Tennessee football took over the Swamp on Saturday night with a dominant 31-11 win over Florida in Gainesville.
Josh Heupel's Tennessee teams have notoriously struggled on the road throughout the years, but the Vols made sure that wasn't going to be an issue in this trip to Gainesville. The Vols scored on all but one drive in the first half, putting up all 31 points in the first two quarters.
It's clear Josh Heupel and the Vols heard the noise, knew the two-decade drought the Vols had without a win in Gainesville before Saturday night, because they played with a point to prove. Heupel's postgame comments confirmed that.
“It was important to us to come down here and play good football,” Heupel said postgame. “We did that in the first half - offensively didn’t in the second half with some self-inflicted wounds, but this matters a lot to our fanbase, it matters a lot too in the building to come here and get a win.”
Heupel knew he needed to get this win over Florida, and it seemed like there wasn't going to be anything that got in the way of making that a reality.
The Gators have played really well at home this season, but Heupel and the Vols flipped that narrative on its head. Tennessee played lights out, while Florida looked lost in its own building.
Tennessee pulled out all the stops in the first half and put on a clinic on both sides of the ball. The defense locked down DJ Lagway and an offense with the potential to create many explosive plays. Tennessee's offense carved up the Florida defense and dominated in the run game, controlling the game.
Tennessee now moves on to its season finale. The Vols will welcome in-state rival Vanderbilt into Neyland Stadium to wrap up the regular season as the Commodores look to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.