Pat Dooley’s Six Pack: Quick reactions from Gators’ upset win over Vols

Billy Napier needed this one… I mean, really needed this one. The hot seat has been heating up in his second season and he still lacked a signature SEC victory.

Of course, so did Tennessee fans who have now gone through two decades of losing games in the Swamp.

No soup for you, Vols.

Florida dominated the second quarter of this one and held on to win 29-16 over No. 11 Tennessee as the second-largest crowd to ever watch these two teams play in the Swamp.

Let’s look at the keys to an important Florida win with the Week 3 edition of Pat Dooley’s Six Pack.

You have to give a lot of credit to the defense for this one…

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… because they were under constant pressure, especially in the second half when they came up with three fourth-down stops. And they had to play the last play down two starting cornerbacks but kept making plays.

The Swamp was in full throat for this one…

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… and forced two false starts and a Josh Heupel timeout (which continued in the second half). A perfectly executed pick play put Florida in a hole and a missed extra point did not allow them to tie it. Then, the offense (and defense) allowed Florida to outscore Tennessee 20-0 in the second quarter.

“In this league, home-field advantage is a big deal,” Napier said. “They were a factor.”

One of the real keys to this game…

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… was the third quarter. Look, Tennessee has coaches and scholarship players, too. They made adjustments. But think about this: Tennessee outgained Florida 147 yards to 13 but only 3-0 on the scoreboard.

I guess I should mention the running game, huh?

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The Gators played big-boy football, running 43 times for 189 yards led by Trevor Ettiene’s 172 yards and one of the biggest plays of the game, the one that made you come out of your seat and stand on your head. That 62-yarder for a score was a thing of beauty.

It’s difficult to criticize Napier…

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… after his biggest win as a coach (my words), but they got really conservative in the second half. Tennessee pressed against the run and Florida struggled to make much happen.

But in the end…

Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports

…this is the Florida team we thought we would see this season. Running game plus a better defense than the Gators have had the last three years. The other team put up impressive passing numbers but few points and committed a ton of penalties plus one gigantic turnover.

That sounds like the opposite of the Utah game.

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Story originally appeared on Gators Wire