Winners, Losers from Tennessee Volunteers’ Dominant Win over Florida Gators in The Swamp

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Winners, Losers from Tennessee Volunteers’ Dominant Win over Florida Gators in The Swamp

Winners, Losers from Tennessee Volunteers' Dominant Win over Florida Gators in The Swamp — Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Matt Johnson · Sportsnaut

Sun, Nov 23, 2025 ·

5 min read

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The Tennessee Volunteers took the field on Saturday against the Florida Gators having not won in The Swamp since 2003. Decades of losing at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, with many of those defeats coming at the hands of Urban Meyer-coached teams, culminated in Tennessee ruining a night dedicated to Meyer.

Let's dive into the winners and losers from the Volunteers' dominant win in The Swamp, ending a decades-long losing streak and silencing the crowd on a night when Meyer was inducted into the Gators' Ring of Honor.

Winner: Josh Heupel Silence Some Critics

Tennessee Volunteers, Florida Gators — Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

It might've only been a minority percentage of the fan base, but they were certainly vocal after losses to Alabama and Oklahoma that head coach Josh Heupel wasn't the guy. It was a wild overreaction, especially since realistic expectations after Joey Aguilar transferred to Tennessee in April were for this to be a seven-win team. Heupel coached well enough for the Volunteers to beat Georgia, but a missed field goal prevented it. So, after two more tough losses, he snapped Tennessee's losing streak in The Swamp with his offense putting on a clinic. Heupel deserves his flowers tonight and the Vols' football program is in great hands moving forward. He's still a bit too conservative of a play-caller for our liking and his clock management needs work, but he's still an excellent coach.

Loser: Urban Meyer's Special Night

We certainly understand the university's thinking in inducting Meyer into the Gators' Ring of Honor on the night the program played Tennessee. After all, Meyer's teams had ownage of the Volunteers during his tenure. Unfortunately for Florida, in what feels appropriate for this season, Meyer's night turned into an embarrassment early. Fans left well before the fourth quarter, the Rocky Top fight song took over The Swamp, and Meyer saw his old program get embarrassed on national television.

Winner: DeSean Bishop Sets the Tone for Volunteers' Offense

It quickly became clear that Florida's plan defensively on Saturday night was to play two safeties deep, taking away deep shots for Joey Aguilar, forcing DeSean Bishop to beat them. A Knoxville native, Bishop knew the importance of this game for Tennessee and he delivered in a big way. Bishop tore through the Gators' front seven and carried the offense, turning 22 carries into 108 rushing yards and 2 scores in the first three quarters. Bishop gets to return home a hero, and he'll now have a great shot at a 1,000-yard season as a sophomore. What a great story for a former walk-on.

Loser: DJ Lagway 's Long-Term Job Security

Amid all the Florida Gators coaching rumors and the speculation about Lane Kiffin, DJ Lagway's future with the program feels increasingly like a foregone conclusion. He wasn't the sole problem for the Gators' offense on Saturday night, but he's been awful against Power 4 competition this season, and that trend continued in Week 13. Once rated as the No. 3 overall recruit and the top-ranked quarterback by 247Sports, it's evident that all those physical tools just haven't translated to much. The next Gators coach can kindly invite Lagway to explore opportunities elsewhere.

Winner: Joey Aguilar Makes Nico Iamaleava an Afterthought

In some of Tennessee's games this season, particularly the losses, Aguilar would resort to his penchant for making bad decisions that result in costly turnovers. Facing an opportunistic defense, the Volunteers quarterback avoided that in The Swamp, and you saw the offense thrive. No one would ever suggest that Aguilar is more physically talented than Iamaleava, but Saturday's victory is another example of the composure, leadership, and willingness to play within the structure of the offense that wasn't always there with Iamaleava. Beating Florida in The Swamp allows Tennessee to forget about its former five-star quarterback for good. Just as important, what Heupel did with Aguilar has to inspire a ton of confidence both in the future for quarterback Faizon Brandon and whichever experienced starter the Vols could land this offseason in the transfer portal.

Loser: Gators Maintaining their Streak without Getting Shutout

In a 31-0 game at home, the Gators coaching staff opted to kick a 46-yard field goal on 4th-and-8 from Tennessee's 28-yard line. All so this program could cling to its historic streak (472 games) without getting shut out. Mind you, this is a three-win season for a program that needs to slam the reset button and dig itself out of a bottomless hole the athletic department put itself in. Congrats to the Gators on extending a meaningless streak that was maintained through a stretch of seven-plus losses in four of the last five years.

Winner: Jadan Baugh is the Heart of the Gators

The next Gators head coach needs to build this offense around Jadan Baugh. In a game where the rest of his teammates didn't show any real effort to speak of, the 6-foot-1 running back played this game like Florida had a shot at a College Football Playoff spot. He bounced off tackles, evaded defenders in the backfield, and kept his legs driving to fight for every last yard he could possibly get. That's the mentality this program hasn't had enough of for several seasons now. As long as Baugh wants to stay in Florida, this should be his offense.

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