The 1928 Gators played their final game against coach Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers on the Vols' home field in Knoxville, Tennessee. Neyland was sick with the flu. The game was played on a soft, wet field, following a hard rain, and both teams scored two touchdowns on the muddy field. The Volunteers missed one of their two extra-point conversion attempts after touchdowns, but the Gators missed two conversion attempts and lost the game by a single point, 12–13. In what would become a trend in the series, controversy swirled around the contest. By all accounts, the playing surface had been a muddy mess. Some Gators claimed that the home team had watered down the field in an effort to slow down the speedy Gator backs. The Vols protested that the sloppy conditions were simply the result of heavy rain the night before the game. One contemporary sportswriter called the game "the biggest upset of the year down South." Tennessee's usual quarterback, Roy Witt, was out with an injury, and was replaced by Bobby Dodd.