2001 Tennessee vs. Florida football game

The 2001 Tennessee vs. Florida football game was a college football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Florida Gators played on December 1, 2001, at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. It was the final game played between Tennessee's Phillip Fulmer and Florida's Steve Spurrier as Spurrier resigned as Florida's head coach on January 4, 2002. This game was also the 2001 SEC East Championship Game as the winner of this game faced the winner of the 2001 Tiger Bowl between Auburn and LSU in the 2001 SEC Championship Game resulting in this game being a semifinal game of the "2001 SEC Playoff". Tennessee won 34-32 when Florida missed a late 2-point pass to seal the victory, ending their 30-year winless drought at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium with their first win at that stadium since 1971.
Backround
As usual, the Gators and Vols were slated to meet on the third Saturday of September during the 2001 season. However, the SEC canceled all games on the weekend following the September 11 attacks, and all contests were rescheduled for December 1, 2001, requiring the SEC Championship Game to be pushed back a week as well.
As the season progressed, the postponed game took on greater and greater importance. Each squad suffered only one close loss and entered the contest with Tennessee ranked No. 6 and Florida ranked No. 2. The winner represented the SEC East and faced the winner of the LSU-Auburn game in the SEC Championship. With a win in that game, the Gators or Vols were likely to receive an invitation to the Rose Bowl to face the undefeated Miami Hurricanes with a national title on the line.
But in 2001, despite the teams' identical records and much to the chagrin of the Vols, the Gators were 17½ point favorites at kickoff.
Tennessee
Tennessee got off to a strong start to the season winning each of their first three games highlighted by a 28-16 win over #14 LSU and after that, Tennessee was ranked #6. With a 26-24 loss in their rivalry game against Georgia, Tennessee fell back to #11. Tennessee went undefeated the rest of the way heading into this game including a 17-10 win over #12 South Carolina and a 38-0 win over in-state rival Vanderbilt and Tennessee was ranked #4 for their game against Florida.
Florida
Florida got off to a 5-0 start to the season which included a 52-0 win over #21 Mississippi State and a 44-15 win against rival #18 LSU on the road and after which, Florida was ranked #1. After suffering an upset loss against rival Auburn at home losing 23-20, Florida dropped to #6. Florida was strong for the rest of the season which included wins over rival #15 Georgia (24-10), #14 South Carolina (54-17, on the road), and in-state rival #20 Florida State (37-13, at home), Florida was ranked #2 for their game against Tennessee. Gators starting running back Earnest Graham had been controversially injured in Florida's win over rival Florida State the previous week and was unable to play.
Game Summary
First quarter
Tennessee forced a three-and-out on Florida's first possession. Tennessee scored a touchdown on their first possession with a Casey Clausen two-yard pass to Troy Fleming which put the Vols up 7-0. Jabari Greer intercepted one of Rex Grossman's passes on Florida's next possession. A Travis Stephens six-yard run for a touchdown gave the Vols an early 14-0 lead. The first quarter concluded with a 14-0 lead for the Vols.
Second quarter
Rex Grossman had a one-yard run for a touchdown early in the second quarter to cut the Vols lead to 14-7. Florida got good field possession on their next possession after Jason Witten fumbled the ball and Todd Johnson recovered it for a 10-yard return which put the Gators on Tennessee's 16-yard line. Tennessee held Florida to a field goal but Jeff Chandler's 22-yard field goal was good to cut the Vols lead to 14-10. Florida had good field possession on their next possession again when Mike Nattiel intercepted one of Casey Clausen's passes and had a 25-yard interception return to put the Gators on Tennessee's 22-yard line. On Florida's first play of that possession, Rex Grossman had a 22-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney for a touchdown which gave the Gators a 17-14 lead. On Tennessee's next possession, Alex Walls's 43-yard field goal was no good. To conclude the first half, Jeff Chandler made a 27-yard field goal which gave the Gators a 20-14 halftime lead.
Third quarter
To start the third quarter, Travis Stephens ran 35 yards for a touchdown to put the Vols up 21-20. On Florida's next possession, Jeff Chandler hit a 35-yard field goal to put the Gators up 23-21. On Tennessee's next possession, Lito Sheppard intercepted one of Casey Clausen's passes. Florida, however, turned the ball over on downs on their next possession. The third quarter concluded with the Gators leading, 23-21.
Fourth quarter
To start the fourth quarter, Jabari Davis had a two-yard run for a touchdown to put the Vols up 27-23. Tennessee elected to go for two to give the Vols a six-point lead, but a Casey Clausen two-yard run failed which kept the Vols lead at 27-23. On Florida's next possession, Jeff Chandler hit a 52-yard field goal which narrowed the Vols lead to 27-26. On Tennessee's next possession Jabari Davis had a one-yard run to give the Vols a 34-26 lead. Both teams had to punt on their next possession. On Florida's final possession, Rex Grossman had a three-yard pass to Carlos Perez for a touchdown which cut the Vols lead to 34-32. The Gators elected to go for two to tie the game but Rex Grossman's two-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney was incomplete, and the Vols won the game 34-32 for their first win at the Swamp since 1971.
Scoring summary
Aftermath
Ultimately, neither team won any championships that season. Tennessee was upset by LSU in the SEC Championship Game the following Saturday and missed their opportunity to play for a second national title in four years. The Vols ended up beating Michigan 45-17 in the Citrus Bowl. Florida was invited to the Orange Bowl, where they beat Maryland 56-23.
The teams' December meeting became even more historical in early January, when Steve Spurrier announced that he was resigning as Florida's head coach after 12 seasons. The 2001 game was thus the last matchup in the Spurrier/Fulmer chapter of the rivalry (they met several additional occasions after Spurrier became head coach in 2005) and Spurrier's last home game at Florida Field.

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