NCAAF

Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers

· NCAA - Football
3-3, 1-1 Away
Final
17 - 23
5-1, 3-0 Home

Dylan Sampson has 1-yard TD run in OT to lift No. 8 Tennessee past Florida, 23-17

Highlight: Sampson puts on a show in Vols' comeback OT win vs. Florida

The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) went to overtime for only the second time. The first was in 1998 when they won the national title.

Trey Smack missed a 47-yard field goal try for Florida (3-3, 1-2) on the first overtime possession.

“Once (Florida) missed the field goal, I knew we would win,” Sampson said.

“(After the miss), we were going to run the football and be sound in doing it,” said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. “(Sampson) always has great vision, great pace. He's always been good running between the tackles.”

The Gators tied it with 29 seconds left on DJ Lagway's 27-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike. After lining up for a 2-point conversion, Tennessee called a timeout and Florida kicked the extra point.

Sampson, who rushed for 112 yards, ran 23 yards for a go-ahead, fourth-quarter touchdown. The touchdown was set up by a defensive stand that forced the Gators to punt from their end zone.

“(The defense) is confident,” Heupel said. “They don't just think (something good) is going to happen. They have to make it happen.”

Florida jumped out to a 10-0 lead, with Graham Mertz hitting Arlis Boardingham with a 13-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter. On the play, Mertz's foot caught in the turf and he sustained a left leg injury.

“The tale of the tape is our missed opportunities in the first half,” Florida coach Billy Napier said.

The Gators led 3-0 at the half, but fumbled on the Tennessee 1 and had an illegal substitution penalty on a field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter that had a 10-second run-off negate the points.

“We had many opportunities to score points,” Napier said.

Sampson then had a 6-yard scoring, and Lagway, who took over for Mertz, threw an interception that set up Max Gilbert's tying, 35-yard field goal.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida: With Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss still on the schedule, the Gators will have to get things in order in a hurry. Bright glimmers from wins over Mississippi State and UCF were parlayed into a gritty performance against the Vols.

Tennessee: A lot of the problems that cropped up in the loss to Arkansas were evident again. With Alabama visiting next week, the Vols have a long way to go to make things right. If Tennessee is going to be a playoff contender the rest of the season, it needs to show consistency in its performance.

UP NEXT

Florida: Hosts Kentucky on Saturday.

Tennessee: Hosts Alabama on Saturday.

How To Watch

How can I watch Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Volunteers?
  • TV Channel: Gators at Volunteers 2021 College Football, week 7, is broadcasted on ESPN.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Volunteers: 87.1%
Gators: 12.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

FLA FG 1st Period 3:15 Trey Smack 42 Yd Field Goal
FLA TD 3rd Period 7:18 Arlis Boardingham 13 Yd pass from Graham Mertz (Trey Smack Kick)
TENN TD 3rd Period 2:57 Dylan Sampson 6 Yd Run (Max Gilbert Kick)
TENN FG 3rd Period 1:37 Max Gilbert 35 Yd Field Goal
TENN TD 4th Period 9:42 Dylan Sampson 23 Yd Run (Max Gilbert Kick)
FLA TD 4th Period 0:29 Chimere Dike 27 Yd pass from DJ Lagway (Trey Smack Kick)
TENN TD 5 0:00 Dylan Sampson 1 Yd Run

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/57.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originFLA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2633.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTENN
22 1st Downs 18
5-15 3rd down efficiency 4-15
0-2 4th down efficiency 2-2
361 Total Yards 312
223 Passing 169
20/32 Comp/Att 16/26
7.0 Yards per pass 6.5
138 Rushing 143
40 Rushing Attempts 43
3.5 Yards per rush 3.3
6-36 Penalties 6-47
2 Turnovers 2
1 Fumbles lost 1
1 Interceptions thrown 1
34:56 Possession 25:04

Game Information

Neyland Stadium

Location: Knoxville, TN
Attendance: 101,915 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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