Florida's Malik Davis fumbles ball right at goal line after long run, Gators win anyways
Florida running back Malik Davis was on his way for a 74-yard touchdown and the Gators’ first offensive touchdown of the year in the fourth quarter vs. Tennessee on Saturday.
Then he got caught from behind near the goal line by Tennessee’s Justin Martin. And Florida’s offensive futility continued.
Martin forced Davis to fumble inside the 2-yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone and out of the back of it for a touchback. Instead of Florida’s first offensive score in nearly two games and a virtually insurmountable 20-3 lead, Tennessee had the ball back trailing by just 10.
The Volunteers scored after the fumble too. Running back John Kelly got a 34-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 13-10. The fumble was a 14-point swing.
Florida got to 13 points in the second half on a pick-six by defensive back C.J. Henderson. It was the third pick-six by the Gators in 2017 as Florida’s two touchdowns vs. Michigan in Week 1 came via interceptions returned for touchdowns.
The good news for Florida was that its struggles ended shortly thereafter. Brandon Power caught a five-yard TD pass from Feleipe Franks with 5:13 left in the fourth to get the Gators off the schneid. Even better: They won the game on a 63-yard Hail Mary as time expired.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
