yards — 72 more rushing yards than UF’s first three opponents combined.
Missed tackles magnified the erraticness of Florida’s defense.
"We either hit them really hard, or we miss," safety Keanu Neal said.
And while Neal — who had a team-best 14 tackles — hit the Volunteers often, the rest of Florida’s defense was far off the mark too many times.
"Defensively, we didn’t play as well as we should have. We played terribly," Neal said.
If the Gators are truly able to play an entire game like they did in the final 10 minutes against Tennessee, then The Swamp will once again become a place opponents should fear.
But until they show that, Saturday’s game was just a lucky break.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
UF defensive back Deiondre Porter misses a tackle on Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs during Florida's 28-27 win on Sept. 26, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
