Note from Ray: We’re thrilled to bring in Seth Varnadore on as a video columnist for us at Gator Country! Seth coached high school football for nine seasons at the high school and college levels. He’s also a UF MBA grad.
We’re going to do something new — live video analysis of games and such where you can ask Seth questions on the fly while he breaks things down on screen. We’re still sorting out the best way to do this, so stay tuned early next week…
Meanwhile, here’s a sneak peak from Seth:
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As a child of the 90’s, I’m beginning to reach the age where I’m nostalgic for things from my past. I long for the days of Beanie Babies, VHS tapes, and a real rivalry with Tennessee.
I was in the Swamp for the Lawrence Wright hit in ’95. My Dad and I stayed in the stands the entire game while precipitation and Florida touchdowns rained down from the sky. I remember Danny Wuerffel on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.
On the other end of the spectrum, I also remember being in Neyland Stadium in 1998. I saw the field get rushed after a Collins Cooper missed field goal in overtime. That was a long drive home.
The Gators won more than they lost, but it still felt like a rivalry. You hated that “prisoner at work” orange color and Rocky Top. You knew in your heart that Jabar Gaffney made that catch (*wink*). Whenever you saw Peyton Manning on TV, you made sure to tell anybody around that he never beat the Gators.
Sadly, the children of today will not get to experience this. The Gators have been so dominant against UT that it’s become just another game. To young Gators, Tennessee is just Kentucky with a different colored checkerboard.
Last Saturday did little to change this trend. Florida brought their “B” game into Knoxville and won easily. Even when Tennessee took an early lead, the thought of Florida losing still seemed farfetched. So how was Florida able to so easily dispatch the Vols? Let’s take a closer look at both sides of the ball to find out.
Offense
The Florida offense against Tennessee followed a familiar script: great through the air and underwhelming on the ground. Tennessee seemed determined to slow down the Gators by playing the run hard and limiting explosive plays. The Vols stayed in a two high safety shell for most of the game, not allowing the Gators to get behind them for huge chunk passing plays.
In the past, seeing a two high shell meant you could expect to see more run game. Tennessee played two high safeties but seemed to always have somebody with eyes on the back. The Vols also used movement up front and well-timed blitzes to stifle the run. While this strategy slowed down the run, it also encouraged Florida to pass even more than usual. The Gators took advantage of the Vols coverage with a few particular passing concepts and elite level ball placement by Kyle Trask.
Check out the video below for an in-depth look at some of Florida’s favorite passing concepts from last week, as well as an examination of the run game issues.
Defense
The Florida defense is difficult to figure out. As you watch the games live, you feel like they aren’t playing well. Every series feels like struggle. After Tennessee had a long scoring drive there was much consternation online about how poorly Florida was playing on defense. The phrase “here we go again” reverberated through the Gator Nation. In actuality, the defense played well against Tennessee. They weren’t perfect, there were still some missed tackles and losses in coverage. However, going into the final two garbage time drives, Florida had allowed less than 200 yards of total offense.
The Gators did a great job identifying the Tennessee pass protection scheme and exploiting it. With a young quarterback, you tend to limit the playbook a little. That includes your pass protection schemes. The Gators identified the weak points in the scheme and how they could manipulate it for their gain. This manipulation led to six sacks and a long day for the young Tennessee quarterback.
Check out the video below for an in depth look at how the Florida defense manipulated the Tennessee pass protection and a selection of other defensive plays.