Dylan Sampson scored his third touchdown of the night with a 1-yard run in overtime, leading No. 8 Tennessee to a 23-17 win over Florida on Saturday night.
The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) went to overtime for only the second time in their history, the first being in 1998 when they won the national championship.
Florida’s Trey Smack missed a 47-yard field goal attempt on the first possession of overtime. “Once (Florida) missed the field goal, I knew we would win,” Sampson said.
“(After the miss), we were going to run the football and be sound in doing it,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “(Sampson) always has great vision, great pace. He’s always been good running between the tackles.”
The Gators tied the game with 29 seconds remaining when DJ Lagway threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike. After preparing for a 2-point conversion, Tennessee called a timeout and Florida opted for an extra point instead.
Sampson rushed for 112 yards and scored a 23-yard touchdown to put Tennessee ahead in the fourth quarter, following a defensive stand that forced Florida to punt from deep in their own territory.
“(The defense) is confident,” Heupel said. “They don’t just think (something good) is going to happen. They have to make it happen.”
Florida initially took a 10-0 lead, with Graham Mertz connecting with Arlis Boardingham on a 13-yard touchdown pass midway through the third quarter. However, Mertz injured his left leg on that play.
“The tale of the tape is our missed opportunities in the first half,” Florida coach Billy Napier said.
The Gators were ahead 3-0 at halftime but fumbled on the Tennessee 1-yard line and committed an illegal substitution penalty on a field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter, which negated their points due to a 10-second run-off.
“We had many opportunities to score points,” Napier said.
Sampson then scored on a 6-yard run, and Lagway, who stepped in for Mertz, threw an interception that led to Max Gilbert’s 35-yard field goal to tie the game.
