GC Head-to-Head Breakdown UF v. UT
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:31 am
It has become a right of September. Florida vs.Tennessee has become the annual showcase game for the SoutheasternConference. Because the Gators and Vols have dominated the SEC Eastsince the league went to divisional play in 1992, the importance of theFlorida-Tennessee game cannot be over-stated. It is a game that setsthe tone for the rest of the SEC schedule and Saturday's showdown inKnoxville has the making of another classic.
HISTORY:
The two teams first met in 1916 and the Vols ran off 10 consecutivevictories over the Gators. However, Florida has won two out of everythree games against Tennessee since 1954. A win by the Gators wouldeven the series history at 19-19. Florida comes into the game 2-0 onthe season while Tennessee is 1-1.
COACHING:
The dean of Southeastern Conference coaches, Phillip Fulmer (147-46)has been on the job for 17 years at the University of Tennessee.Despite getting the Volunteers to the SEC Championship Game two of thepast four seasons, averaging nearly nine victories per year since 2000,and ranking sixth among league victories in conference history, Fulmerremains on the hot seat with many Tennessee fans.
There is a most interesting note among assistant coaches. FormerFlorida running backs coach Stan Drayton jumped from the Gators’program to Knoxville where he’s in the same position for the BigOrange.
Urban Meyer replaced Drayton with Kenny Carter from Vanderbilt. Meyeralso had to replace defensive line coach Greg Mattison (BaltimoreRavens) and safeties coach Doc Holliday (West Virginia). He foundcapable replacements in Dan McCarney (USF) and Vance Bedford(Michigan).
Meyer has run off an impressive 33-8 record with a nationalchampionship under his belt in just three seasons at Florida. And hegets the edge in this match-up because Fulmer has yet to find a winningcombination since Meyer has been at the Florida helm.
EDGE: Florida
TENNESSEE OFFENSE VS. FLORIDA DEFENSE:
Establishing the running game has been a Phillip Fulmer trademark andthere’s no reason to believe his Tennessee Volunteers won’t attempt todo so once again this Saturday. Why do I say attempt? Well, Floridahas held an eye-opening 376-26 advantage in rushing yards over theVolunteers in their past two meetings.
It’s imperative for Tennessee to score early and secure some muchneeded confidence on their sidelines and from those sitting in thestands at Neyland Stadium.
The Volunteers have in each of the three meetings with Florida in theUrban Meyer Era, including a 59-20 thumping last season in Gainesville.
The strength of the Volunteers offensive attack is running backsArian Foster, Monterio Hardesty, and Lennon Creer. The trio hascombined for 383 yards on 52 carries, an average of 7.4 yards percarry. Each of these backs is cut from the same cloth.
Foster (6-1, 215) runs with power and shiftiness. He is also a finereceiver coming out of the backfield. Hardesty (6-0, 205) averaged 4.2yards per rush last season. Creer (6-1, 210) is averaging 11.6 yardsper carry. Tennessee hasn’t thrown to Hardesty or Creer, but itcertainly doesn’t mean they won’t do so. Sophomore Kevin Cooper (6-0,240) has only one carry out of the backfield, but the Vols have thrownto him five times this season. I’m always concerned about a defense
Tennessee returns five starting offensive linemen and they allowed onlyfour sacks one year ago. The Vols are already halfway through thattotal allowing two sacks in 2008. Collectively the group has 99 startsunder their belts. The leaders on this unit are left guard AnthonyParker (6-3, 300), center Josh McNeil (6-4, 280) and right tackle RamonFoster (6-6, 325). Former Florida commit Vladimir Richard (6-4, 300) isthe Volunteers sixth man and will come in for Parker and right guardJacques McClendon.
Surprisingly, UCLA controlled the Tennessee offensive front on thirddown three weeks ago in Los Angeles. The Bruins sent the Vols offenseback to the bench eight times after just three downs.
One of the major issues has been the inconsistent play of Tennesseequarterback Jonathan Crompton, who has not lived up to expectationsexiting spring practice. Against UAB Crompton tossed three incompletepasses on third down and a fourth resulted in an interception. Yetanother was a one-yard completion when the Vols needed nine yards forthe first down. And I’m specifically (only) discussing first halfpossessions, which is exactly when the Volunteers needed to jump out toan early lead. Crompton has spent part of this week out of practicewith an ankle injury.
The Florida defensive line appears to have improved. Terron Sanders,Matt Patchan, Lawrence Marsh, and Justin Trattou have been muchimproved over last season along the interior front. Jermaine Cunninghamis off to a tremendous start. The Florida staff is hoping for aninspired performance from Carlos Dunlap. They will have to knock theTennessee offensive line backwards. The Volunteers players stated afterlast season’s game that Florida did a nice job of stunting andtwisting, which helped Florida.
Linebacker Brandon Spikes will be the Volunteers poster child. Spikesespoused that some of the Vols quit in the fourth quarter of lastseason’s Florida blowout in Gainesville. I would expect Spikes to bepretty fired-up for this game. Dustin Doe and A.J. Jones will need toplay inspired football this weekend.
