Tennessee football: Five takeaways from Vols’ 38-33 win vs. Florida

2. Situational defense was awful

Anthony Richardson looked like Peyton Manning when it mattered. Florida was 7-of-15 on third down conversions and 5-of-6 on fourth down conversions. That means they went 12-of-15 in converting the first down once third down was brought up. This is why Richardson completed 24-of-44 passes for 453 yards and two touchdowns.

His only interception was on his desperation throw at the end of the game. However, that desperation throw was made possible by the situational defense being that awful. Yes, Florida recovered an onside kick, but those things happen. The issue was not getting a stop.

It wasn’t just Richardson throwing the ball well. A draw play on 3rd and 10 with Florida backed up in their own end zone down by 10 late in the third quarter was a conversion. Whenever they needed a play, they got it if it was on the line.

Lots of this was on the secondary, which still has its issues. Some of it was on Tim Banks, who just didn’t dial up the right blitz packages or pressure packages. However, a lot of it was on Billy Napier calling the perfect play that completely caught Tennessee football off-guard.

Richardson was 3-of-3 for 52 yards on fourth down passes. Napier’s first fourth down attempt, on the opening drive, was a fail as he ran it with Richardson. The last time his offense was stopped was when he tried to get cute up 14-10 on third down late in the second quarter. This was a problem last year for the Vols, and it looks like a problem again.