KNOXVILLE, TN — These are Old Testament Gators. Unlike last year’s New Testament types that turned the other cheek all too often when the Florida defense was on the field, these guys are eye for an eye, teeth for a tooth types (we’re at Tennessee, remember?) that tend to arrive at the football feeling rather nasty.
Florida’s defense doesn’t wait for an opponent to deliver the blow anymore and they darn sure won’t sit there and take it when they get smacked in the face. Instead, they punch, punch and counter-punch. Gain a yard and they’ll take the yard back. Make a first down and they’ll respond with a body slam. Get anywhere close to the end zone and it becomes a regular street fight.
The 106,138 that packed Neyland Stadium Saturday expected to see something Heisman-esque out of raging bull Tim Tebow and the interplanetary Percy Harvin. About the only thing Tebow and Harvin needed to do was hang on to the football. That’s because the Florida defense — with a nice boost from the special teams that scored 18 points and set up six more — played bully all afternoon and smacked around the Vols like they were the skinny kid with pimples on the SEC block.
Fourth-ranked Florida’s 30-6 win over Tennessee had to send a shock wave to the rest of the Southeastern Conference. Everybody knows the Gators have so many fast skill players that it’s a matter of when not if they flip the switches and turn the games into a track meet. Three games into the 2008 season, the Gators are showing off a defense that not only carries its weight but delivers the goods.
“The theme of the day was play great defense, be a tough outfit and take care of the football,” said Florida Coach Urban Meyer. “Our guys did that. Our defense really controlled the line of scrimmage.”
Florida’s goal was to make Tennessee one-dimensional by crowding the line of scrimmage and outnumbering the Vols at the line of scrimmage. Florida showed no respect for the Tennessee passing game, focusing the defensive effort on shutting down the running game with an eight-in-the-box scheme that saw strong safety Ahmad Black playing almost side-by-side with middle linebacker Brandon Spikes for much of the game.
“We loaded the box pretty good,” said Meyer, who improved to 34-8 as Florida’s head coach and 73-16 for his career. “We wanted them to be a one-dimensional.”
In particular, the scheme was designed to take Arian Foster out of the game. Soon to become the Vols all-time leading rusher, Foster never got untracked. He managed only 37 yards on 14 carries and his longest run was just nine yards.
“I think number 27 (Foster) is one of the best backs in college football,” said Meyer. “We held him in check.”
The eight-in-the-box scheme was Florida’s slap-in-the face dare to the Vols to win the game throwing the ball. Theoretically, the passing game should have worked but the Tennessee receivers never got any separation from the Florida defensive backs and Florida got just enough pass rush so that Jonathan Crompton never was comfortable setting up and finding someone to throw to. Crompton did complete 16 of 28 passes but only for 162 yards.
For the most part, the Gators rushed four and dropped seven into a zone designed to keep everything in front. Florida never got to Crompton for a sack, but the Gators got enough pressure that the Tennessee quarterback couldn’t just stand back there and wait for a receiver to break into the clear.
When Crompton did find an open receiver, there were few yards after the catch because the Gators were rarely out of position and there was plenty of help.
“We just came out and played relentless,” said middle linebacker Brandon Spikes, who was in on 10 tackles.
Relentless pursuit and effort also had plenty to do with why the Gators won the turnover battle. Florida forced two fumbles and picked off one pass. Through three games, the Gators have forced nine turnovers but they have yet to commit a turnover.
The first fumble resulted in three points for the Gators. The second fumble snuffed out a Tennessee drive at the Florida three and the interception in the end zone sent the Vols into the locker room at the half with a big zero on the scoreboard.
Turnovers and special teams kept giving the Gators a short field to work with and that had plenty to do with Florida’s rather quiet offensive numbers. The Gators managed only 243 total yards. Tebow threw for only only 96 yards (two touchdowns) and he ran 26 on 12 carries. Last year that would have been the recipe for disaster, but this year he doesn’t feel he has to score every time to compensate for a porous defense.
“We’re extremely confident and I think you can see that,” said Tebow. “I think there’s a lot of trust in the defense and a lot of belief in them.”
