All of Florida's players will be pumped for Saturday's SEC opener against Tennessee, especially the freshmen who will be playing in their first conference game. There will be a different feel. The crowd will be louder.
Coach Urban Meyer doesn't want the team to act like they've been in this position before. Probably because many of them never have been.
"That would be a phony act," Meyer said after Wednesday's practice. "I want them to be excited. I want them to hyperventilate a little bit. I want them to gasp for air and I want them to play as hard as they can. That's going to happen. It happened in the first game against Western Kentucky. So this one, the atmosphere is going to be a touch different."
The fifth-ranked Gators (2-0) will be without fifth-year senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell, who is sidelined with a sprained knee. Senior left tackle Phil Trautwein is still out with a stress fracture in his foot. Junior wide receiver Louis Murphy reportedly said the team has come even closer because of those injuries as Florida prepares for its 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Tennessee (1-1).
"It's more than just a player," Meyer said. "You're talking about a battle against a very good team and you have Bubba Caldwell, you have Phil Trautwein (injured). Those are extremely invested football players. It's not just their buddy. It's a guy they know has given a lot to play at Florida and when they're not there that's a hard part for a coach and it's an even harder part for a teammate."
Sophomore cornerback Markihe Anderson has been limited with a strained knee but he is expected to play more often against Tennessee, which lost at California in the season opener and defeated Southern Mississippi on Saturday.
Meyer was critical of the second team offensive line after Tuesday's workout. He said Wednesday the group performed better but called the practice week sluggish. Getting the team to "feel good about itself" will be in focus heading into game day.
"I saw Carl Johnson do a little better (Wednesday) and Marcus Gilbert did better (Wednesday)," Meyer said. "It's just one day...You don't have to be feeling good yet. (Thursday) when I'm walking off the field this team has got to be feeling good about itself. When a play is called, ready, break and they go to the line of scrmmage and they're thinking about their assignment there is a good chance when you're facing a good opponent you'll fail.
"We want reaction. We had too much of that (Wednesday); Guys thinking, 'Where do I get
lined up? What do I do?' Against a good player you won't survive."
Meyer on freshman defensive end Carlos Dunlap: "That's a different dude. I love him. He's working hard in school. We had our academic meeting today. He has a lot of great stuff about him. He's going to have a great future here. His wing span, he's a freak. He does things a lot of people can't do."
On stealing signs: "We always look. We don't video it (joking). On defense, I worry about it all the tme. Our coaches do a good job. They change things up. There have been a few games here where we've gotten the signals and that's an advantage."
On defense against no huddle: "We practice that all the time. We practiced it last week. That's why people no huddle. They try to quick tempo you and they try to stem you. You'll see a lot of stemming going on Saturday. You give a fake cadence and the defense will show you what they're in. It's going to be a chess match Saturday."