College Football Old School Game of the Week: Wilhoit's Long FG Gives Vols Win over Gators

James Wilhoit(25) would make a 50-yard field goal with six seconds to go to give the Vols the win over Florida in 2004.

 The field goal kicker is perhaps the most stressful position in all of football as one can forever remembered a hero with if he is able to make the game-winning field goal or as it a goat if he misses it or has a series of misses that ends costing his team the game.

In 2004, Tennessee Volunteers kicker James Wilhoit was able to feel both extremes in the same game as he would go from rock bottom to top of the world in the Vols' annual September showdown with the Florida Gators.

The Volunteers came into the game ranked #13 in the country under head coach Philip Fulmer who was beginning his 12th season as the Tennessee head coach but still looking for a new starting quarterback to replace Casey Clausen who had graduated after the 2003 season.

True freshmen Erik Ainge, nephew of former NBA player Danny Ainge, and Brett Schaeffer would both get reps with the first team offense during the Vols' season opener with the UNLV Runnin Rebels thirteen days prior to the Florida game.

Schaeffer, who was a dual threat quarterback got the start as he completed seven of 10 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown while running for 29 yards and another touchdown on seven carries while Ainge, who was a traditional drop back passer, completed 10 of 17 passes for 118 yards and throwing two touchdowns as the Volunteers easily defeated the Rebels 42-17.

Fulmer would not name a starting quarterback for the Florida game as he would once again go with the two-quarterback system as the Vols prepared to host the Gators, who came into the game ranked #11 in the country but intense pressure to perform for their embattled head coach, Ron Zook.

Zook had became the Gators' head coach after Steve Spurrier left to become the coach of the Washington Redskins in 2002 after a 12-year tenure where the "ol Ball coach" complied a record of 122-27-1 while leading the Gators to five SEC championships and the 1996 national championship.

But after back-to-back 8-5 seasons, Zook was on the hot seat entering the 2004 season as he had lost five home games in his first two seasons in Gainesville compared to the five that Spurrier had lost during his entire 12-year run.

With sophomore Chris Leak returning as the Gators' starting quarterback, Florida would defeat Eastern Michigan 49-10 in their season opener before traveling up to Knoxville to take on the Vols in a primetime showdown.

The Vols would start the game on offense as Schaeffer would get the start at quarterback for Tennessee's opening possession which ended in a turnover when running back Derrick Tinsley dropped a handoff on an end-around that was recovered by Florida defensive back Dematrice Webb at the Volunteers' 32-yard-line.

Five plays later, Leak would find wide receiver O.J. Small for a five-yard touchdown to give the Gators a 7-0 lead with 11:15 left in the first quarter.

Florida quarterback Chris Leak would throw for 286 yards and three touchdowns.

The Vols would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line for their next possession where they relied on their stable of running backs to drive down the field as Tennessee would attempt a single pass during the drive.

Cedric Houston would carry the ball on the first four plays of the drive, gaining 34 yards, before Gerald Riggs Jr got four carries which went for 28 yards, while Schaeffer ran for 16 yards on two carries to move the Vols to the Gators' two-yard-line.

From there, Jabari Davis would carry the ball on the last two plays of the drive with the second carry being an one-yard touchdown to end the 12-play, 80-yard drive and tie the game at seven.

Florida would begin its next possession at their 32-yard-line as the Gators would advance to the Tennessee 47-yard-line until Leak was picked off by Volunteers safety Jason Allen on a deep pass intended for Andre Caldwell in the end zone as the Vols would begin their next drive at their 20-yard-line.

Now it was Ainge's turn at quarterback as he started the drive with a 13-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Hannon then ended it with a 16-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin  Reed to give Tennessee a 14-7 lead just 44 seconds into the second quarter.

The Gators would get horrible field position for their next drive as Caldwell caught the kickoff while going out of bounds at the Florida three-yard-line.

However, the Gators would drive 97 yards in 16 plays as they converted on four straight 3rd down situations, the first being a shovel pass from Leak to running back Ciatrick Faison that went for 21 yards, followed by a 11-yard pass to wide receiver Dallas Baker on a 3rd & 5 and then a seven-yard pass to wide receiver O.J. Small on a 3rd & 4 and wrapped with a 13-yard pass to Baker on a 3rd & 9.

The drive culminated with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Leak to wide receiver Jemalle Cornelius to tie the game at 14 with 7:32 to go in the second quarter.

The Volunteers' ensuing possession would end in a turnover as Ainge was intercepted by Florida safety Terrence Holmes who returned the pick 20 yards to the Tennessee 30-yard-line as Leak would complete a 29-yard pass to Caldwell on the next play from scrimmage to set up an one-yard touchdown run by running back Deshawn Wynn to give Florida a 21-14 lead with 5:29 remaining before halftime.

Both teams would trade punts to end the first half with the Gators on top and set to get the ball to start the second half as Florida would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Vols who would take over at their 28-yard-line with Schaeffer at quarterback.

