Florida Football: 3 takeaways from blowout win over rival Tennessee

Florida Gators linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) celebrates a defensive stop during the football game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Sept. 25, 2021.Flgai 092521 Ufvs Tennesseefb 35
Florida Gators linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. (1) celebrates a defensive stop during the football game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Sept. 25, 2021.Flgai 092521 Ufvs Tennesseefb 35 /
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Syndication: Gainesville Sun
Syndication: Gainesville Sun /

Florida Football started off slow, but the Gators eventually asserted control with their ground game. What are the biggest takeaways?

Coming off of their close to Alabama, it was fair to expect this to be a bit of a letdown spot for Florida Football. The Gators’ rival, the Tennessee Volunteers were coming to town and brought their up-tempo offense down to the swamp and were hoping to spring an upset on the Gators.

Tennessee has not had much luck with Florida football, now losing 16 of the last 17 in the series, but there was hope the Gators were still hungover from their tough loss to the top-ranked team in the country. That was not the case.

Florida started off slow, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Florida was plagued by giving up big plays last season and that seems to be a trend in the first half of games this season.

Last week against Alabama in the first quarter, the Gators dug themselves in a hole early and it might have cost them. Tennessee was hitting some big plays through the air early and the Gator’s secondary looked shaky.

However, the defense adjusted and shut down this Tennessee offense. Some of the stats will show that Tennessee ran for a decent amount of yards, but the yards per carry was low. Brenton Cox Jr continued to dominate on the edge and he has been a huge impact player for the Gators this season.

With a win here, Florida could jump into the top 10 based on the chaos that happened around them. This looks like a team that could challenge Georgia in the SEC East and can be a factor in the college football playoff race.

Here are three takeaways from Florida’s win over Tennessee