Tennessee football: Vols could be five mistakes away from 4-0

3. Florida Gators

Key play:

Jarrett Guarantano interception that bounced off Jauan Jennings’s facemask in end zone

Okay, so Tennessee football clearly needed multiple plays to work in its favor in order to beat the Florida Gators. But one of them was Jarrett Guarantano’s first interception of the game, and it wasn’t his fault.

Down 7-0, the Vols forced a Florida Gators fumble. They then drove the ball inside the five-yard line. On 3rd and goal from the three-yard line, Jim Chaney called a perfect play, with Guarantano passing to Jauan Jennings over the middle.

The ball hit Jennings right on the money, but it bounced off his facemask and was intercepted.If Jennings catches it, as he should have, UT ties the game up there at 7. Going into halftime down 17-7 would look much better than 17-0.

Other play

Eric Gray misses block on goal line touchdown pass

On the play before the pass to Jennings was intercepted, Chaney had another perfect play-action call. Austin Pope was wide open for a touchdown. But Eric Gray was in the game, and he missed a block, resulting in the ball being batted down.

Gray’s mistake and Jennings’s mistake were equally bad in costing the Vols a score here. But the Jennings mistake never would have happened without Gray’s mistake. The only reason the Jennings mistake stands out more is because he cost UT a TD AND a chance at a field goal since the pass was intercepted. Also, it was more glaring.