KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — I know what you’re thinking Gator fans.
You saw Treon Harris come into the game at the end of the third quarter against Tennessee in Neyland Stadium, and Florida’s offense clicked.
The Gators rallied for the 10-9 win, and the majority – if not all – of the credit should go to Treon.
Unfortunately, that was not the case this weekend.
Even though Treon picked up the Florida offense and had two successful drives, the Gators defense carried them to the win over the Volunteers on Saturday.
When Florida threw three interceptions in the first 45 minutes, the defense contained Tennessee.
The Volunteers scrapped together just six points off of the Gators’ turnovers despite starting two of those three drives inside the red zone and the other one near midfield.
The UF defense — a volatile group susceptible to surrendering explosive plays through its first two Southeastern Conference games — shored up the majority of its mistakes against the Volunteers on Saturday.
After giving up a combined 13 pass plays of 25 or more yards against Kentucky and Alabama, Florida allowed just two in Knoxville.
The 205 yards the Gators relinquished to Volunteers quarterback Justin Worley were the least they have given up since SEC play began this season.
Simply put, the secondary is getting better.
True freshman Jalen Tabor, who started his first game at cornerback on Saturday, excelled in coverage and on the corner blitz.
With less than 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Tabor almost single-handedly shifted the momentum into the Gators’ hands by sacking Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley, forcing a fumble and falling on top of it at the UT 30-yard line.
Florida scored five plays later thanks to the short field — which was also Treon’s first drive at the helm of UF’s offense.
Two timely second-half interceptions by cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and safety Keanu Neal erased a Jeff Driskel pick and sealed the game, respectively.
Florida’s run defense also continued its dominance, limiting the Volunteers to a mere 28 rushing yards on 29 attempts — less than one yard per carry.
The Gators are now fourth in the SEC and 15th in the nation in rushing yards allowed per game (103.0).
Jarrad Davis and the Florida linebacker corps certainly welcomed Tennessee true freshman Jalen Hurd into the SEC like Davis said they would on Wednesday.
Florida contained him to just 39 rushing yards on 10 attempts one week after he tallied 119 against Georgia.
The front line made sure Worley did not have time to pass the ball, sacking him six times — tying for the most in a single game in the Will Muschamp era of Florida football.
And they did it without starter Leon Orr.
I’m not trying to take away from anything Treon did against Tennessee. He did what Driskel couldn’t — move the offense down the field.
But even with that, his pure numbers (2 of 4 for 17 yards, 4 rushes for 24 yards) were not anything to brag about.
Treon jump-started Florida’s offense before it was too late, but the freshman signal caller did not do it alone.
On those two scoring drives, running back Matt Jones tallied 42 rushing yards on six attempts — including a 32-yard scamper that put Florida in position to make the game-winning field goal.
Even with that, UF’s defense set the pace of the game and set up the opportunities for the Gators to pull out the win.
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Freshman cornerback Jalen Tabor tackles Tennessee wide receiver Josh Malone during Florida's 10-9 victory against Tennessee on Saturday at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
