because of an ineligible man downfield penalty, Palmer's next pass was to wide receiver Jabar Gaffney in the endzone. Gaffney held the ball for a brief moment before it was quickly slapped away by Volunteers cornerback Willie Miles. The official in the area signaled a touchdown, ruling that Gaffney had had possession of the ball long enough to be considered a catch. After a brief conference with the referee, the call was confirmed despite strident protests from the UT coaching staff and loud boos from the crowd. The extra point gave Florida a 27–23 victory. After the game, Volunteer fans were incensed by the call, as they believed Gaffney never gained possession of the ball and that the pass should have been ruled incomplete. Vanderbilt alumnus Al Matthews, the line judge official who made the initial call, received death threats after the game and was not assigned to officiate any games in Knoxville until after Fulmer left. 2001: Season finale As usual, the Gators and Vols were slated to meet on the 3rd Saturday of September during the 2001 season. However, the SEC canceled all games on the weekend following the September 11 attacks, and they were rescheduled for December 1, 2001, requiring the 2001 SEC Championship Game to be pushed back a week as well to December 8. As the season progressed, the postponed game took on greater and greater importance. Each squad suffered only one close loss (#6 Tennessee lost to Georgia 26–24, #1 Florida lost to Auburn 23–20) and entered the contest with Tennessee ranked #5 and Florida ranked #2. The winner would represent the SEC East and face LSU in the SEC Championship. With a win in that game, the Gators or Vols were likely to receive an invitation to the Rose Bowl to face the undefeated Miami Hurricanes with a national title on the line. But in 2001, despite the teams' identical records and much to the chagrin of the Vols, the Gators were 17-and-a-half point favorites at kickoff. Gators starting running back Earnest Graham had been controversially injured in UF's win over rival Florida State the previous week and was unable to play. The star of the game would turn out to be the running back for the other squad, as UT's Travis Stephens rushed 19 times for 226 yards (the second highest total ever given up by a Florida defense) and two touchdowns