GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On the one hand, there won’t be a lot of noise about the Florida Gators’ quarterback struggles in the coming week. Anthony Richardson had a career afternoon in a hostile environment Saturday.
The UF defense, on the other hand, had an afternoon it will want to forget at rockin’ Neyland Stadium, where 11th-ranked Tennessee ran over, through and around the visitors on the way to 576 yards of total offense and a 38-33 victory that left the No. 20 Gators winless through two games in Southeastern Conference play for the first time in 36 years.
Richardson put his name in the UF record book by becoming just the sixth quarterback in program history to throw for at least 400 yards against a Southeastern Conference opponent. The sophomore from Gainesville also tossed his first two touchdowns of the season to (perhaps) alleviate some of the concerns about his uneven, turnover-plagued performances of the past two weeks. In fact, Florida’s offense, with 594 yards, outgained Tennessee’s.
“The receivers and I have worked on building chemistry and confidence,” Richardson said after hitting 24 of his 44 attempts for 453 yards, the two scores and one interception. “We showcased that tonight.”
That they did. But Richardson still was the second-best quarterback on the field.
The top honor went to Volunteers fifth-year senior Hendon Hooker, who tallied 501 yards of total offense himself and accounted for a trio of touchdowns. Hooker completed 22 of 28 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing 13 times for 112 yards and a score.
“Hendon was…
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