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Tennessee football: 5 heartbreakers Vols suffered right before facing Florida

By Caleb Calhoun

GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: The line of scrimmage is seen during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 16: The line of scrimmage is seen during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on September 16, 2017 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images /

5. 2014: Georgia beats Tennessee 35-32

Remember when Tennessee football fans still believed in Butch Jones? This was one of those times. When it came to the actual ranking of each team, nobody really was upset about this loss. The issue was how the Vols lost.

The Georgia Bulldogs were playing host to a UT team that just got blown out by the Oklahoma Sooners on the road. In Athens, ironically, Jeremy Pruitt was leading a new defense. But with a brand new offensive line and an immobile quarterback trying to run Jones’s spread, Tennessee’s offense somehow came to life.

UT took a 10-0 lead in this game, giving fans tons of hope, and Justin Worley and Jalen Hurd helped carry the Vols to over 400 yards of total offense. Georgia fought back, and in a shootout they pulled away in the second half to win 35-32.

But the heartbreak was due to the missed opportunities in this game. The Vols had an interception to get the ball on the Georgia 44-yard line in the first half while up 10-7, and they couldn’t capitalize. They then had two critical fumbles in the second half. One was after they got to the Georgia 20-yard line, and the other was on their own one-yard line, which the Dawgs recovered for a touchdown.

Simply put, Jones’s team blew this game. That’s why it was a heartbreaker. A program looking for a spark squandered a huge opportunity. The disappointment carried over to the Gators the next week as well, as the Vols blew a 9-0 lead to lose 10-9.

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