Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson (6) leaves the field after scoring the game-winning touchdown in overtime on Saturday.
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Dylan Sampson scored his third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run in overtime to give Tennessee a 23-17 victory over Florida on Saturday night.
The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) went to overtime for only the second time. The first was in 1998 when they won the national title.
Trey Smack missed a 47-yard field goal try for Florida (3-3, 1-2) on the first overtime possession.
"Once (Florida) missed the field goal, I knew we would win," Sampson said.
"(After the miss), we were going to run the football and be sound in doing it," said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. "(Sampson) always has great vision, great pace. He's always been good running between the tackles."
The Gators tied it with 29 seconds left on DJ Lagway's 27-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike. After lining up for a 2-point conversion, Tennessee called a timeout and Florida kicked the extra point.
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Sampson, who rushed for 112 yards, ran 23 yards for a go-ahead, fourth-quarter touchdown. The touchdown was set up by a defensive stand that forced the Gators to punt from their end zone.
"(The defense) is confident," Heupel said. "They don't just think (something good) is going to happen. They have to make it happen."
Florida jumped out to a 10-0 lead, with Graham Mertz hitting Arlis Boardingham with a 13-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter. On the play, Mertz's foot caught in the turf and he sustained a left leg injury.
"The tale of the tape is our missed opportunities in the first half," Florida coach Billy Napier said.
The Gators led 3-0 at the half, but fumbled on the Tennessee 1 and had an illegal substitution penalty on a field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter that had a 10-second run-off negate the points.
"We had many opportunities to score points," Napier said.
Sampson then had a 6-yard scoring, and Lagway, who took over for Mertz, threw an interception that set up Max Gilbert's tying, 35-yard field goal.
Tennessee hosts Alabama on Saturday.
ETSU 31, Samford 28
Jaylen King threw three touchdown passes, including a 75-yarder to AJ Johnson that ignited a 17-point run, and East Tennessee State rallied to beat Samford.
Ray Coney sacked Samford quarterback Quincy Crittendon for an 11-yard loss to the Bulldogs' 11-yard line on a third-down play with less than four minutes remaining. Xavier Gaillardetz returned the punt 34 yards, but a personal foul moved the ball back to the Samford 33.
King connected with Johnson for a 34-yard gain after a holding penalty and the Buccaneers had first-and-goal at the 6. A pass interference penalty on second down gave ETSU a first-and-goal at the 2. Gino English scored from a yard out two plays later to give the Bucs their first lead.
Crittendon fired an 89-yard scoring strike to Rayf Vinson for a 7-0 lead three plays after East Tennessee State turned the ball over on downs at the Samford 5-yard line on the game's opening possession. King passed to Hakeem Meggett for a 31-yard score, pulling the Buccaneers even by the end of the quarter.
Crittendon answered with a 41yard touchdown pass to E. Jai Mason 1:45 later and a 23-yarder to Wesley Carlock 2:05 into the second quarter for a 21-7 advantage. King connected with Johnson for a 15-yard score to get ETSU within seven at halftime.
Crittendon upped the Bulldogs' lead to 28-14 with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Mason, but King answered with his long scoring strike to Johnson two plays later and the Buccaneers again trailed by seven heading to the fourth quarter.
Ewan Johnson's 23-yard field goal pulled ETSU within 28-24 less than a minute into the final period.
King also threw three interceptions for ETSU (4-3, 2-1 Southern Conference), finishing with 268 yards on 15-for-27 passing. He rushed for 80 yards on 19 carries. Johnson totaled 146 yards on seven receptions. The Buccaneers have already eclipsed their win total from a season ago.
Crittendon completed 27 of 36 passes for 306 yards and four touchdowns.
Anderson 20, UVa-Wise 13
The football team at the University of Virginia's College at Wise is having trouble finding the end zone.
The Highland Cavaliers suffered a homecoming loss to the Anderson Trojans from South Carolina on Saturday afternoon as missed opportunities piled up in a second straight loss at Carl Smith Stadium.
A week after a 33-0 loss to Wingate, UVa-Wise (2-3) scored just one touchdown. That occurred with 8:12 remaining in the first quarter as Dorien Goddard (Greeneville) caught a 1-yard TD toss from Jake Corkren.
Field goals from 29 and 19 yards off the foot of Jordan Crabtree accounted for the other six points. The Cavs held a 432-288 edge in total offense but had a potential touchdown pass wiped away due to a penalty and went 0-for-4 on fourth-down conversions.
DeJavius Dozier had 145 rushing yards on 15 carries for UVaWise, while former Grundy High School standout Ian Scammell gained 83 yards on 16 carries.
Brub Hines III played well on defense once again for the Highland Cavaliers and recorded a dozen tackles.
Anderson (2-3) is a first-year program that notched the first South Atlantic Conference gridiron win in school history. Third-quarter touchdown runs by JB Seay and Tyler Wesley were vital for the Trojans.
UVa-Wise plays at Carson-Newman on Saturday.
Louisville 24, Virginia 20
As Louisville took the field late in Saturday's game at Virginia, trailing by three points, quarterback Tyler Shough had a simple and direct message for his teammates.
"Let's go win it," Shough said afterward. "This is the drive we go prove ourselves."
For a third straight week the Cardinals found themselves in a one-score game. This time they found a way to pull it out. Shough hit a wide-open Jamari Johnson for a 14-yard touchdown with 1:55 to play to snap a two-game slide with a 24-20 win over Virginia at Scott Stadium.
Isaac Brown rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns, and Alabama transfer Ja'Corey Brooks had 83 yards on five catches for the Cardinals.
"A back-and-forth game that wasn't perfect by any means," Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. "But it was a hard, workmanlike job that our team did."
Virginia's Anthony Colandrea threw for 279 yards and a go-ahead touchdown with 10:03 left to play, and also ran for a season-high 84 yards. Wide receiver Malachi Fields caught nine passes for 129 yards.
Virginia, which scored 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter of last weekend's win over Boston College, sought its first three-game win streak and first back-to-back Atlantic Coast Conference home victories of the Tony Elliott era and its defense came up with a pair of huge plays on Louisville's first possession in the final quarter.
With the Cardinals in the red zone, defensive end Chico Bennett raced off the edge to haul down Brown for a 2-yard loss on second down. On third down, linebacker Kam Robinson sacked Shough to force a 41-yard field goal try, which Louisville's Brock Travelstead missed, keeping the Cavaliers within striking distance, down 17-13.
On the ensuing drive, with Louisville bringing pressure on a second-down play near midfield, Colandrea stood in and delivered a pass in the flat to Xavier Brown, who took off up the Cardinals' sideline, breaking one tackle on his way to a 46-yard go-ahead touchdown.
"I knew where I was going with the football," Colandrea said. "I see him catch it and then I just start running down, chasing him. He made a great play and scored."
But, this time, Shough and Louisville had an answer, driving 67 yards in 11 plays for the game-winning score.
On the touchdown pass, Shough faked a handoff that most of the Virginia defense bit on, leaving Johnson running free in the end zone.
"They ran a good play, heavy play-action," said linebacker James Jackson. "We just have to communicate, and guys have to be on the same page."
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