Florida vs. Tennessee: Breaking down the Gators and Vols

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Florida Gators (2-1, 1-1 SEC) and Tennessee Volunteers (2-2, 0-1 SEC) will square off at high noon on Tuesday in Neyland Stadium. The Volunteer fans have responded to Butch Jones and his “brick by brick” mantra, selling out Neyland for the game and the entire Vol nation comes into this game with a their collective chests puffed out and a head full of confidence.

Neither Tennessee nor Florida can win the SEC East this week. The East is wild and will likely come down to the last week of the conference schedule but the loser of this game is done. Not mathematically, but with LSU, Missouri and Georgia coming up for the Gators and Ole Miss, Alabama and South Carolina coming up for the Vols, this is a must win game for both teams.

So who has the advantage heading into the game this week?

When Florida runs:

The Gators will use their two-headed running back duo to attack a Tennessee defense that is giving up a league worst 169 rushing yards per game. Even after facing the No. 1 rushing defense in the country in Alabama, Florida is still averaging 201 rushing

Kelvin Taylor, Jeff Driskel, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Jeff Driskel hands the ball off to Kelvin Taylor as the Gators beat Kentucky in triple-overtime. / Gator Country photo by David Bowie.

yards per game.

Tennessee’s defensive line is one of their biggest weaknesses and Florida’s offensive line has surprisingly been one of their most stout units this season. While the defensive line has not been great, the linebackers have been able to clean up their mess. Despite having the worst rushing defense in the SEC, Tennessee has only allowed 17 rushing plays of more than 10 yards. That’s

better than Georgia, LSU, Texas A&M, Missouri, Arkansas and South Carolina.

This means Florida will need to pound the football. Take their 5-6 yard runs and keep smashing ahead.

Advantage: Florida

When Tennessee runs:

Freshman Jalen Hurd is only a freshman by classification. Hurd continues to become a bigger part of the Tennessee offense each week and is quickly becoming their best offensive player. Hurd is 10th in the SEC with 82 rushing yards per game (better than Alabama’s Derek Henry).

Tennessee is just 13th in the conference with a 126.75 rushing yard per game average this season but they have faced three top-25 rushing defenses nationally already this season and even Arkansas State (Tennessee’s week two opponent) is ranked No. 52 in the country.

Tennessee faces another test this week as the Gators bring their sixth-ranked (SEC) defense into Knoxville. However, the Vols have faced the No. 4, No. 17 and No. 25 rushing defenses in the country already this season — all ranked higher than Florida.

Advantage: Push

 

When Florida throws:

The Gators are attempting 39.7 passes per-game this season. Only Tennessee (41.5) and Texas A&M (42.6) are attempting more passes a game than the Gators. Florida’s 56.3-completion percentage and 6.6 yards-per-attempt are both 12th in the conference.

The offensive line is doing a magnificent job of giving Jeff Driskel time in the pocket to throw. Their two sacks allowed trail just Alabama for least in the SEC. Tennessee is averaging just two sacks per game this season and are in the middle of the pack in the SEC with five interceptions. Still, until I see improved play from Jeff Driskel, I have a hard time giving the Gators the advantage in the passing game with him playing quarterback.

Advantage: Tennessee

 

When Tennessee throws:

I don’t get the hype surrounding Justin Worley. Isn’t this the same guy who was 10-23 with two interceptions against the Gators last season? Worley is sixth in the SEC in yards-per-game (246.3) and touchdowns (9). He leads the league in passing attempts (38.8) but is just eighth in the SEC, completing 60% of those attempts.

Justin Worley, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Gator Country photo by David Bowie

Why is there so much hype around him?

Still, Florida has surrendered 818 passing yards their last two times out. The Gators are the second worst passing defense in the SEC and both coaches and players have cited communication breakdowns as the reason the Gators have given up seven passing plays of 30 or more yards. How do you fix that? You change players, of course. I don’t know how mixing up the pieces in the secondary will help with communication breakdowns, even Jabari Gorman admitted this week that rotating players hinders being able to develop communication with the guy next to you.

I’m not drinking the Worley Kool-Aid but, just like with Driskel, I’m not picking the Gators passing defense until they show me than can stop someone. Or something. Really anything. Just stop anything.

Advantage: Tennessee

 

Special Teams:

The Gators lead the nation in punting with a 50.38 average.

So there’s that.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Frankie Velez and Kyle Christy celebrate with fans after the Gators’ triple-overtime win against Kentucky. / Gator Country photo by David Bowie

Seriously though, the reemergence of Kyle Christy is huge for the Gators. Despite a new offense, the Gators continue to play with a razor thin margin of error and when you play like that having Christy as a weapon that can change field position in an instant is a huge help. Who’s kicking field goals though? Who knows. Probably Frankie Velez.

Brandon James made a career out of playing against Tennessee. The vertically challenged running back was devastating to Vols fans and many were happy to see him finally run out of eligibility at Florida. The Gators need to get a spark from Andre Debose or Valdez Showers in the return game this week. This nine game winning streak that the Gators are enjoying is fueled in big part due to the Gators being able to make things happen on special teams.

Tennessee has the fourth best kick cover team in the SEC (19.6 yards-per-return) while the Gators have just the 10th kick cover team (23.27 per-return).

Tennessee is actually ranked higher than Florida in kicking coverage, punting coverage and kick return average but I’m still going with the Gators to have the advantage here. Punter’s are people too and Kyle Christy is the best in the country.

Advantage: Florida

Coaching:

Butch Jones, Ben Hill Griffin Staidum, Gainesville, Florida
Butch Jones will look to get his first win against Florida and end a nine-year drought for the Vols. / Gator Country photo by David Bowie.

The Gators got a week off after Lane Kiffin ran circles around them in Tuscaloosa. Florida is saying all the right things publically this week and they’re still backing each other.

Despite coming off of back-to-back losses, the Volunteers are brimming with confidence thanks to a culture change that Butch Jones has brought to Knoxville. His brick by brick motto is catching on and can be seen on shirts all over campus. The Vol Nation believes in their coach, something you can’t say right now about Gator Nation.

EDGE: Tennessee

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC

1 COMMENT

  1. I agree with all your takes except your last-years view of Worley. He looked pretty sharp against those hairy Dawgs last week. If he plays like last week and the good guys play like they did against the Tide, then BIG advantage to the Vols with their passing game.
    Hopefully our DBs can finally figure it out and put something good together.