September 19, 2004

Tennessee 30, Florida 28

A record-setting crowd of over 109,000 saw the Tennesee Volunteers do something they hadn't done since 1998--beat the Florida Gators in the frinedly confines of Neyland Stadium. A 50-yard field goal by sophomore place kicker James Wilhoit with six seconds left on the clock gave the Volunteers a hard-earned 30-28 victory over the ninth ranked Gators Saturday night. Box Score

And in the matter of just under three minutes Wilhoit went from being a possible goat to being a hero to the Big Orange.

Freshman quarterback Eric Ainge connected with Jayson Swain for a 13-yard touchdown to pull the Vols within one. Wilhoit stepped on the field, having never missed an extra point in his two year career at UT. However, there must have been something in the air for the SEC Saturday night--LSU and Auburn both missed extra points with Auburn getting another try on a penalty. Wilhoit missed the extra point with just over three minutes left in the game.

The Vols kicked off deep to the Gators and the Volunteer defense made one last stand against Chris Leak and the vaunted Florida offense. The Vols held the Gators and were set to get the ball back when fortune played in their favor. A dead-ball, unsportsman like conduct penalty set the Gators back fifteen yards and stopped the clock. The Gators punted deep in their own territory and Ainge stepped in for one final chance.

He drove the ball down field, setting up a 50-yard attempt by Wilhoit with six seconds left in the game. Wilhoit nailed the attempt, sending the Vol faithful into a frenzy. The Vols special teams swarmed on the Gators in the ensuing kick-off, running out the clock and preserving a win.

The win reversed a trend in the series--the road team had won the game in the each of the last four years. It also marked Tennessee's first back-to-back wins over Florida since the 1970 and 1971.

The game was everything you'd expect from such a huge SEC rivallry. Tennesse pounded the ball effectively throughout the game, running for 192 yards in the contest. Ainge and fellow freshman QB, Brent Schaeffer remamined undefeated in their college careers, despite Ainge throwing his an interception to the Gators and Schaeffer losing a fumble early in the contest, setting up the Gators' first TD of the night.

The game went back and forth between the two. Chris Leak and the Florida offense looked like a throwback to the Steve Spurrier era, throwing the ball at will against the young Tenenssee secondary. But each time the Vols needed momentum, the defense stepped up and made the plays they needed to help the Vols win the game.

Ainge played most of the second half, including all of the fourth quarter when he led the Vols on two scoring drives.

Posted by Big Orange Michael