The defense was pivotal.
With a backup quarterback making his first start, a motivated conference opponent and next to no run game to speak of for much of the game, the defense had to come through in order to win, and it did so by taking the ball away.
Florida’s offense put the defense in a difficult spot early, fumbling the ball on its own 19-yard line in the first quarter. Unranked Tennessee had the momentum as it dinked and dunked its way to the three-yard line and looked like it was going to score.
But a Trey Dean III interception on a tipped ball in the endzone deflated any momentum the Volunteers had mustered for themselves, and they never saw the red zone for the rest of the contest.