James Pearce Jr. had seen it on tape.

As the Tennessee edge rusher watched Florida quarterback Graham Mertz go under center on the doorstep of the goal line and a two-score lead for the Gators in the first half at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, he hearkened back to his film study.

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Mertz plowed forward, then rolled to the side. Pearce was there.

He clawed at the ball until it slipped from Mertz's grasp. Then he recovered it. The Vols had snuffed out a Florida scoring opportunity, one of many on the night that gave Tennessee a chance in its ultimate 23-17 overtime triumph over the Gators.

"I saw (Mertz) trying to reach. That was the game plan. I said the sneak was coming," Pearce said. "I just tried to crash as much as possible. He tried to bubble it and the ball came out. Great birthday present for me."

A great birthday present for Pearce, and a great one for the No. 8 Vols (5-1, 2-1 SEC), whose College Football Playoff aspirations remain intact thanks to their defense again.

Tennessee turned Florida away again and again. On a night where the Vols were shutout offensively in the first half for the second-straight week and just the second time in four years under Josh Huepel, the defense kept handing out chances.

There was the fourth down stop inside the Tennessee 18-yard line in the second quarter, when Rickey Gibson III dragged down Eugene Wilson III for no gain. There Omarr Norman-Lott sacking Mertz with seconds left in the first half, forcing a chaotic rush to the field in the final seconds to get off a field goal that resulted in a penalty for too many players on the field for Florida, negating Trey Smack’s made attempt. There was the pass break-up from Jermod McCoy to force another turnover on downs in a tie game in the fourth.

Then there was Arion Carter, who snagged a pass from Florida quarterback DJ Lagway that he returned 15 yards the other way and led directly to Max Gilbert's game-tying field goal in the third.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Everything Josh Heupel said after Tennessee beat Florida

"Just being able to know two by two, just doing my job at the end of the day, playing high-low," Carter said. "I knew if I was going to be able to high the quarterback, I'd be able to dictate the terms on what he may or may not do. I knew if I went down and went on a running back, it was just going to be an easy access throw. I was just able to do my job and make a play."

Regardless of how stagnant Tennessee's offense has played in the last three weeks, the Vols' defense looks eager to meet the challenge of getting the ball back to them. They're confident they will—and they should be.

It was the defense that limited Oklahoma to 36 rushing yards in their SEC opener on the road and made the Sooners' offense virtually a non-factor. It was the defense that gave Tennessee an opportunity to win at Arkansas in its first loss of the season last week.

On Saturday, it was the defense again, keeping Tennessee around until it took its first lead in the fourth quarter and then again in overtime with the game on the line.

"They're confident," Heupel said. "But I don't ever feel like they just think it's going to happen. They understand that they've got to go make it happen and they trust one another."

In no other moment was the trust more evident than on Florida's lone drive in overtime.

After the Gators' game-tying drive with 29 seconds left in regulation, they had the ball back again with 25 yards standing between them and the lead. Florida went backwards, instead.

Lagway's pass to the end zone fell incomplete. A false start penalty, aided by Tennessee's sold-out crowd of 101,000-plus, pushed the Gators back 5 yards. On the next play, Bryson Eason caught Jadan Baugh for a loss of 5 more yards.

Smack’s field goal attempt—47 yards away after the Vols' defensive stop—missed wide. Dylan Sampson scored the game-winning touchdown on the next drive. Tennessee survived, and so do its playoff hopes.

"It's our defense vs. their defense," Eason said. "At the end of the day, I'm taking my defense every time."

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