Without their best offensive weapon, Tennessee football put on an offensive clinic in its 38-33 win over the Florida Gators Saturday. The Vols never punted, and while they almost had an epic collapse at the end, they still snapped that hated five-game losing streak in the series. In the process, a lot of new narratives were created.
As we get set to break down the best players for UT in the game over the weekend, it becomes pretty evident that some may have used this as a launching pad for even greater things. Others may have built on a launching pad they already had, taking it to another level.
Although the defense struggled severely, and that’s a concern going forward, the Vols still had players on that side of the ball who made big plays too. Key players continuously stepped up when they needed to in order for them to hold on and win this game. Here are the top five Vols in Tennessee football’s SEC-opening win.
These were the best Tennessee football players in the Volunteers’ victory over the Gators Saturday.
7 tackles (5 solo); 0.5 TFL; 1 QB hurry; 1 FR
Yes, a defensive player is the first on the list. Jeremy Banks was limited in what he could do Saturday because of the way Tim Banks used him. The linebackers were put in spy most of the time to keep Anthony Richardson from torching them on the ground. As a result, it’s not their fault he torched them through the air.
For his part, Banks made quite a few plays in his role. He led the team in tackles and solo tackles and was part of two of the four defensive stops the Vols had in the game. The first was on the opening drive. Banks and Roman Harrison stopped Richardson on a 4th and 2 run in UT territory, which should have been a huge momentum shift for UT.
Later in the game, though, Banks was in on the play to put Tennessee football in complete control. After Richardson fumbled the ball in Tennessee territory with the Vols leading 31-21, Banks fell on it for the recovery. The Vols drove down and scored again to be in complete control.