Tennessee Stays in Running With 34-32 Victory Over Florida and One More Game to Prove Itself

The wife of the winning coach stormed the field and darn near knocked over her husband. The winning quarterback jumped into the stands, grabbed a baton and directed the band in a victory serenade. Then the quarterback hopped back onto the field and shouted out a declaration for all of California to hear.

“We’ve got one more game and then I’m going home for the Rose Bowl,” Casey Clausen hollered.

The Pacific 10 Conference champions won’t play in the Rose Bowl this season, but two California quarterbacks might, with the national championship at stake. Miami’s Ken Dorsey, from the San Francisco Bay Area town of Orinda, will be there. Clausen just might be too, after the kid from Northridge steered fourth-ranked Tennessee to a 34-32 victory over second-ranked Florida Saturday.

In a game in which Florida quarterback Rex Grossman threw for 362 yards--a typical week for him--the most impressive offensive statistics were posted by a running back. Tennessee tailback Travis Stephens ran for 226 yards, which would have been the most ever against the Gators had Herschel Walker not rushed for 238 against them in 1980.

So, next Saturday, Grossman will appear in New York, as a finalist at the Heisman Trophy award ceremony. Stephens and Clausen will appear in Atlanta, in the Southeastern Conference championship game, one victory and a little luck away from the Rose Bowl.

The Hurricanes (11-0) are in. The Volunteers (10-1) must beat Louisiana State for the SEC title next week, then pray the BCS computers anoint them as Miami’s opponent rather than Nebraska or Oregon. The Volunteers, two points away from an undefeated season, simply remind you they beat the team that was supposed to play the Hurricanes, the team favored Saturday by--no kidding--18 points.

“All week, all we heard about was Florida-Miami for a national championship,” Tennessee defensive back Andre Lott said. “We came out and showed the world you have to do your talking on the field.”

Said Clausen: “Nobody gave us a chance. All we heard was Florida was making plans for the Rose Bowl. That was embarrassing to us ... We’re going to the Rose Bowl, no doubt in my mind.”

Grossman completed 33 of 51 passes, including two touchdowns, and orchestrated a finish just short of heroic. On Florida’s final drive, the Gators (9-2) trailed 34-26 and faced first-and-20 at the Tennessee 45. The next seven plays were passes; Grossman completed six, the last one for two yards and a touchdown that narrowed the Tennessee lead to 34-32 with 1:10 left to play.

The two-point conversion play, the one that could have tied the score and forced overtime, instead exemplified all that went wrong for Grossman and the Gators. The Tennessee defense put so much pressure on him that the pass skipped harmlessly away from its intended target, no surprise on a day the Volunteers sacked Grossman four times, tipped five of his passes and relentlessly and effectively hounded him.

In one sequence in the first quarter, Tennessee defensive linemen deflected three of four passes, one of which was then intercepted.

“He didn’t throw too many in the middle after that,” said Tennessee defensive tackle John Henderson, who deflected two of those passes. “He was surprised. I saw it in his eyes. I saw he was a little frustrated.”

Clausen didn’t throw as often as Grossman, or as productively, but he didn’t have to. He completed 17 of 25 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions. The Volunteer offensive linemen were just as dominant as their defensive colleagues. Clausen not only did not get sacked but said “I didn’t get touched one time.”

The linemen were at the service of not only Clausen but Stephens, whose 226 yards included runs of 34, 35, 49 and 68 yards.

Said Florida Coach Steve Spurrier: “They ran it down our throats pretty good ... I don’t know where all our guys went, but he [Stephens] would hit up through there and all of a sudden --I don’t know, it looked like Colorado running through Nebraska.”

They never shut up here, ever. They certainly did not shut up with 85,771 on hand, the largest crowd in Florida history and one of the loudest crowds since decibel levels were first recorded.

They did not shut up when Tennessee rolled to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Gators’ largest deficit of the season. They did not shut up, especially with Clausen within earshot.

“I like people yelling at me and calling me things,” he said. “I’m a little stranger than most quarterbacks.”

During the week, Clausen had talked with former Tennessee hero Peyton Manning about surviving at the pit they call “The Swamp.” Two audibles led to penalties for false starts, and Clausen had to call time out four minutes into the game to avoid another penalty, but he loved every minute of it.

This, he said, was why he spurned the hometown schools. This, he said, reflected the devotion and the intensity you just can’t get at at UCLA or USC game, with grown men proudly--and loudly--dressed in orange and students mugging for the ESPN cameras seven hours before game time.

“It was a national championship-type atmosphere here,” he said. “We play in front of 107,000 people every single game [at home].

“There’s something special about SEC football. It’s a passion. It’s a religion.”