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Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols 31-19 loss to Florida

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Eric Gray (3) runs for a touchdown against the Florida Gators during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Eric Gray (3) runs for a touchdown against the Florida Gators during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney (1) runs with the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2020; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Florida Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney (1) runs with the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /

Here’s what we learned from the Tennessee football Volunteers’ loss to the Gators.

Jeremy Pruitt played three quarterbacks, none of whom were Jarrett Guarantano, and two of them led touchdown drives of over 90 yards, but it didn’t do him any good. Tennessee football lost its sixth straight game of the season and its fourth straight in the series against the Florida Gators.

The Vols took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter, but Florida then scored 28 straight points en route to a 31-19 victory. Rocky Top scored two touchdowns late but failed on a two-point conversion and then had a missed extra point from Brent Cimaglia, the first of his career.

In the process, Dan Mullen’s team improved to 8-1 and clinched the SEC East while the Gators expanded their lead over UT to 30-20 in this series. Meanwhile, Jeremy Pruitt’s team fell to 2-6 on the year. Up next for Tennessee football is a trip to the Vanderbilt Commodores. Before looking ahead, here are five takeaways from the Vols’ loss to Florida.

1. Secondary played hard but struggled as expected.

Defensive backs have struggled for the Vols all year, and it was no different in this game against a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback. Kyle Trask completed 35-of-49 passes for 433 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Trask relied on his top two weapons, Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney, in the process. Pitts had seven receptions for 128 yards, and Toney had eight receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Copeland had three receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown, and Trevon Grimes had six receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

Everybody was at fault for these struggles. Bryce Thompson got faked out multiple times by Pitts and Toney, Trevon Flowers and Jaylen McCollough struggled at safety, and Henry To’o To’o once again looked lost in pass coverage. Also, Mullen just often times caught Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley off guard.

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