The game remained tied going to overtime. Florida won the toss, but elected to open on defense. On Tennessee's first possession, quarterback Tee Martin made a key third down run, erasing a costly penalty and put his team back into field-goal range. Kicker Jeff Hall responded with a 41-yard field goal to give Tennessee the advantage.
The Gators failed to convert on the first three plays of their series. Forced to choose between going for it on fourth down or relying on one of two unreliable placekickers, coach Steve Spurrier elected to try for the tie. The decision failed to pay off, though, as Collins Cooper went wide left on a 32-yard attempt.
And the celebration began in Neyland Stadium as a record crowd of 107,653 strormed onto the field to tear down the goalposts. It was Tennessee's first win over the Gators in six years.
The Volunteers defense played huge, led by linebacker Al Wilson. Wilson forced three fumbles in the game. In all, Tennessee forced five Florida turnovers. The Gators were held to minus-13 yards, and the Vols collected five sacks on the evening for 54 yards.
Also for Tennessee, Jamal Lewis ran for 82 yards, and Martin completed 7-of-20 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown. Quarterbacks Jesse Palmer and Doug Johnson combined to complete 31 of 49 passes for 409 yards in the losing effort.
"We didn't hurt ourselves tonight, and obviously the turnovers were the difference in a game like this," Vols coach Phillip Fulmer told reporters after the game. "Any time you beat a team like Florida it's a great win. It's a great time for this team."
But Tennesse and Florida weren't the only teams taking it to overtime this weekend. Virginia Tech quarterback Al Clark hit Ricky Hall with a 24-yard touchdown pass on the second play of the extra frame to give the Hokies (No. 21 in the Coaches poll) a 27-20 win over Miami. The Tech defense, led by Keion Carpenter, forced five turnovers including four in the third quarter. Carpenter recovered two of them.