The drive was going smoothly for the Vols as Schaeffer completed passes of 18 yards to Hannon and 11 yards to Jayson Swain which was followed by a 22-yard run by the freshman quarterback to move Tennessee to the Florida 17-yard-line until Schaeffer lost the football after a quarterback sack by linebacker Earl Everett.

Florida defensive tackle Ray McDonald would recover the fumble to give the Gators the ball at their 23-yard-line as a 32-yard run by Fason along with a 18-yard pass from Leak to Small help Florida advance all the way to the Tennessee one-yard-line where they had a 1st & goal.

But the Gators could not punch into the end zone as Leak lost three yards on a quarterback run on 1st down then threw back-to-back incomplete passes to force a 21-yard field goal attempt by Matt Leach, which sailed wide right to keep the score at 21-14 as Tennessee would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line.

From here on out, Ainge would be the Tennessee quarterback as he would complete seven of nine passes for 62 yards on a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended with the freshman quarterback firing a 23-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bret Smith that with the extra point tied the game at 21 with 13:02 left in the fourth quarter.

Erik Ainge(10) would complete 16 of 24 passes for 192 yards and throw three touchdown passes.

Following an exchange of punts, Florida got the ball back at their six-yard-line as two runs by Wynn for seven yards and a six-yard pass from Leak to Small gave the Gators a 1st down at their 19-yard-line when Leak threw a pass that was tipped by Tennessee safety Brandon Johnson but landed in the hands of Gators wide receiver Chad Jackson at his 45-yard-line as Jackson would run the remaining 55 yards untouched to complete the stunning 81-yard touchdown and give Florida a 28-21 lead with 7:43 left in regulation.

Tennessee would begin its next possession at their 20-yard-line as a pass interference penalty on Florida free safety Jarvis Herring on a 3rd & 9 followed by a 15-yard pass from Ainge to Hannon helped the Vols move to the Gators' 47-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 6 situation with 5:22 to go in the game.

Instead of punting the ball back to the Gators, the Vols would gamble and go for the 1st down which they got when Ainge hit wide receiver Tony Brown for a 32-yard completion to give Tennessee a 1st down at the Florida 15-yard-line.

After two running plays gained two yards, Ainge would fire a 13-yard touchdown pass to Swain as the Vols were on the verge of tying up the game once again when disaster struck as Wilhoit's kick sailed wide right to keep the score at 28-27 in favor of the Gators with 3:25 to go in the game.

The Gators would begin their ensuing possession at their 20-yard-line with a chance to run out the clock if they could pick up a couple of 1st downs.

A nine-yard pass from Leak to Fason followed by a two-yard run by Fason gave the Gators a 1st down at their 31-yard-line with 2:02 to go as Wynn carried the ball on the next two plays, gaining seven yards to set up a crucial 3rd & 3 that if Florida converted, would win them the game.

Wynn would be stopped for no gain but that was not the worst of it as Baker was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after slapping the helmet of Tennessee cornerback Jonathan Wade in response of Wade slapping Baker's helmet.

The officials stopped the clock to assess the penalty but forget it to restart it until the Gators snapped the ball as they punted the ball back to the Volunteers who would take over at their 39-yard-line with 43 seconds to go.

After throwing an incomplete pass to begin the drive, Ainge would hit Hannon for 21 yards to move Tennessee to the Florida 40-yard-line where Ainge would spike the ball to stop the clock with 29 seconds left.

Ainge would then complete a seven-yard pass to Hannon which was followed by another spike to stop the clock with 13 seconds remaining as Fulmer would send Wilhoit on to the field to attempt a 50-yard field goal, one yard shy of his career long of 51 yards that ironically came against Florida in 2003.

Wilhoit would get his redemption as his kick sailed through the uprights with six seconds remaining to give the Vols a 30-28 lead as Florida could not pull off a miracle on the ensuing kickoff on the final play of the game as Tennessee came away with its fourth win in seven years over the Gators.

The loss to Tennessee was the beginning of the end for Zook as one month later after a 38-31 loss to 1-5 Mississippi State, it was announced that Zook would be fired at season's end, though he was allowed to coach the team for the rest of the regular season which ended with a 20-13 win over Florida State.

Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong would be the Gators' interim head coach for the Peach Bowl where Florida would lose 27-10 to the Miami Hurricanes to finish the 2004 season with a 7-5 record.

The Gators would hire Utah head coach Urban Meyer to become their next head coach as Meyer would comply a record of 65-15 over six seasons as Florida won two national championships during Meyer's tenure.

Meanwhile, Tennessee would use its win over Florida as a springboard to the SEC East title as they finished the regular season with a 9-2 record and earn a trip to the SEC Championship Game where the Vols would fall to the Auburn Tigers 38-28.

Tennessee would wrap up its 2004 season with a 38-7 win over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl as the Vols would finish ranked #13 in the final AP poll and #15 in the final coaches poll as Schaeffer would transfer to Ole Miss following the season as Ainge would be benched during his sophomore season before winning back the starting quarterback job for his final two seasons in Knoxville.

As for Wilhoit, he would remain the Vols' kicker through 2006 as he finished his career with 59 successful field goals, third most in Tennessee history and 325 points, which is also third most in school history.