The Gators created turnovers against Hawaii with the play of safetiesAhmad Black and Major Wright. Can the Florida secondary jump Crompton’spasses and create turnover opportunities for the Gators offense? Iwould expect the Vols to test cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis in thefirst half.
So, we have a Tennessee offense that is still trying to find itselfunder new coordinator Dave Clawson against a Florida defense that hasalready faced a good running game against Miami. Okay, then…
EDGE: Florida
FLORIDA OFFENSE VS. TENNESSEE DEFENSE:
The return of Percy Harvin has been the talk in the villes ---Gainesville and Knoxville. Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavisand company will be trying to determine where Harvin lines up next. Ishe at running back, the X or Y receiver, or in the slot? How manytouches will he secure? I would expect Harvin to line-up in variouspositions and get 15-20 touches.
The return of senior left guard Jim Tartt is just as important. Hisexperience and relationship with left tackle Phil Trautwein shoulddramatically improve the left side of the Florida line. Tartt is vastlyunderrated for his leadership on the offensive front.
Quarterback Tim Tebow provided the bulk of the Florida running game twoweeks ago. I expect Harvin, Emmanuel Moody, Chris Rainey, Brandon Jamesand Jeff Demps to get their share of carries as well. That’s not to saythat Tebow shouldn’t get a few carries himself.
Tebow has thrown the ball well, completing 30 of 49 passes for 393yards and three touchdowns. Tebow is working on a string of 130 passeswithout an interception, which is a Florida record. Louis Murphy andAaron Hernandez are the leading receivers with six and five receptionsrespectively.
The Vols defensive front held UCLA to 29 yards rushing, but allowed theUAB Blazers 108 yards on the ground. They currently rank seventh in theconference in rushing. One of the most pressing concerns for theTennessee defensive staff is finding quality depth. I really don’texpect Dan Williams or DeMonte Bolden to be more effective than theMiami interior line. I have little doubt that defensive ends RobertAyers and Wes Brown are more talented than what the Gators have facedthus far in 2008.
The Volunteers linebacking crew Ellix Wilson and Rico McCoy are offto a pretty good start. Wilson leads the Vols in stops, while McCoy haseight tackles and a pair of passes defended.
Tennessee’s secondary received an awful lot of attention in the springand early summer. They lead the Southeastern Conference with seveninterceptions. They currently rank 9th allowing 213 yards passing pergame.
Is this the week the Gators put it all together with the return of Harvin and Tartt? I think so.
EDGE: Florida
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Field position always plays a major role in games of this magnitude.Florida punter Chas Henry has outstanding. Return specialist BrandonJames is one of the most explosive players in the nation and can swingthe momentum into an Orange and Blue advantage in a hurry. The Gatorshave also proved how lethal they are when the punt block is on. Onearea the Gators special teams hope to have improved is kickoffs andkickoff coverage.
Tennessee kicker Daniel Lincoln has gotten off to a slow start (1-4on field goals). The Volunteers are ranked last in punting with a 25.3net average. They have covered kickoffs well though with a net of 46.2yards per kick.
BIG EDGE: Florida
HISTORY:
The two teams first met in 1916 and the Vols ran off 10 consecutivevictories over the Gators. However, Florida has won two out of everythree games against Tennessee since 1954. A win by the Gators wouldeven the series history at 19-19. Florida comes into the game 2-0 onthe season while Tennessee is 1-1.
COACHING:
The dean of Southeastern Conference coaches, Phillip Fulmer (147-46)has been on the job for 17 years at the University of Tennessee.Despite getting the Volunteers to the SEC Championship Game two of thepast four seasons, averaging nearly nine victories per year since 2000,and ranking sixth among league victories in conference history, Fulmerremains on the hot seat with many Tennessee fans.
There is a most interesting note among assistant coaches. FormerFlorida running backs coach Stan Drayton jumped from the Gators’program to Knoxville where he’s in the same position for the BigOrange.
Urban Meyer replaced Drayton with Kenny Carter from Vanderbilt. Meyeralso had to replace defensive line coach Greg Mattison (BaltimoreRavens) and safeties coach Doc Holliday (West Virginia). He foundcapable replacements in Dan McCarney (USF) and Vance Bedford(Michigan).
Meyer has run off an impressive 33-8 record with a nationalchampionship under his belt in just three seasons at Florida. And hegets the edge in this match-up because Fulmer has yet to find a winningcombination since Meyer has been at the Florida helm.
EDGE: Florida
TENNESSEE OFFENSE VS. FLORIDA DEFENSE:
Establishing the running game has been a Phillip Fulmer trademark andthere’s no reason to believe his Tennessee Volunteers won’t attempt todo so once again this Saturday. Why do I say attempt? Well, Floridahas held an eye-opening 376-26 advantage in rushing yards over theVolunteers in their past two meetings.
