FINAL: No. 20 Tennessee 31, Gators 11

Saturday, November 22

Gainesville, Fla.

7:30 PM

Florida Gators

3-8 , 2-6

Tennessee

8-3 , 4-3

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Tennessee

Florida

Jadan Baugh on the run against Tennessee on Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Victoria Riccobono/UAA Communications)

FINAL: No. 20 Tennessee 31, Gators 11

Saturday, November 22, 2025 | Football, Scott Carter

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

What Happened

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The streak is over.

No, not Florida's NCAA-record scoring streak. The Gators found a way to score, but their 10-game home win streak over Tennessee came to an ugly end in a 31-11 loss on Saturday night at sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The No. 20-ranked Vols (8-3, 4-3) scored touchdowns on their first four possessions and opened a 31-0 halftime lead that sunk the Gators (3-8, 2-6) and quieted the crowd.

"We couldn't get them off the field,'' Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales said. "I guess a positive for us, if you start looking at numbers ... Jadan Baugh had an excellent game for us. Does it hurt? Absolutely. Our job is to continue to try and help these players to get better and to coach them."

Florida extended its NCAA-record scoring streak to 472 games on a Trey Smack 46-yard field goal with 2:04 left in the third quarter. Smack's kick — he missed a 38-yard attempt on Florida's only significant drive of the first half — capped a 13-play, 71-yard drive that made the score 31-3. The Gators' final highlight was a 33-yard touchdown pass from DJ Lagway to Baugh midway through the fourth quarter.

The Vols exploded from the start, with quarterback Joey Aguilar connecting with Ethan Davis for a 23-yard touchdown pass on the game's opening series. DeSean Bishop added a pair of 1-yard scoring runs on Tennessee's next two drives, and by that point, Tennessee had out-gained the Gators 189-1. A sign of what was to come happened on Florida's opening drive following Aguilar's throw to Davis. On the Gators' second play from scrimmage, Lagway tossed a pass to Baugh, who raced through the Tennessee defense for a 42-yard gain. However, a holding call on Austin Barber wiped out the play and led to a punt.

Meanwhile, Star Thomas added a 1-yard run with 9:14 remaining in the first half for the Vols' final touchdown and Tennessee padded its lead on the last play of the first half on a 26-yard field goal by Max Gilbert.

The Gators could do nothing but trudge to the locker room and search for answers. They responded with a better second half and hope to carry some of that momentum into the regular-season finale next week at home against Florida State.

"They have a tough offense to stop. They spread you out. It's some tough times,'' senior cornerback Devin Moore said. "There's a standard here at the University of Florida. We're playing for each other. Those guys in the locker room don't want us to go out on a bad note."

Aguilar finished 17 of 22 for 204 yards and a score, and Bishop rushed for 116 yards and two scores on 24 carries. The Vols, who entered the game with the No. 1-ranked offense in the Southeastern Conference (495.0 yards per game), answered the call for their first win at Florida since 2003 and 248 yards rushing, the most against the Gators this season. Tennessee finished with 452 yards and 28 first downs, and despite not scoring in the second half, was never threatened by the Gators.

Lagway finished 11 of 17 for 116 yards and a score, and Baugh rushed 18 times for 96 yards.

"We didn't put a ton of drives together offensively,'' Gonzales said. "Our players want to continue to fight. We've got to go back and obviously try to figure out what we can do to get a victory."

Florida dropped to 0-4 under Gonzales on a night when Gonzales' mentor and receivers coach at Colorado State, former Gators coach Urban Meyer, was honored for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Florida also announced at the end of the first quarter, after Meyer made a brief on-field speech, that the 61-year-old Meyer will be placed into Florida's Ring of Honor in 2026.

Meyer was 6-0 against Tennessee and in his first win against the Volunteers in 2005, a 16-7 UF victory at The Swamp, started the Gators' 10-game home win streak in the series that ended Saturday night.

"We played a half of football,'' Gonzales said. "We didn't play the first half, and we came out in the second half, and played solid."

Lagway, DJ (2025 vs. Tennessee) — Quarterback **DJ Lagway** broke off a 38-yard run in the second quarter, one of the few highlights for the Gators on Saturday night. (Photo: **Hannah White**/UAA Communications)

What it Means

The Gators' tumultuous season reached a new low on Saturday as they lost their eighth game of the season, the program's first eight-loss season since the 2013 team finished 4-8, which snapped a streak of 33 consecutive non-losing seasons for Florida dating to 1980.

In the Spotlight

Gator Nation. What? Let's explain. The Gators ran out of the tunnel in front of their 17th consecutive sellout. The game turned ugly from the start, but an announced crowd of 90,465 had The Swamp jumping at kickoff. Unfortunately, many fans departed at halftime with the Gators trailing 31-0, but the fans deserve a shout out for the way they have continued to show up on Saturdays. "The fans have always been great,'' Gonzales said. "Gator Nation and the fans are fantastic."

Staggering Statistic

The Vols scored four touchdowns on their first four drives and had out-gained the Gators 248 yards to 22 with 9:14 left in the first half. Meanwhile, Tennessee racked up 13 first downs before Florida managed its first on a 6-yard run by Baugh in the second quarter.

Up Next

Florida (3-8) closes the regular season at home against rival Florida State (5-6) next Saturday at The Swamp. The Seminoles lost at N.C. State on Friday night and are 2-6 since a 3-0 start that included a season-opening victory over Alabama.

Email senior writer Scott Carter at scottc@gators.ufl.edu Find his story archives here.