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Tennessee football: 5 takeaways from Vols 26-20 loss to Florida

By Caleb Calhoun

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Quinten Dormady #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers lthrows the football in the first half of their game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: Quinten Dormady #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers lthrows the football in the first half of their game against the Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee football lost another heartbreaker to the Florida Gators after a Hail Mary. Here are five takeaways from the Volunteers’ loss.

They may have broken the curse against Florida, but Tennessee football is still cursed in Gainesville. Or maybe there are just really incompetent people running the program.

We’ll get to that in a minute. But after fighting back from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter to tie the game up late, Feleipe Franks hit Tyrie Cleveland for a 63-yard Hail Mary touchdown to give the Gators another victory over the Vols.

With the win, Florida moves to 1-1 on the year and 1-0 in the SEC while the Vols fall to 2-1 and 0-1 in the SEC. Here are five takeaways from their loss.

1. Shades of deja vu

And this one is not just against Florida. Last year, Tennessee football allowed a Hail Mary against the Georgia Bulldogs to almost lose. Then they scored on a Hail Mary of their own. But yes, Florida is part of it. Because the last time they played in The Swamp, the Vols allowed the Gators to convert five fourth downs, including a fourth and 14 to win the game. And part of the reason for the deja vu leads us to our next point.

2. Coaching was absolutely pathetic.

This might be the worst coaching game in the history of Tennessee football, and that includes the horrific coaching by Butch Jones two years ago. That Hail Mary was bad enough after Bob Shoop had called a decent game. But remember, the Vols got inside the one-yard line on one drive and attempted to throw it three times before throwing a pick on the final pass. Then, they called a play action on third and one inside the red zone the next drive. And finally, with a chance to win the game late inside the 10-yard line, they threw it three times again. This all came with the one specific guy on the Vols we have to name.

3. John Kelly is still a beast.

The worst part about the Tennessee football coaching decisions was that it wasted one of the most historic performances ever by John Kelly. The junior running back ran for 141 yards and a touchdown while catching six passes for 96 yards. He was one bright spot for the Vols and deserves a ton of respect.

4.Quinten Dormady struggled, but he shouldn’t be benched yet.

Yes, Tennessee football quarterback Quinten Dormady threw three interceptions. But he was going up against an elite Florida secondary and still nearly helped to lead the Vols back in the end. The coaching is what cost the Vols this game, pure and simple, and while Dormady struggled with his stat line, he put the Vols in position to score 30 points. That’s enough to beat this terrible Florida offense.

5. Defense has playmakers but remains inconsistent. 

The Tennessee football defense could feasibly take solace in the fact that they have playmakers. Rashaan Gaulden played well, Emmanuel Moseley did an amazing job shutting down his side of the field, and Darrell Taylor was a playmaker. Also, Justin Martin forced an impressive fumble. However, the Vols were playing arguably the worst offense in the SEC. And they allowed the late Hail Mary along with a touchdown drive earlier. In fact, the defense still gave up a legitimate 19 points to this horrific offense. So it was far too inconsistent.

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