Injuries, overtime, clutch plays and chaos abound. What many fans and analysts alike expected to be a lopsided matchup between the Florida Gators and the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers turned into a cutthroat contest that came down to the wire. In the end, however, UF ran out of gas in perhaps its most grueling effort of the 2024 campaign.
Florida head coach Billy Napier was seemingly emotional and made it clear in his post-game remarks that the Gators left everything they had on the field.
“I have a ton of respect for the young men in that locker room and the way they competed in that game,” Napier said. “They were prepared and in the right frame of mind, and attacked it. They played extremely hard, played with passion… Yeah, what a game.”
Following a tightly contested back-and-forth against the Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 SEC) on a cool Saturday in Knoxville, the Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) endured a 23-17 overtime loss at Neyland Stadium to fall to .500 on the season.
The first half of the contest proved to be a defensive slugfest, with UF carrying a narrow 3-0 lead into halftime. Nevertheless, the Volunteers found their rhythm by scoring 17 unanswered points in the second half to take a seven-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
The Gators suffered numerous costly injuries against the Vols, with senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. and redshirt senior quarterback Graham Mertz going down with a pair of lower body injuries within five plays of each other in the third quarter. Mertz later appeared on the sideline out of uniform and sporting crutches, while Johnson Jr. also remained sidelined for the remainder of the game.
“[Mertz] does have an injury, a lower body injury,” Napier said. “It was significant enough that he couldn’t complete the game. I think that Montrell Johnson was in that category as well, that he couldn’t return.”
Defensively, Florida picked up right where it left off following an impressive performance against UCF in Week 6. On their opening drive, the Volunteers managed to drive all the way down to UF’s 24-yard line before UT redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava coughed up a costly fumble.
Despite early offensive stagnance, Mertz kept the Gators afloat later in the first quarter with a pair of third-down conversions on the ground. Eventually, freshman running back Jadan Baugh was stuffed for a loss of yards on 3rd-and-1, forcing Florida to settle for a 42-yard field goal. Junior kicker Trey Smack sent the ball through the uprights, giving the Gators their first lead at 3-0 with 3:15 to go in the first quarter.
Tennessee came right back firing away on offense, as Iamaleava picked up a pair of first downs via two deep-ball completions for a combined 35 yards. Not to be outdone, Florida’s defense stopped the Volunteers right in their tracks and backed them out of field goal range with three consecutive sacks.
“It was great for us to see the improvement from week to week,” UF junior linebacker Shemar James said. “It starts in practice, running against the offense each and every day. They get us better, so it’s great to see the product get put on the field.”
On the following, the Gators opted to go for it on fourth down in Tennessee territory. Florida dialed up a questionable jet sweep to sophomore wide receiver Eugene Wilson III, who was stuffed at the line of scrimmage for a turnover on downs.
Mertz opened Florida’s next drive with a dot to redshirt sophomore tight end Hayden Hansen for a 17-yard gain that went for a first down. Two plays later, Johnson Jr. broke through the Volunteers defense for a 23-yard burst to flip the field. Mertz immediately followed suit with an 18-yard strike to Elijhah Badger to enter the red zone.
Johnson Jr. went on to tally a pair of carries for 19 yards to put Florida at the 1-yard line. Nevertheless, chaos ensued for the Gators. Just inches away from the goal line, Mertz was stripped by Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. and fumbled the ball, turning it back over to the Volunteers.
Just as fast as they lost their momentum, the Gators got it right back with a timely turnover. With less than two minutes left in the first half, sophomore defensive back Sharif Denson cut off an Iamaleava deep ball for his first interception of the season.
Nevertheless, Florida once again was unable to put any points on the board in the waning moments of the second quarter. While a good 43-yard field goal from Smack initially would have increased Florida’s lead to 6-0, the score was quickly waved off after UF was hit with an illegal substitution penalty for having 12 men on the field. The penalty came with a 10-second run-off, eliminating any chance of a second-chance field goal for Smack and the Gators.
Mertz opened up Florida’s second drive of the second half with back-to-back first down completions to Hansen and Dike. Johnson Jr. followed up with a 20-yard carry, but was injured on the play and did not return for the remainder of the game.
With his starting running back now sidelined, Mertz kept the Gators’ offense rolling. Late in the drive, the veteran signal caller broke out for a 15-yard third-down scramble to keep UF’s drive alive. Two plays later, Mertz found tight end Arlis Boardingham running down the left sideline for a 13-yard touchdown to increase Florida’s lead to 10-0 with 7:18 left in the third quarter.
