GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s mastery over Tennessee is still a thing.
And so, clearly, is “The Swamp.”
Sophomore tailback Trevor Etienne rushed for a career-high 172 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown dash that awakened the Gators and their home field advantage Saturday night and set in motion a 29-16 upset of the 11th-ranked Volunteers and provided an orange-and-blue shot in the arm to a head coach, a program and rabid, success-starved fan base in search of a victory exactly like this one.
Make that 17 wins over the last 19 games in the the series, including a run of 10 consecutive UF home victories dating to 2005. In the bigger picture, the triumph gave Napier, in his second season, his first in five cracks against a so-called rivalry opponent, as well as first true signature win in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators (2-1, 1-0), who looked nothing like the disorganized mess that showed up for the season-opening loss two weeks ago at Utah, fell behind early, retook the lead right away, then established the game’s pace and tempo against the mile-a-minute, high-scoring Volunteers (2-1, 0-1), who pride themselves on dictating tempo.
“It validates your plan, what you’re selling to a degree,” Napier said. “Success