Vols’ 2014 Season In Review

Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Florida Gators running back Matt Jones (24) runs the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Florida won 10 to 9 Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Worst Moment Of The Season — The Loss To Florida

For the 10th season in a row, the Volunteers lost to the Florida Gators.

But 2014’s loss might’ve been the hardest of them all for Vol fans.

That’s because 2014 looked like the year that Tennessee would finally end the streak against Florida. Everything lined up just perfect.

The Vols, even though they were coming off a loss against Georgia, were playing well and were actually favored against the Gators.

Tennessee led much of the game, but they were unable to convert red-zone chances into touchdowns, instead having to settle for field goals.

Those missed opportunities are ultimately what doomed the Vols.

Tennessee took a 9-0 lead into the fourth quarter, but a touchdown and late field goal put the Gators ahead.

The Vols looked like they had a chance to go down the field an win the game. For a moment, I thought that’s exactly what they were going to do.

Everything just felt right for the Vols in that moment. The stadium was electric.

With under two minutes to go, the Vols just needed to get into field goal range to have a chance at victory.

When Justin Worley completed a pass to Pig Howard on fourth down to keep the Vols alive, I was certain Tennessee would win.

But that’s not how it played out. Worley was intercepted on the very next play and that was all she wrote for the Vols.

I was on the field for Tennessee’s final drive of the day and I’ve never heard anything quite like what I heard that day. When Worley completed the fourth down pass to Howard, the stadium was deafening. It was as loud as I’ve ever heard a football game. Just moments later, after Worley was intercepted, you could’ve heard a pin drop.

Never have I seen such dejection from players, fans and coaches. It was certainly a tough loss for the Vols and there’s no other on-the-field moment that even comes close to what happened to Tennessee on October 4.