Former Alabama QB points out something encouraging he noticed from Tennessee Vols in narrow win against Florida Gators

Not a lot went right for the Tennessee Vols on Saturday night against the Florida Gators, but UT still managed to escape the rivalry game with a 23-17 overtime win.

Tennessee managed just 312 yards of total offense. They were 4-for-15 on third down conversions. They turned the ball over twice and they lost the time of possession by 10 minutes.

But a win is a win. And despite all that went wrong, the Vols will be happy to celebrate a win against the Gators.

Former Alabama QB Greg McElroy saw something encouraging from the Tennessee Vols in narrow win against the Florida Gators

Despite the rough night for the Vols (specifically on offense), former Alabama QB/ESPN analyst Greg McElroy saw something encouraging from Tennessee in the second half.

McElroy noted that when the Vols were down 10-0 in the third quarter, he didn't sense any panic from the sideline -- which can obviously be an issue in big rivalry games.

"It didn't feel like there was a lot of panic on the Tennessee sideline," said McElroy. "That, to me, was very encouraging. Because there was a moment, second half, rivalry game, big moment for Florida, gotta have it situation for Florida. [Tennessee was] down 10-0, there could've been a lot of opportunities to panic. And it didn't seem like that was the case for Tennessee."

The rough night for the offense, for the second week in a row, will be what's talked about this week ahead of a huge game against Alabama next Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.

But the fact that Tennessee was down 10-0 in the second half against Florida and they didn't panic despite not moving the ball well in the first half shows that this team is resilient. It shows that this Tennessee team is about winning more than individual performances.

There's a lot that the Vols need to fix. And they need to fix it in a hurry. But things aren't nearly as bleak for Tennessee as social media would lead you to believe. The Vols are 5-1, they just earned their second win against Florida in the last three seasons, and all of their goals this season are still very much attainable.

Remember, the goal for the Vols is to be playing their best football in the second half of the season. If the offense can start clicking, this team still has championship potential.

Related: Old quote comes back to haunt Florida Gators HC Billy Napier after overtime loss to the Tennessee Vols