Oct 4, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Florida Gators quarterback Treon Harris (3) prepares to throw the ball during the fourth quarter against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. The Gators won 10-9 Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
All it took was a quarterback change for the Florida Gators.
After a dismal start by Jeff Driskel, Florida head coach Will Muschamp pulled him in the fourth quarter in favour of freshman Treon Harris, who led the Gators on back-to-back scoring drives to lead Florida to a 10-9 win over their SEC rival Tennessee Volunteers.
Trailing 9-0 heading into the fourth, Florida (3-1) had good field position after Jalen Tabor sacked Vols (2-3) quarterback Justin Torley to force a fumble that Talor recovered at the Tennessee 30 on the penultimate play of the third quarter.
Harris would hit Matt Jones for 12 yards and then run for 10 more on the next play. Two plays later, the Gators were on the scoreboard thanks to Jones’ two-yard touchdown run.
After the Gators defense forced a punt, Florida put more points on the board as Austin Hardin kicked a 49-yard field goal.
The Vols had an opportunity to win the game late but after Worley had moved the chains on fourth down with a completion, his next pass was picked off by Keanu Neal to seal the win for Florida.
Tennessee had taken a 3-0 lead in the second quarter thanks to an Aaron Medley field goal. Medley would kick two more in the third quarter before Florida came back in the fourth.
Driskel was pulled after going 11-of-23 for 59 yards while throwing three interceptions, the last of which set up Tennessee’s third field goal.
Harris was just 2-of-4 for 17 yards and added 24 more on the ground. Jones ran for 114 yards on 23 carries. Florida was 7-of-20 on third down.
It was Florida’s defense that came up big however. They restricted Tennessee to just 234 yards of offense and forced three turnovers including interceptions by Vernon Hargreaves and Neal.
Antonio Morrison had a game high 11 tackles as well as two tackles for loss and a sack. The Gators front seven held the Vols to just 28 rushing yards on 29 carries as Bryan Cox Jr. had three sacks. Florida combined for nine tackle for losses as a team.
This is the 10th straight victory by Florida against Tennessee.
The Gators’ next game is Oct.11 when they host LSU at The Swamp.