Tennessee football 2019 recap: 10 most heartbreaking plays of Vols season
10. At No. 9 Florida Gators
Jarrett Guarantano pass intercepted by Marco Wilson
Tennessee Volunteers lose 34-3
It was probably the final straw for Jeremy Pruitt before the first time he pulled Jarrett Guarantano, even if he didn’t do it until the end of the first half. At this point in the game, Tennessee football was only losing 7-0 to the Florida Gators. They had already thrown a pick on their previous offensive drive, but the defense responded by forcing a turnover on downs.
That turnovers on downs combined with the fumble they had forced meant they had regrouped after a bad opening drive. Now they were expecting the Vols to do something. All they could do was get to the 40-yard line, and on 3rd and 7, Guarantano threw an interception straight into the hands of Marco Wilson.
Florida then took over at the UT 46, and they were unable to get a touchdown out of this. However, by holding them to a field goal, the Vols still fell behind 10-0, which was a two-score deficit, amidst the defense playing its heart out. Despite 10 minutes still being on the clock in the second quarter, this was demoralizing.
After Guarantano’s pick, the offense failed to get anything else going in the first half. It then fell behind 17-0. This was a critical mistake in the game when you take all of that into account, and it’s why we have it on the list as one of the most heartbreaking plays of the season. It helped them fall to 1-3 after their 0-2 start.