Florida vs. Tennessee: Box score, stats and summary feat. Graham Mertz (Week 7)

The Florida Gators had a wild SEC game when they traveled to Neyland Stadium and almost pulled off a massive upset of the eighth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Instead, the Vols were able to survive as they secured a 23-17 overtime home win.

The Gators drop to 3-2 (1-1 SEC) this season while the Volunteers are now 4-1 (1-1). However, it remains to be seen where the Vols will land in the AP Poll on Sunday.

This game was full of a lot of emotion so let's take a look at the box score and discuss what happened.

Florida vs. Tennessee box score

Florida vs. Tennessee box score

Team	First Quarter	Second Quarter	Third Quarter	Fourth Quarter	Overtime	Final Score
Florida	3	0	7	7	0	17
Tennessee	0	0	10	7	6	23

Florida box score

Quarterback:

Player	Carries	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Passing Completions	Passing Yards	Passing TDs	Interceptions
Graham Mertz	5	11	0	11-15	125	1	0
DJ Lagway	5	1	0	9-17	98	1	1

Rushing & Receiving:

Player	Carries	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Receptions	Receiving Yards	Receiving TDs
Chimere Dike	0	0	0	4	76	0
Artis Boardingham	0	0	0	3	40	1
Hayden Hansen	0	0	0	3	40	0
Elijhah Badger	0	0	0	2	30	0
Graham Mertz	5	11	0	0	0	0
Eugene Wilson III	1	0	0	5	35	0
Ja'Kobi Jackson	5	16	0	1	-1	0
Jadan Baugh	12	25	0	1	-5	0
DJ Lagway	5	1	0	0	0	0
Montrell Johnson Jr.	12	85	0	1	8	0

Defense:

Player	Interceptions	Fumble Recoveries
Grayson Howard	0	1
Sharif Denson	1	0

Kicking:

Player	Extra Points Made/Attempted	Field Goals Made/Attempted	Long
Trey Smack	2-2	1-2	42

Tennessee box score

Quarterback:

Player	Carries	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Passing Completions	Passing Yards	Passing TDs	Interceptions
Nico Iamaleava	8	1	0	16-26	169	0	1

Rushing & Receiving:

DeSean Bishop	7	24	0	0	0	0
Bru McCoy	1	6	0	0	0	0
Nico Iamaleava	8	1	0	0	0	0
Squirrel White	0	0	0	5	71	0
Chris Brazzell II	0	0	0	3	49	0
Chas Nimrod	0	0	0	1	16	0
Dont'e Thornton Jr.	0	0	0	1	11	0
Ethan Davis	0	0	0	2	10	0
Dylan Sampson	27	112	3	2	7	0
Holden Staes	0	0	0	2	5	0

Defense:

Player	Interceptions	Fumble Recoveries
Arion Carter	1	0
James Pearce Jr.	0	1

Kicking:

Player	Extra Points Made/Attempted	Field Goals Made/Attempted	Long
Max Gilbert	2-2	1-1	35

Florida vs. Tennessee Game Summary

This was not a game that the Tennessee Volunteers are going to want to remember as they looked lost in the first half but were able to turn things around in the second half.

The Vols were able to get a massive game from running back Dylan Sampson, who had 112 yards and three touchdowns. Sampson's big game helped overcome a pair of turnovers and going just 4-of-15 on third downs. In the end, it's better to have those mistakes with a win than a loss, but this could cost them a spot or two in the AP Poll.

For the Gators, this proves that they can compete with the big dogs of the conference and were a play or two away from pulling off the upset. The Graham Mertz vs. DJ Lagway conversation continues as neither really dominated. Mertz was the more accurate of the two, going 11-of-15 for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Florida really controlled the possession, having the ball for a few seconds under 35 minutes.

• 3:15 1Q: Trey Smack 42 Yard Field Goal | 3-0 Florida
• 7:18 3Q: Graham Mertz 13 Yard Passing TD to Artis Bordingham | 10-0 Florida
• 2:57 3Q: Dylan Sampson 6 Yard Rushing TD | 10-7 Florida
• 1:37 3Q: Max Gilbert 35 Yard Field Goal | 10-10
• 9:42 4Q: Dylan Sampson 23 Yard Rushing TD | 17-10 Tennessee
• 0:29 4Q: DJ Lagway 27 Yard Passing TD to Chimere Dike | 17-17
• OT: Dylan Sampson 1 Yard Rushing TD | 23-17 Tennessee

​