For most of Saturday night, the Tennessee Vols looked like they were filming the sequel to Groundhog Day.
Tennessee trailed the Florida Gators 3-0 at halftime on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium, just like they did the previous week in Fayetteville against the Arkansas Razorbacks.
This time around, though, the Vols found a way in the second half (and in overtime) to get a win, leaving Neyland with a 23-17 victory over the Gators.
Tennessee made plenty of mistakes — mostly on offense — but they made big plays when they had to. And it was enough to get a win that looked unlikely at times on Saturday night.
Plenty of Vols fans, somewhat understandably, offered complaints about Tennessee’s offense after the win. I get it. It needs to be better moving forward if the Vols are going to go on a run. But those complaints undermine what’s so special about being a fan of college football.
For far too long, Florida has been an unexplainable stumbling block for Tennessee. Regardless of how good or bad Tennessee/Florida is, it seems like the Gators almost always find a way to win this game. Or the Vols find a way to lose. Whatever the case, the outcome usually isn’t ideal for Tennessee fans.