The Florida Gators humiliated the Tennessee Volunteers, and there are only a few people who can truly take the responsibility.
It would have been impossible for Tennessee’s first conference experience in 2023 to go any worse. In Gainesville, the Volunteers played the Florida Gators and lost 29–16, handily winning lunch.
After the authorities’ obviously disappointing performance, some supporters might seek to hold the officials responsible. They consistently seemed to favor the Gators by missing calls and kicking balls in the wrong direction.
However much you may want to point fingers at the referees, the Volunteers are solely responsible for the result.
Giving up 29 points on defense won’t be the end of the world in other games this season. However, Graham Mertz is by no means the finest quarterback on the schedule, and Florida isn’t among the SEC’s best offensive teams.
Tim Banks has been the defensive coordinator for three years. Every defensive outcome belongs to him, and Saturday was hardly a showpiece.
The first half of the game was lost. On four of their opening five drives, the Gators marched down the field for scores. The lone drive that failed to yield a point ended after 14 plays with a blocked field goal.
After breaking loose for a lengthy 62-yard touchdown, Trevor Etienne ran for 172 yards. Tennessee was at a loss as to how to contain him.
In the season opener against Utah, the Gators’ offense scored 11 points with the same players. It is not to argue that Tennessee should anticipate a defense as strong as Utah’s, but Vols supporters may have at least anticipated to give Florida some trouble.
The defense held Florida to just three points in the second half, which is the one encouraging thing to say about them. On a night when the Tennessee offense had even less to offer, that was too little, too late.
