Florida's defense dominated Tennessee throughout the contest, intercepting three passes to consistently stall the Volunteers' offensive drives. The Gators struck first with a Caleb Sturgis field goal, then built momentum with Tim Tebow's 1-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, extending their lead to 13-3 by halftime. Tennessee managed field goals from Daniel Lincoln in the first and second quarters but struggled to generate sustained offensive pressure, gaining just 210 total yards. Florida put the game away with a Jeffery Demps 7-yard rushing touchdown early in the third quarter and a Caleb Sturgis field goal, reaching 23 points and effectively putting the contest out of reach despite a late Montario Hardesty touchdown run by Tennessee. The Gators' dominant time of possession advantage of nearly four minutes and superior third-down efficiency sealed their control of the belt.
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.