3 takeaways from Florida football's embarrassment at home vs Tennessee

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Florida football’s matchup with Tennessee was never just another game on the schedule. Rivalry games in the Swamp hit differently, and this one carried an extra layer of emotion.

At least that’s what we thought on paper.

Urban Meyer was being recognized for going into the Florida Gators ring of honor on the field, but that was quickly drowned out by the embarrassing display of football in the Swamp on Saturday night.

The Gators entered the night looking to pull of an upset under interim coach Billy Gonzales. Three minutes into the game, that dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

The Volunteers absolutely dismantled the Gators, winning by a score of 31-11.

In the end, Florida just didn’t have the firepower to keep pace. Here are three takeaways from the Gators’ home loss to Tennessee.

The defense bent… and bent some more

Tennessee scored a touchdown on a nine-play, 75-yard opening drive that lasted just 3:33, and right there, you could just tell that this game was going to get out of hand. And especially with a banged up Florida defense. Quite honestly, Tennessee’s offense was just too much for the Gators to handle. Plain and simple.

Coming into this game, everyone knew Tennessee had one of, if not, the fastest offensive tempo in college football and they will put up points in a hurry if the opposing defense lets them. They turned this into a track meet and that was the one thing Florida needed to prevent. By the end of it, the Gators were completely gassed and it didn’t help that Florida’s offense wasn’t able to keep drives alive.

The Volunteers had 452 yards of offense that included 248 rushing and 204 through the air. Tennessee also averaged 6.2 yards per play, went 9-for-13 on third downs and had 73 total plays compared to Florida’s 47.

Offense was like watching paint dry

DJ Lagway was sacked on the Gators’ very first play of the game. That pretty much summed up how the night was going to play out for the Orange and Blue.

Florida had just 261 yards of offense, with 15 first downs compared to Tennessee’s 28.

Lagway was 11-for-17 passing with 116 yards and a touchdown. I mean, those numbers don’t jump out at you and you’d think that there’d be some sort of showing in a rivalry that means so much. Historically, at least.

Jadan Baugh showed some flashes including a 42-yard catch-and-run that included a juke move or two. But, the theme of the year has been: one step forward, two steps back. The big play for the Florida running back was negated due to a holding penalty and the Gators were forced to punt on that drive.

Baugh, like most nights, was one of the few bright spots on Florida’s offense. He had 18 carries for 96 yards. Baugh also had a 33-yard reception to score Florida’s one and only touchdown of the game.

I knew Florida was going to be crawling towards the end of the season, but I didn’t think it was going to be this bad.

Give credit to Gator Nation for continuing to show up

Florida’s season has been over for months. But trust me, that won’t stop Gator Nation from showing up to the Swamp and supporting their team no matter how turbulent a season has been. It was a sellout at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with 90,465 fans in attendance to watch a 3-7 team battle it out with one of their biggest rivals.

Fans started to slowly trickle out of the stadium by halftime, but who can blame them? Who would want to watch their team get dismantled on their home turf? It’s just torture at this point.

But at least some fans were able to make the game fun.

In the second half, the students decided to create their own form of entertainment by creating a big section at the top of the bleachers. They took their shirts off, waved them in the air and chanted, “It’s great to be a Florida Gator!”

Again, major props to Florida fans for showing up to every game even though the season’s been one to forget.

Up next for Florida

We’ve got another rivalry game next week and this is the last game on the schedule for the Gators this season. The Florida State Seminoles head into the Swamp on Saturday, Nov. 29 for Florida’s final clash in 2025. That game will kick off at either 3:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2.

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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: 3 takeaways from Florida football’s embarrassment at home vs Tennessee

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