Tennessee fell to the Florida Gators in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday. A game-winning touchdown pass from Feleipe Franks to Tyrie Cleveland spanned more than half the field as the clock expired.
Here are my grades from this year’s installment of the historic rivalry.
Quarterback:
After a week of narratives concerning Dormady’s first career start against the Gators, the junior signal caller struggled against the Florida defense. Dormady completed 21 of 39 passes for 259 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. He was hurried by Florida’s pass rushers throughout the contest, doing a decent job of escaping the pressure, but the Vols can’t expect to win games in this series when their quarterback throws multiple picks.
Grade: D+
Running Back:
John Kelly did everything he could for the Vols on Saturday. The junior scored one touchdown and led the team in rushing (141 yards) and receiving (96 yards). He fought throughout the contest with hard and elusive running. Kelly likely would have notched another score if the Vols had given him the ball at Florida’s goal line instead of throwing multiple passes.
Grade: A
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
Eight players caught at least one pass for the Vols against Florida. None of the wide receivers or tight ends recorded a significant number of yards. Marquez Callaway notched 46 yards on three receptions, but Tennessee’s other receivers struggled to gain yardage. Tight end Ethan Wolf had 37 yards on three receptions with one touchdown.
Grade: B-
Offensive Line:
Despite just giving up one sack to the Gators, Tennessee’s offensive line felt the pressure of Florida’s defensive front. Dormady was evading defenders through most of the game. The Vols likely wouldn’t have had nearly as many rushing yards if John Kelly were not so elusive, as the Gators stuffed multiple runs at the line of scrimmage.
Grade: C+
Defensive Line:
The Vols notched two sacks on Franks and defensive end Jonathan Kongbo recorded seven total tackles. After sitting through most of the first two games due to injury, defensive tackle Shy Tuttle made his presence known by making three tackles. Fellow interior lineman Kahlil Mckenzie also notched three tackles.
Grade: B
Linebackers:
Tennessee’s linebacking corps held their ground through most of the game, not allowing Florida to create much offensive momentum. But the Gators did rush for 168 total yards on Saturday, and there weren’t many big plays from the Vols’ linebackers. Quart’e Sapp led Tennessee’s linebackers with seven total tackles.
Grade: B
Defensive Backs:
The most obvious way to grade Tennessee’s secondary would be to judge them on that game-winning touchdown pass, but that wouldn’t tell the entire story. Two defensive backs (Rashaan Gaulden, Micah Abernathy) led the Vols in tackling and Gaulden also notched an interception. Justin Martin forced a fumble from a Florida player that resulted in a touchback and a possession for Tennessee. Despite this, that final touchdown the Vols allowed can’t be so easily ignored.
Grade: C
Special Teams:
One of the key storylines of Saturday’s game was the multiple missed field goals. Freshman Brent Cimaglia hit from 51 yards out on his first collegiate attempt, but then proceeded to miss two kicks. Senior Aaron Medley went 1-for-2 on his tries. While Tennessee’s kickers had not attempted any field goals this season before Saturday, missed kicks just don’t win games.
Grade: D-
Coaching:
Tennessee’s lack of defensive coverage during the game’s final play has been questioned by numerous sources. The offense produced just three points during the first three quarters of Saturday’s game, mostly due to ineffective screen passes and a possession in which Tennessee threw four passes at the opponent’s goal line instead of handing the ball to power back Kelly. Jones does deserve credit, however, for trusting Cimaglia with a 51-yard attempt, which he nailed (although he missed his next two kicks). Bob Shoop’s defense seemed to improve before the final touchdown was given up.
Grade: C
