Tennessee football erased a 21-0 deficit to defeat the Florida Gators 38-28 Saturday. Here is a look the turning point in the Volunteers’ victory.
What a way to end the streak! Down 21-0 in the first half, most Tennessee football fans likely wanted to quit on the Vols.
And after trailing 21-3 at halftime, the nail in the coffin appeared to be the interception that Joshua Dobbs threw in the opening drive of the second half.
But it wasn’t.
After that, the Tennessee football offense reeled off five straight touchdown drives and snatched the game from the jaws of those Gators.
But despite four touchdowns passes from Dobbs and another touchdown run, the turning point of the game was not on offense.
It was a crucial defensive stand.
After struggling to stop the Gators the entire first half, Bob Shoop once again made huge adjustments.
And when Florida took control after Dobbs’s second interception while up 21-3 at the beginning of the third quarter, Tennessee appeared done.
But The defense made a huge stand.
Backed up on their own 10 yard line, Florida got a seven-yard run on 2nd-and-8. They pushed it to 3rd and 1. All they needed was another run to keep the drive going.
But the defense set the tone for the entire second half here. After getting torched in the first half, the defensive line got a huge push and stuffed Jordan Scarlett for no gain on a running play.
That put a completely different bounce in the Tennessee team, and the offense finally took advantage of the defensive stand and good field position.
Dobbs hit Jalen Hurd for the team’s first touchdown of the game after that.
The offensive plays were nice But that defensive stand was what changed the complexion of the game.