Special teams gave Tebow a short field to work with on the first Florida possession. Brandon James ran the opening kickoff back 52 yards, setting up the Gators on the Tennessee 44. Eight plays later Tebow flipped a little jump pass over the line of scrimmage to tight end Aaron Hernandez to get the Gators on the scoreboard with 10:15 remaining in the first quarter.
If that first touchdown was a fungo bat to the kneecaps, then what the Gators did on defense when Tennessee got the ball for the first time was a couple of kicks to the groin. Faced with a third and 16 due to a personal foul penalty against Foster, quarterback Jonathan Crompton hit Monterio Hardesty with a little swing pass out of the backfield but freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins was there to make the hit, dislodging the ball from Hardesty.
What happened when the ball hit the deck was typical of Florida’s defense the entire game. Ryan Stamper emerged from a swarm of Gators with the football. That set up the first of three Jonathan Phillips field goals (39 yards) to give Florida a 10-0 lead with 7:35 remaining in the quarter.
When the Vols got the ball back they managed one first down before they were forced to punt the ball back to Florida. That meant dealing with Brandon James once again but Meyer pretty much forced the Vols to kick the ball to James by running double safeties. Harvin was Florida’s other punt returner.
The choice was kick to college football’s most electric player (Harvin) or kick to college football’s best kick returner (James). They kicked to James and that was a bad idea. For the second straight year, James took a punt the distance against the Vols. This one was 77 yards to put the Gators out front comfortably, 17-0, and it also tied James for the Florida record for punt return touchdowns with four with former Gator All-American Jacquez Green.
“I thought the one against Hawaii was the best I’d seen but he topped it,” said Meyer. “He even said to me ‘that one might be my best.’”
Tennessee had chances to get back into the game, but a fumble at the two on an exchange between Crompton and Foster (Carlos Dunlap recovered for Florida) snuffed out one threat and an interception in the end zone on fourth down with two seconds left in the half by Janoris Jenkins ended yet another.
Florida responded to the Dunlap fumble recovery with a 74-yard ball control drive that resulted in a 40-yard Phillips field goal with 4:43 left in the half for a 20-0 Florida lead.
The Vols responded with a long drive of their own, taking the ball 60 yards to the Florida five where the Gator defense dug in its heels. A four-yard blast off tackle by Hardesty got the ball to the one, but the Gators didn’t give up an inch on second down and a Crompton pass to tight end Luke Stocker was broken up by Ahmad Black. On fourth down, Crompton’s pass was picked off in the end zone by Janoris Jenkins, ending Tennessee’s threat with two seconds left in the half.
“When the defense makes plays we win games,” said Jenkins, who Meyer said makes those kind of plays every day in practice. “We haven’t quite proved anything but we’re improving by swarming to the ball, making turnovers and tackling.”
With a 20-0 lead at the half, the Gators only had to stay with the game plan of defense and great special teams play in the second half. Florida played field position and constantly won that battle.
The Gators forced punts on Tennessee’s first two second half possessions and that opened the door for another special teams contribution from Brandon James. On Tennessee’s second punt, James ducked and dodged 14 yards into Tennessee territory, setting up the Gators at the Florida 47.
Given the short field, the Gators marched to the Tennessee 15 where Tebow delivered a 15-yard touchdown pass to Harvin with 4:42 left in the third quarter. Phillips added the extra point to make it a 27-0 game.
“We wanted to play on a short field,” said Meyer. “Our whole focus is that … our whole thing is field position.”
Florida’s defense and special teams gave the Gators all the field position they needed Saturday. It meant the Gators didn’t have to do anything special on offense, just take care of the ball and punch the ball in whenever there was an opportunity.
Through three games, the Gators aren’t anything flashy on offense, but the special teams and the defense have taken over and that has Meyer starting to get a rather good feeling about this team.
“I’m starting to like this team a little bit,” he said. “I’m not saying a lot but I like this team a little bit because they know how to practice and they’re acting very mature right now.”
That’s as close as you’ll get to a rave review from Meyer three games into the season, but the raves will come if the Gators keep on winning. As long as the special teams give the Gators a short field to work with and the defense creates turnovers, Urban Meyer is going to find more and more to like.
On the sideline during the fourth quarter, Meyer was seen grinning, something he rarely does until after a game. At some point the Gators are going to put an entire game together and when that happens, he might not be able to wipe the smile off his face for a week.