KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The hill behind the Copper Cellar restaurant on Cumberland Avenue juts on a 45-degree angle up a hill. That’s where Mike Nichols sat under a Tennessee-orange tent with his wife Janice and friends a few hours before kickoff Saturday.
Nichols, a Knoxville native, wore the orange-checkered socks and the “Battle at Bristol” shirt. He’s been to almost every Florida game since the 1970s, and he had no problem making the drive from Hilton Head, S.C., to attend this one. Nichols sat talking with his dauther-in-law Lauren Julian and friends Ken Alford and Mike Miller while the heat flirted with 90 degrees three hours before No. 14 Tennessee met No. 19 Florida at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
Nichols tried to put into words the 11-game losing streak to the Gators.
“We’ve had the superior talent for most of the last 11 games,” Nichols says. “We’re just jinxed against them, for whatever reason. I’d call it a darn jinx. There’s no way to explain being 13-points ahead with six minutes again to go. But hopefully it happens today. It’s going to be louder than it’s been in a long, long time.”
Nichols would have no idea how right he would be. Tennessee beat Florida 38-28, but they had go through hell one more time to get there.
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Jinx couldn’t even begin to describe the first half for Tennessee. It was a meltdown; a continuation of last year’s collapse that led to a 28-27 loss in The Swamp. Tennessee dropped five passes. Florida quarterback Austin Appleby completed five passes of 20 yards or more. Tennessee had two drives inside the 5-yard line but couldn’t score. Joshua Dobbs threw a red-zone interception.
Murphy’s Law – or maybe even Spurrier’s Law. Florida led 21-3. The crowd at Neyland Stadium booed as the players headed for the locker room at halftime. That was louder than it’s been in a while, too, especially on social media. Jones was back on the hot seat halfway into a game.
“In the first half, I thought we were an emotional team,” Jones said. “We don’t like emotional teams, we like passionate teams. I thought we were too emotional. We were living and dying on every single snap, instead of playing one snap, clear, and moving onto the next snap.”
Give Jones credit here. He didn’t fall into those emotions in the second half. Neither did players such as running back Alvin Kamara, who dropped a red-zone pass in the first half. He remembered the message former Tennessee greats Jamal Lewis and Al Wilson passed on before the game. “Keep calm.” Kamara and Dobbs took turns reassuring the team. Dobbs said the message was “positivity.” Kamara took it a step further.
“I think we felt good about what was about to happen,” Kamara said.
It’s still hard to believe what happened next.
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A third-and-3 unlocked the door. That’s when Dobbs threw across his body to Jason Croom for a first down in the third quarter. A 23-yard TD pass to Jalen Hurd followed. Then another TD pass to Ethan Wolf on the next possession to cut that lead to 21-17. The first full-go version of “Rocky Top” played with 0:59 left in the third quarter.
While the offense found its rhythm, Tennessee’s defense, led by Derek Barnett, stifled Florida’s offense. The Gators gained three yards on 11 plays. Barnett’s edge rush disrupted Appleby’s timing.
“I thought Derek Barnett took the game over,” Jones said.
Barnett, meanwhile, was looking at the other sideline after each three-and-out.
“I think their body language on the sideline,” Barnett said. “I think they were worried about talking too much and not focusing on football. That showed in the end.”
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The fourth quarter is typically when that jinx would kick in, but this time the break went the other way. Dobbs lofted a deep sideline pass to Jauan Jennings, who bobbled the ball while tight-roping the sideline. He eventually reeled it in and screamed down the sideline for a 67-yard sideline. Tennessee led 24-21 with 12:45 remaining.
Todd Kelly Jr. would intercepted Appley on the next play from scrimmage. Dobbs hit Josh Malone with a TD pass next. Then Dobbs ran in another TD – his fifth total TD of the half -- with 8:27 left. That’s when the unofficial party began.
Kelly Jr. — a Knoxville native — couldn’t wait. He was in the stands at Neyland Stadium on Sept. 18, 2004, when James Wilhoit drilled a 50-yard field goal to beat Florida 30-28.
“I had that in the back of my mind all four quarters,” Kelly Jr. said. “Even when we were down, I knew to keep pushing, keep fighting and never give up. I remember what that was like.”
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Now, Tennessee is going to feel something else it hasn’t felt in a while. The Volunteers are in the driver’s seat in the SEC East heading into October, and a three-game stretch against No. 12 Georgia, No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 1 Alabama is on the horizon.
Jones insisted all offseason that one game doesn’t define a season, even if that one game could be the launch point for a championship season. Tennessee is looking to make it back to the SEC championship game for the first time since 2007.
Jones pointed at the media in the postgame press conference before delivering his message. He wants you to understand something.
“We have something special here,” Jones said. “Must win, all that - that is not the case. We are building something special here with character and competitiveness. It's just one game. We've got to go on the road next week.
“The resolve of these kids, with all the expectations on this football game and you go down at half time and to have that second half performance,” he said before stopping one last time. “If you don't have character in your football program; that does not happen."
In other words – or words for this generation – “Keep Calm and Rocky Top.”
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That hasn’t happened in Knoxville in a while, and it was OK to enjoy the moment. PA announcer Jeff Jernigan confirmed, “And once again the final score, Tennessee 38, Florida 28.” The loudest cheer in a long time enveloped Neyland Stadium. Barnett could only watch.
“I like sitting back and watching, watching it all happen,” Barnett said. “I don’t want to celebrate and miss the enjoyment. I just sat back and watched everybody celebrate. It’s a great feeling.”
Of course, two choruses of “Rocky Top” followed and slid into Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Perhaps because the 102,455 in attendance maybe couldn’t believe what just happened. The jinx was over.
Nichols was right.
It hasn’t been that loud in a long, long time.
