Florida's football season continued its downward spiral Saturday night with a 31-11 home loss to Tennessee, ending the Gators' 22-year winning streak in Gainesville against the Vols.
The Gators’ nightmare football season spiraled to a new level of horror Saturday night, and it came against a team that usually makes life easy for them in The Swamp.
No. 20 Tennessee, winless in its last 10 trips to Gainesville, snapped the 22-year drought there by completely dismantling Florida 31-11. That tied for the worst home loss the Gators have suffered to the Volunteers in 70 years and was the most lopsided setback to them overall since 1990.
As if that wasn't embarrassing enough for the 3-8 Gators, these stats from their implosion in The Swamp show just how low their season has descended.
- Led by senior quarterback Joey Aguilar, the Volunteers (8-3), scored on their first four possessions to go up 28-0, led 31-0 at the half and wound up gashing the Gator defense for 452 yards of total offense.
- With sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway under center, the Gator offense produced just one yard of offense in the first quarter and zero first downs in that period. For the game, UF had only 261 total yards on offense.
- It took the Gators nearly 73 minutes to finally get on the scoreboard, and that was a field goal late in the third quarter.
- It was the third straight game the Gator defense has surrender more than 200 yards of rushing. This time, the Vols gashed Florida for 248 on the ground.
"We couldn't get off the field and we couldn't produce points in the first half," said Florida interim head coach Billy Gonzales. "Does it hurt? Absolutely. Our job is to continue to try and help these players to get better and to coach them."
All that remains for the worst Florida football season since 1979’s 0-10-1 debacle is next week’s home finale against Florida State. And unlike the Gators, the Seminoles (5-6) still have something to play for. If FSU wins, it qualifies for a bowl game. The only thing still on the line for the Gators is to close out their historically poor season with a win over their in-state rival and end their current four-game losing streak.
"There's a standard here at the University of Florida," said Gator senior cornerback Devin Moore. "We're playing for each other. Those guys in the locker room don't want us to go out on a bad note."
The Gator woes Saturday was a snapshot of issues they’ve had much of the season: a program stuck in neutral with an interim head coach in charge the last four games. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been targeted by the Gators, but this chaos in Gainesville looks less attractive by the week.
Despite the multi-million dollar salary that will likely come with it, any coach considering the Florida job faces a herculean task to turn this program around. They will need to perform a major overhaul, especially if current Gator players leave town during January’s transfer portal window.
Sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway could be the biggest Gator names headed for the fire exit. And from his recent performances, some Gator fans might want to escort him out. The once 5-star recruit out of high school struggled once again Saturday, completing 11 of 17 pass attempts for 116 yards and one touchdown. Sophomore running back Jadan Baugh, who had 96 yards on 18 carries and has compiled more than 1,000 all-purpose, could be considering his future at Florida, too.
By the time Lagway engineered a drive that finally got Florida on the scoreboard with 2:04 left in the third quarter, it was too late. It only meant the Gators wouldn't be shut out. And the 33-yard touchdown pass Lagway tossed to Baugh midway in the fourth quarter? That didn't represent a possible rally. That TD simply prevented the Gators from going four straight games without a fourth-quarter TD.
With Tennessee leading 31-0 at the half, little wonder Florida fans began draining out of The Swamp, leaving loads of empty seats the remainder of the night. Many fans on the student side of the stadium decided to join the growing trend this season of going shirtless the second half.
Prior to the game Urban Meyer was inducted into UF Ring of Honor, and honored as an inductee to the College Football Hall of Fame. Who knows, if the Gators can't get Kiffin, maybe they can convince Meyer to stay a while longer in Gainesville and take another crack at the job. Meyer, by the way, never lost to Tennessee in six meetings.
Up Next
The Gators host Florida State on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2. The Seminoles are 5-6 and coming off a 21-11 loss on the road to North Carolina State. FSU is 0-4 away from Tallahassee this season and has lost eight straight road games dating back to last season.
Meanwhile, Ole Miss is expected to make an official statement on the future of Kiffin that same day. This follows the "Egg Bowl" game between Kiffin's Rebels against Mississippi State on Friday.