The celebrations, however, proved to be short-lived, as Mertz had sustained an injury of his own on the play. As he limped off the field in pain, all signs pointed towards Florida’s sixth-year signal caller remaining sidelined for the remainder of the matchup and was spotted in a boot and crutches shortly after.
“[The injury was] obviously tough,” Dike said. “Graham is our leader. He’s had a lot of experience, and he’s a big part of our team.”
Meanwhile, Florida’s newfound two-score lead did not last long. Iamaleava completed a pair of deep balls to redshirt sophomore wideout Chas Nimrod and redshirt sophomore Chris Brazzell II to put the Volunteers right back within striking distance.
From there, junior running back Dylan Sampson took over, touching the ball on five-straight plays before taking it into the end zone on a six-yard fourth-down run to cut Florida’s lead to 10-7 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
Lagway took back to the field looking to put the Gators back in the driver’s seat. Instead, the true freshman threw an interception directly into the hands of UT sophomore linebacker Arion Carter, who took the ball down to UF’s 20-yard line.
Redshirt freshman kicker Max Gilbert went on to nail a 35-yard field goal to even things up at 10-10. In less than six minutes, Florida had gone from a double-digit lead to a tie ball game.
Things only got worse for the Gators from there. Facing a 4th-and-2 in Tennessee territory, Lagway could not connect with Wilson III on an incomplete short pass to force a turnover on downs.
The Volunteers went on to receive excellent field position later in the fourth quarter, with sophomore return man Jermod McCoy taking it back for 17 yards to put UT on the UF 29-yard line. From there, it only took Tennessee two plays to score, with Sampson bobbing and weaving through the Florida defensive front for a 23-yard rushing touchdown. The Vols led 17-10 with 9:42 left in the fourth quarter.
Even with the clock, and a stadium of over 100,000 fans against them, the Gators refused to go down without a fight. With less than three minutes in the fourth quarter, Dike returned a punt for 27 yards to put UF right back in Tennessee territory.
Redshirt junior running back Ja’Kobi Jackson opened up Florida’s final drive in regulation with a 13-yard gain to immediately move UF into the red zone.
Staring down a 3rd-and-19 with 34 seconds left in the game, Lagway stepped up in the pocket and delivered a clutch game-tying touchdown throw to Dike, who beat out a pair of Tennessee defenders in the end zone for the score.
“One of the things about DJ that I respect is that as a competitor, he has this unique ability to raise his level of play at critical moments,” Napier said. “For a rookie to go play on the road, in that environment, to step up in a big time, a big moment, he’s got that in his DNA. There’s a bright future ahead for him.”
With the flick of Lagway’s wrist and an impressive snag by Dike, Florida had gone from dead in the water to alive and well at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee gave Florida’s defense one final scare in regulation. Iamaleava found junior wide receiver Squirrel White on a 12-yard pass, putting the Volunteers at their own 38-yard line. On the very next play, Iamaleava hit Nimrod in stride on a wide open slant route that would have likely put UT in field goal range to potentially end the game.
Instead, Nimrod dropped the pass, drawing shocked screams and groans from across the stands at Rocky Top. From there, Tennessee’s offense fizzled out in the waning moments of regulation; the Gators and Volunteers were going to overtime.
Heading into overtime, Florida opened the period with a false start penalty called on redshirt junior center Jake Slaughter. From there, the Gators were forced to kick a 47-yard field goal. Smack’s subsequent kick narrowly missed the right upright, leaving Florida scoreless on its first possession of overtime.
From there, UT senior wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. caught an eight-yard pass to put the Vols on the goal line before Sampson ended the game with a 1-yard touchdown run up the middle. As fireworks lined the sky of Neyland Stadium and the Volunteers faithful in attendance roared in approval, the Gators’ upset bid had officially been crushed. Tennessee had survived to hold on to a 23-17 overtime victory.
Florida will return to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Saturday to host Kentucky. Kick off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. Despite the narrow loss and several key players banged up, however, Napier remains as confident as ever in his squad.
“Obviously, this will be a challenge here,” Napier said. “We will have an opportunity to respond, and we’ll play football next week.”
Contact Jack Meyer at jmeyer@alligator.org. Follow him on X @jackmeyerUF.
Jack Meyer is a fourth-year journalism major and the Assistant Sports Editor for The Alligator. In his free time, he enjoys reviewing music, spending time with friends, playing video games and going to the gym.
