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Tennessee football: Vols 5 most thrilling victories over Florida Gators

By Caleb Calhoun

19 Sep 1998: General view of fans taking down the goalposts following a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at the Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers defeated the Gators 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons /
19 Sep 1998: General view of fans taking down the goalposts following a game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at the Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers defeated the Gators 20-17. Mandatory Credit: Andy Lyons / /
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Jauan Jennings
Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images /

5. 2016: Tennessee beats Florida 38-28

The Neyland Stadium crowd was as quiet as you could be in the first half of this one. After losing 11 straight, Tennessee football looked on the verge of another loss. The Florida Gators had built a 21-0 lead over the Vols in Neyland Stadium, and UT came away with 0 points on two different drives inside the 10-yard line.

A field goal to go into halftime down 21-3 followed by an interception on the opening drive of the second half had Vols fans all but ready to quit on the game. Everybody was lulled to sleep, and this was not going to be a thriller at all.

Then a couple of things happened. For one, Jim McElwain’s incompetence showed, and he abandoned the deep ball that torched the Vols in the first half. Then, after a punt, Tennessee’s offense, which had already come to life, stopped making mistakes. After a touchdown to make it 21-10, McElwain stayed conservative, and the two teams traded punts.

But after a third straight Florida punt, the Vols began their onslaught. The onslaught itself lasted into the fourth quarter and was by itself thrilling enough to make the list. Tennessee had unleashed years of frustration on four straight wonderful touchdown drives.

Meanwhile, the Gators offense couldn’t get a first down, as they went three-and-out on four straight possessions, threw an interception on the first play of the next possession, and then went three-and-out again. All of a sudden, a 21-3 deficit was a 38-21 lead for the Vols.

At that point, Butch Jones played the clock, and Tennessee allowed Florida to score one more touchdown. So the ending was actually boring. However, the thrill of winning this game and that run from midway into the third quarter through the fourth quarter was one of the most beautiful runs in school history. That’s why this made the list.

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