Power of Caring
  presented by CIGNA

Stopped in the Swamp

Vols rally falls short as Gators win 30th straight at home

Click here for more on this story

Posted: Sunday September 19, 1999 09:55 AM

Travis Taylor and the Gators snapped Tennessee's 14-game winning streak Saturday night. AP

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Once again, Florida tried to give the game away. Unlike last year, Tennessee refused to take it.

This time, five turnovers weren't enough to doom the Gators. Doug Johnson threw for 343 yards and two scores -- barely enough to overcome his three interceptions -- and Alex Brown had five sacks Saturday night to lift No. 4 Florida to a 23-21 victory over the defending national champions.

A sloppy game the whole way through, it had eerie similarities to last year's meeting. In that one, No. 2 Tennessee (1-1, 0-1 SEC) benefitted from five Florida turnovers and a missed chip-shot field goal in overtime for a 20-17 victory.

The Gators (3-0, 1-0) spent the whole next year believing they were better. They barely proved it. And even though it was ugly, they took it.

CNN/SI On-Site Just moments after his team's 23-21 victory over Tennessee, Florida coach Steve Spurrier stopped to talk with CNN/SI's Paul Crane.

"We can't act like we're much better than anyone after that," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said. "We know we were very fortunate with all the bad things that happened to win this game."

After the victory, Spurrier jogged to midfield, pumping his fist in the air, celebrating a win the Gators had practically taken for granted until last year, when Tennessee snapped its five-game losing streak in the series.

Then, the Gators gathered at the middle of their field, got in a huge huddle, jumped around and waved towels as hundreds of flash bulbs went off in The Swamp - fans trying to catch a memory.

"We're going to treat it just like all the other wins," Spurrier said, asked if this was one of his biggest. "It's not like they did last year, let's put it like that. We have a lot of room for improvement."

Still, it did snap Tennessee's 14-game winning streak and kept alive two equally impressive streaks for Florida.

The Gators won their 30th straight game at The Swamp and stayed undefeated at home against the Volunteers since 1971, when coach Phil Fulmer played offensive line and Spurrier was a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.

"Obviously it's disappointing," Fulmer said. "It wasn't our night. We didn't particularly throw well. We didn't run well. And when you have as many penalties as we had, you're not going to win."

The Vols committed 15 penalties for 112 yards, but Florida also finished with 112, more proof of the ragtag nature of this game.

Florida led 23-7 in the third quarter and the game looked like a yawner until the Gators let Tennessee back in with a pair of interceptions and two critical failures on fourth-and-inches.

Tee Martin drove the Vols 97 yards for a touchdown with 5:10 remaining to shave the deficit to 23-21. On Florida's next possession, Johnson threw his third interception of the night.

A battered Tee Martin was on the run, and was just 16-for-39 for 192 yards. AP

But Florida stopped Jamal Lewis on a toss sweep on fourth-and-3 and Earnest Graham helped the Gators run out the clock.

In the end, it may prove to be the most satisfying victory of Johnson's career.

And while he won't earn any accuracy awards with his 21-for-44 passing night, he gave himself a good chance of avoiding becoming the first Florida quarterback in the Spurrier era to not win a conference title.

"We had some plays we wish we could have back," Johnson said. "But I thought we played a full game. And that's what you've got to do."

In the first half, Spurrier found reason to love field goals -- and field goal kickers -- again, when Jeff Chandler made attempts of 23, 33 and 41 to give the Gators a 9-7 lead despite their early struggles.

And through it all, Brown spearheaded a defense that had come into serious question after being torched for 794 yards passing in two nonconference victories over lesser opponents.

"We can play defense," the sophomore defensive end said. "We're still the mighty Gators. But we're young. The guys before us had to start somewhere. We started tonight."

Brown stopped one Tennessee threat in the first half, dropping into coverage from his end position and intercepting Martin's pass on fourth-and-3.

In the third quarter, Brown sacked Martin twice in a row, getting great jumps around left end both times. Brown finished with seven tackles, five sacks, one forced fumble, an interception and two pass deflections.

"I thought he was outstanding," Fulmer said. "It looked like he was offsides, he was across the line so quick."

Martin finished just 16-for-39 for 192 yards and did almost nothing before the fourth quarter began. Lewis finished with 99 yards on 22 carries. Overall, it was a night of frustration for the Vols.

Sort of the way the Gators felt last year.

"There were a lot of heads hung," Fulmer said, "but no excuses."

 

Related information
Stories
Countdown Notebook: Success in The Swamp Under the Mask: Smokey finds trouble in Tennessee Week 4 Recaps
Stats
Game Summary: Tennessee at Florida
Multimedia
Steve Spurrier tells CNN/SI's Paul Crane about the hard-fought victory.   • Start(2.17 M .MOV) Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
Search our site	Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day
	Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call your cable operator or DirecTV.