Gainesville, FL - A much-anticipated SEC matchup between the 22nd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and the fifth-ranked Florida Gators will ensue in Gainesville on Saturday.
Tennessee opened the season with a disappointing road loss to national powerhouse Cal by a 45-31 final. Fortunately, the Vols were able to even their record at 1-1 last weekend with a 39-19 decision over Southern Miss. Clearly, a victory over Florida would send a message to the rest of the college football world that this Tennessee team is a legitimate contender. Unfortunately, beating Florida on the road will not be an easy task.
Gators' head coach Urban Meyer will attempt to open a season 3-0 for the sixth time in his seven-year career as the leader of a collegiate program. Florida enters this clash on a nine-game winning streak, a run that was extended by a 59-31 win last Saturday. Through two outings, Meyer's club has scored 108 points, looking the part of a defending national champion eager to repeat.
Tennessee holds a narrow 19-17 edge in the all-time series with Florida, but the Gators posted a 21-20 victory in last season's meeting.
Erik Ainge threw a pair of touchdown passes and Arian Foster ran for two scores to lead Tennessee to the victory over Southern Miss last weekend. Ainge, widely considered one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC, completed 23- of-36 passes for 276 yards without an interception. As for Foster, he carried the ball 23 times for 125 yards. The top receiver for the Vols was Austin Rogers, as he made seven catches for 112 yards and one touchdown. Lucas Taylor was impressive as well with five grabs for 118 yards. Tennessee did lose a pair of fumbles, but the overall offensive effort was strong. Through two outings, Ainge has completed 66.3 percent of his passes for 547 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. As for Foster, the lead tailback, he has rushed for 214 yards and two scores while averaging 5.9 ypc. Taylor has big- play ability on the outside, while Rogers is a reliable target.
Defensively, Tennessee put forth a solid effort against Southern Miss last weekend. The Vols only allowed one touchdown in the clash, and although it was a 69-yard pass, the defense deserves credit for avoiding the big play otherwise. The run defense was particularly strong, limiting the Golden Eagles to 90 yards on the ground. Let's take a look back at the Cal game, as the Tennessee defense was no match for one of college football's most explosive offensive units. The Vols surrendered 471 total yards in that clash, including over 200 yards both rushing and receiving. Florida presents the same level of explosiveness this weekend, so it will be interesting to see if UT is up to the challenge. Through two games, Rico McCoy and Jerod Mayo are tied for the team lead with 14 tackles apiece. Robert Ayers has only made six total stops, but three-and-a-half of those have come in the backfield.
Heading into the season, many fans and analysts questioned whether sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow was ready to take over the reigns of the Florida offense on a full-time basis. Afterall, Tebow played sparingly last year and was used mostly as a runner. Well, after two games, it appears that Tebow is more than capable of running the spread offense. In fact, he is considered a legitimate Heisman candidate. The big signal caller has completed 31-of-42 passes for 536 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions, and he is also second on the team in rushing with 131 yards and three scores. Clearly, he has yet to play a big-time opponent, but Tebow appears to have a wealth of confidence to go along with a scary skill set. Rather than rely on one receiver, the quarterback has a number of outstanding options in the passing game. Cornelius Ingram made seven grabs for 105 yards and a score against Troy on Saturday, and Tebow threw three touchdown passes to go along with a pair of rushing touchdowns. It is important to mention, however, that wideout Andre Caldwell is doubtful for this game with an MCL injury, and fellow receiver Percy Harvin is questionable due to injury as well.
Florida has allowed four touchdowns to opposing offenses in two games. In the opener, the defense was dominant, limiting Western Kentucky to three points and 204 total yards. Unfortunately, similar results were not attained this past weekend. Troy has a versatile quarterback who managed a pair of rushing touchdowns as well as two passing scores. The fact that the defense yielded four touchdowns to an opposing offensive unit from a mid-major conference is a bit concerning. Sure, 24 of the points scored by the Trojans did come after halftime when the score was already lopsided, but a better effort is needed by Meyer's troops. Brandon Spikes leads Florida with 20 total tackles, including 2.5 TFLs. Dustin Doe has been effective as well, as he has posted 16 stops, including a pair in the backfield. Both of those players are sophomore linebackers, and the defense is littered with first-year starters at every position.
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