No. 20 Tennessee dominates Florida and wins in the Swamp for the first time since 2003

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On a Saturday filled with Southeastern Conference teams playing lower-division opponents, Tennessee appeared to be facing one, too.

DeSean Bishop ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including one that ended with a flip into the end zone, and the 20th-ranked Volunteers overwhelmed rival Florida 31-11 to win in the Swamp for the first time since 2003.

“This one mattered to them,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “It was a lot of fun inside that locker room. It was important to them. They understood the history of this rivalry. We’ve talked about that. It was fun to see them enjoy this moment.”

The Volunteers (8-3, 4-3 SEC) had dropped 10 in a row at Florida Field, one of the longest skids in series history. Although there were plenty of lopsided meetings over the years, this one could go down as the most stunning — even with the Gators (3-8, 2-6) spiraling and waiting to find out the future of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.

With retired coach Urban Meyer watching from the Florida sideline, the Vols scored touchdowns on their first four drives and led 31-0 at halftime. It was easily their most dominant 30 minutes of football against Florida since 1990. They outgained the Gators 323-110 in the opening half and had 19 first downs.

“It’s not fun. It’s not good. It sucks for me to be up here in front of you guys, obviously,” Florida interim coach Billy Gonzales said.

The Gators put up little fight on defense and couldn’t seem to get out of their own way on offense.

A holding penalty negated a 42-yard completion, DJ Lagway was stuffed for no gain on a fourth-down run and Trey Smack missed a 38-yard field goal.

The Gators tried to regroup at halftime. But Jadan Baugh inadvertently signaled for a fair catch on the second-half kickoff and let the ball bounce, resulting in Florida starting at the 2-yard line.

Roughly half the home crowd left early, and no one could blame them. It was Florida’s worst home showing since trailing Missouri 42-0 in 2014.

Tennessee fans took over Florida Field in the waning moments and long after the clock wound down, and quarterback Joey Aguilar riled them up with a mock Gator chomp.

“We were filled with joy, relief,” tight end Ethan Davis said. “Coming down here and winning in the Swamp is never an easy task. We just put a little bit extra in our preparation this week because we know it’s always personal. Every single game is personal, but this one holds a little more weight to us, to the fanbase, to our coaches.”

Tennessee spent the second half in safe mode, milking the clock and trying not to give up any big plays. The Vols still finished with 248 yards rushing.

About the only late drama was whether Florida would extend the longest scoring streak in NCAA history. Smack hit a 46-yarder with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter that extended the record to 472 consecutive games.

Aguilar, who reportedly has joined a lawsuit that challenges NCAA rules in hopes of gaining another year of eligibility, was effective and efficient. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 204 yards, with a touchdown to Ethan Davis on the opening drive.

The takeaway

Tennessee: The Volunteers have a chance to win their final three games and make a decent bowl. But they’ll surely be haunted by those one-score losses to Georgia and Oklahoma.

Florida: Meyer was recognized in advance of his upcoming induction into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame and will be added to Florida’s ring of honor in 2026. He was in the locker room before the game and spoke to the team. It had little effect on how the Gators played.

Up next

Tennessee closes the regular season at home against No. 12 Vanderbilt next Saturday.

Florida ends its season back in the Swamp against rival Florida State next Saturday.