Tennessee returned from a stumble last week against Arkansas, casting doubts aside with a win over Florida 23-17 on Sunday. The clash of the Volunteers and the Gators at Neyland Stadium was a slow drag.
It only produced three points in the first half and went to overtime, with Tennessee winning by a touchdown scored by Dylan Sampson.
The quarterbacks were quiet, with neither Graham Mertz nor Nico Iamaleava throwing 200 yards. Iamaleava was especially poor, with a QBR of 17.5. Any murmurings regarding a potential Heisman Trophy run have surely gone quiet following poor outings against Arkansas and Florida in consecutive weeks.
On a night highlighted by defensive play, Vols running back Dylan Sampson distinguished himself as the key contributor to his school's win.
Florida vs. Tennessee: Tennessee's Best Performers stats
Dylan Sampson, Tennessee RB
Christian Charles, Tennessee DB
Florida vs. Tennessee: Florida's Best Performers stats
Jaden Robinson, Florida LB
Analysis of the Florida vs. Tennessee player performance: Dylan Sampson carries the Volunteers to victory at Neyland
Sampson was the difference maker for the Volunteers on Saturday, with his third touchdown of the night sealing the encounter 23-17 after Florida had failed to score in overtime.
Since Florida's failure to score a field goal in their first possession of overtime, Sampson said that he knew what would happen:
“Once (Florida) missed the field goal, I knew we would win,”
Volunteers coach Josh Heupel admitted as much:
“(After the miss), we were going to run the football and be sound in doing it,(Sampson) always has great vision, great pace. He's always been good running between the tackles.”
He also gave a word of recognition to his defense:
“(The defense) is confident, they don't just think (something good) is going to happen. They have to make it happen.”
For Florida, Jaden Robinson has to be commended for his ability to make plays against Tennessee's defense, getting three sacks on Iamaleava, and he was responsible for half of those (1.5 sacks).
Mertz cannot be too harshly judged for his numbers, as he suffered a left leg injury in the third quarter when his cleats caught on the turf. He was forced off the field, and DJ Lagway took over for the critical last moments of the game.
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