College Football
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Florida 31, Tennessee 17
When: 3:30 PM ET, Saturday, September 21, 2013
Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Temperature: 88°
Head Official: Matt Moore
Attendance: 90074

No. 18 Florida 31, Tennessee 17: Tyler Murphy came off the bench to pass for 134 yards and a touchdown and rush for 84 yards and a score as the host Gators overcame a sluggish start to rout the Volunteers.

Mack Brown added 86 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries and Matt Jones also had a rushing score for Florida (2-1, 1-0 SEC East). The Gators turned in another stellar defensive effort, holding Tennessee (2-2, 0-1) to 220 total yards and forcing six turnovers.

Redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman started at quarterback for the Volunteers but went 4-for-11 for 5 yards and threw two interceptions in the first half before being replaced by junior Justin Worley. Worley, who started the first three games, went 10-for-23 for 149 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

Murphy was pressed into action after starting quarterback Jeff Driskel was knocked out in the first quarter with a fractured right fibula that will require season-ending surgery. The injury came when Driskel was hit while delivering a pass that Devaun Swafford intercepted and returned 62 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Tennessee lead.

The Gators took control from there, taking a 10-7 lead on Murphy's 52-yard touchdown pass to Solomon Patton and making it 17-7 on Brown's 3-yard scoring run just before halftime. Tennessee pulled within a touchdown on Michael Palardy's 44-yard field goal on the opening possession of the third quarter, but the Gators put together a pair of 11-play scoring drives to put it away.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Gators have won nine straight meetings, their longest winning streak in the series. … Florida has not opened SEC play with a loss since 2004, when it lost 30-28 at Tennessee. … Tennessee forced three turnovers and has matched last season's total with 12 takeaways.

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Tennessee   Florida
Rajion Neal Player Mack Brown
12 Attempts 24
42 Yards 86
3.5 Avg Yards 3.6
0 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Receiving
Tennessee   Florida
Alton "Pig" Howard Player Solomon Patton
4 Receptions 3
75 Yards 73
18.8 Avg Yards 24.3
1 Touchdowns 1
0 Long 0
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Tennessee 220 66 154 1 1 1 0.0 1
Florida 382 215 167 4 1 4 1.0 2