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It was not the Tennessee Volunteers’ night on Saturday.
The No. 11 Volunteers traveled to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators and were quickly humbled, falling 29-16.
theScore @theScore
The Gators hand the Vols their first L of the season. 😤🐊 pic.twitter.com/3sUNwCtXgN
Jackson Reyes @JacksnReyes
FINAL:
The Florida #Gators (2-1, 1-0 SEC) pull off the upset against the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers (2-1, 0-1 SEC) 29-16.
This is UF head coach Billy Napier’s first win against one of the Gators’ rivals. @alligatorSports
The loss follows a 2-0 start for the Volunteers that had the team looking like they could make some noise deeper into the season.
Tennessee had hung 49 points on Virginia in Week 1 and 30 points on Austin Peay in Week 2, so mustering only 16 was a huge blemish for the offense. Statistically, it didn’t look as bad, considering the Volunteers produced 388 total yards, but much of this came in the late stages of the contest, so it could be considered a bloated number,
Joe Milton III went 20-for-34 for 287 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Meanwhile, Jaylen Wright led the day on the ground with 16 carries for 63 yards, and wide receiver Bru McCoy had five catches for 94 yards and a touchdown.
Still, this was not enough to deliver any knockout punches, and Tennessee will leave Gainesville without beating Florida at home since 2003.
Fans on social media did not hold back on Tennessee, criticizing the team for a sluggish offensive performance against a Gators team that was ripe for the taking.
Jacob Wolf @JacobWolf
The Tennessee Volunteers: pic.twitter.com/70VsoCSdQv
uga natty collection agency @Kingravi101
Oh Tennessee #volunteers, guess Josh Heupel isn’t Kirby Smart 😂😂
Big Osc @bosbbn
Josh Huepel and the Tennessee Volunteers pic.twitter.com/xO2U9aDocv
Amateur Sports Takes @AmateurFBTakes
Maybe Joe Milton does lose in Florida 😪#Tennessee #Volunteers
Justin Hawkins @Jhawkins_20
Yikes. #Vols just can’t win in Gainesville… Tennessee going to have to relook at this offense… https://t.co/gctbHC369c
The Volunteers will need to rebound quickly in order to remain competitive in SEC play. First, they will turn their attention to a Group of Five opponent in UTSA next weekend.
Following that, Tennessee will dive back into SEC play with South Carolina, Texas A&M and Alabama in order.
