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Tennessee Flips Switch, and Now, Its Fortunes in SEC East | Bleacher Report
Dobbsa polarizing quarterback whom many UT fans have skewered for his inability to throw the ball consistently downfielddid what he does: show up huge in important games. He became the first UT quarterback since Tyler Bray in 2012 to throw for four touchdown passes in a game.
He also ran for one, finishing with 399 total yards.
With his team on the mat, he delivered a 23-yard scoring strike to Jalen Hurd, a 20-yard floating beauty over the defense to Ethan Wolf, the 67-yarder to Jennings and a 42-yard crossing pattern catch-and-run to Josh Malone.
Both lines of scrimmage turned things around in the second half.
Joe Robbins/Getty Images
Everybody wearing orange and white in the stands may have panicked, but the Vols didn't. Junior running back Alvin Kamara alluded to pregame conversations he had with a couple of Vols legends who helped him focus on finishing.
"Before the game, guys like Al Wilson and Jamal Lewis, they came up to me and Jalen [Reeves-Maybin], and his message was to keep the team calm, stay calm, stay in the game," Kamara said. "I felt like that kept resonating in my head the whole game; we've got to stay calm.
"We were scoring, we were getting hot, and I kept going to the defense and offense and just saying, 'We've got more plays to make. Let's keep going, keep pounding.' I think we showed it. We kept working, and we got the results we wanted."
Unlike last year, the Vols never got conservative once they had a lead. Being down by so much perhaps helped them focus. And they had a switch-flipping 30 minutes of football that could make all the difference the rest of the season.
It was reminiscent of 2015's Georgia game that saw the Bulldogs jump ahead 24-3 on the downtrodden Vols before they woke up, won the game and ripped off a season-saving stretch following a close loss to Alabama.
But this was different simply because this was against Florida.
Joe Robbins/Getty Images
The Gators are a team that pummeled the Vols for many years before twisting the knife the past few seasons by winning with a psychological advantage. Tennessee invented ways to lose, further jading its fans with tantalizing late-game leads it squandered away.
That didn't happen Saturday, and perhaps that's the biggest reason Vols fans everywhere should be thrilled about the prospects of the rest of the season. UT charged back, when nobody thought it could.
Jones said: "I hope you guys understand the resolve and the resiliency of this football team " before scolding the media for referring to Saturday as a "must-win."
"We are building something special here with character and competitiveness. It's just one game. We've got to go on the road next week. The resolve of these kids, with all the expectations on this football game and you go down at halftime and to have that second-half performance. If you don't have character in your football program, that does not happen."
A great write-up by Brad as always. The sky really is the limit for team 120
Go Vols
Dobbsa polarizing quarterback whom many UT fans have skewered for his inability to throw the ball consistently downfielddid what he does: show up huge in important games. He became the first UT quarterback since Tyler Bray in 2012 to throw for four touchdown passes in a game.
He also ran for one, finishing with 399 total yards.
With his team on the mat, he delivered a 23-yard scoring strike to Jalen Hurd, a 20-yard floating beauty over the defense to Ethan Wolf, the 67-yarder to Jennings and a 42-yard crossing pattern catch-and-run to Josh Malone.
Both lines of scrimmage turned things around in the second half.
Everybody wearing orange and white in the stands may have panicked, but the Vols didn't. Junior running back Alvin Kamara alluded to pregame conversations he had with a couple of Vols legends who helped him focus on finishing.
"Before the game, guys like Al Wilson and Jamal Lewis, they came up to me and Jalen [Reeves-Maybin], and his message was to keep the team calm, stay calm, stay in the game," Kamara said. "I felt like that kept resonating in my head the whole game; we've got to stay calm.
"We were scoring, we were getting hot, and I kept going to the defense and offense and just saying, 'We've got more plays to make. Let's keep going, keep pounding.' I think we showed it. We kept working, and we got the results we wanted."
Unlike last year, the Vols never got conservative once they had a lead. Being down by so much perhaps helped them focus. And they had a switch-flipping 30 minutes of football that could make all the difference the rest of the season.
It was reminiscent of 2015's Georgia game that saw the Bulldogs jump ahead 24-3 on the downtrodden Vols before they woke up, won the game and ripped off a season-saving stretch following a close loss to Alabama.
But this was different simply because this was against Florida.
The Gators are a team that pummeled the Vols for many years before twisting the knife the past few seasons by winning with a psychological advantage. Tennessee invented ways to lose, further jading its fans with tantalizing late-game leads it squandered away.
That didn't happen Saturday, and perhaps that's the biggest reason Vols fans everywhere should be thrilled about the prospects of the rest of the season. UT charged back, when nobody thought it could.
Jones said: "I hope you guys understand the resolve and the resiliency of this football team " before scolding the media for referring to Saturday as a "must-win."
"We are building something special here with character and competitiveness. It's just one game. We've got to go on the road next week. The resolve of these kids, with all the expectations on this football game and you go down at halftime and to have that second-half performance. If you don't have character in your football program, that does not happen."
A great write-up by Brad as always. The sky really is the limit for team 120
Go Vols