It’s imperative for Tennessee to score early and secure some muchneeded confidence on their sidelines and from those sitting in thestands at Neyland Stadium.
The Volunteers have in each of the three meetings with Florida in theUrban Meyer Era, including a 59-20 thumping last season in Gainesville.
The strength of the Volunteers offensive attack is running backsArian Foster, Monterio Hardesty, and Lennon Creer. The trio hascombined for 383 yards on 52 carries, an average of 7.4 yards percarry. Each of these backs is cut from the same cloth.
Foster (6-1, 215) runs with power and shiftiness. He is also a finereceiver coming out of the backfield. Hardesty (6-0, 205) averaged 4.2yards per rush last season. Creer (6-1, 210) is averaging 11.6 yardsper carry. Tennessee hasn’t thrown to Hardesty or Creer, but itcertainly doesn’t mean they won’t do so. Sophomore Kevin Cooper (6-0,240) has only one carry out of the backfield, but the Vols have thrownto him five times this season. I’m always concerned about a defense
Tennessee returns five starting offensive linemen and they allowed onlyfour sacks one year ago. The Vols are already halfway through thattotal allowing two sacks in 2008. Collectively the group has 99 startsunder their belts. The leaders on this unit are left guard AnthonyParker (6-3, 300), center Josh McNeil (6-4, 280) and right tackle RamonFoster (6-6, 325). Former Florida commit Vladimir Richard (6-4, 300) isthe Volunteers sixth man and will come in for Parker and right guardJacques McClendon.
Surprisingly, UCLA controlled the Tennessee offensive front on thirddown three weeks ago in Los Angeles. The Bruins sent the Vols offenseback to the bench eight times after just three downs.
One of the major issues has been the inconsistent play of Tennesseequarterback Jonathan Crompton, who has not lived up to expectationsexiting spring practice. Against UAB Crompton tossed three incompletepasses on third down and a fourth resulted in an interception. Yetanother was a one-yard completion when the Vols needed nine yards forthe first down. And I’m specifically (only) discussing first halfpossessions, which is exactly when the Volunteers needed to jump out toan early lead. Crompton has spent part of this week out of practicewith an ankle injury.
The Florida defensive line appears to have improved. Terron Sanders,Matt Patchan, Lawrence Marsh, and Justin Trattou have been muchimproved over last season along the interior front. Jermaine Cunninghamis off to a tremendous start. The Florida staff is hoping for aninspired performance from Carlos Dunlap. They will have to knock theTennessee offensive line backwards. The Volunteers players stated afterlast season’s game that Florida did a nice job of stunting andtwisting, which helped Florida.
Linebacker Brandon Spikes will be the Volunteers poster child. Spikesespoused that some of the Vols quit in the fourth quarter of lastseason’s Florida blowout in Gainesville. I would expect Spikes to bepretty fired-up for this game. Dustin Doe and A.J. Jones will need toplay inspired football this weekend.
The Gators created turnovers against Hawaii with the play of safetiesAhmad Black and Major Wright. Can the Florida secondary jump Crompton’spasses and create turnover opportunities for the Gators offense? Iwould expect the Vols to test cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis in thefirst half.
So, we have a Tennessee offense that is still trying to find itselfunder new coordinator Dave Clawson against a Florida defense that hasalready faced a good running game against Miami. Okay, then…
EDGE: Florida
FLORIDA OFFENSE VS. TENNESSEE DEFENSE:
The return of Percy Harvin has been the talk in the villes ---Gainesville and Knoxville. Tennessee defensive coordinator John Chavisand company will be trying to determine where Harvin lines up next. Ishe at running back, the X or Y receiver, or in the slot? How manytouches will he secure? I would expect Harvin to line-up in variouspositions and get 15-20 touches.
The return of senior left guard Jim Tartt is just as important. Hisexperience and relationship with left tackle Phil Trautwein shoulddramatically improve the left side of the Florida line. Tartt is vastlyunderrated for his leadership on the offensive front.
Quarterback Tim Tebow provided the bulk of the Florida running game twoweeks ago. I expect Harvin, Emmanuel Moody, Chris Rainey, Brandon Jamesand Jeff Demps to get their share of carries as well. That’s not to saythat Tebow shouldn’t get a few carries himself.
Tebow has thrown the ball well, completing 30 of 49 passes for 393yards and three touchdowns. Tebow is working on a string of 130 passeswithout an interception, which is a Florida record. Louis Murphy andAaron Hernandez are the leading receivers with six and five receptionsrespectively.
The Vols defensive front held UCLA to 29 yards rushing, but allowed theUAB Blazers 108 yards on the ground. They currently rank seventh in theconference in rushing. One of the most pressing concerns for theTennessee defensive staff is finding quality depth. I really don’texpect Dan Williams or DeMonte Bolden to be more effective than theMiami interior line. I have little doubt that defensive ends RobertAyers and Wes Brown are more talented than what the Gators have facedthus far in 2008.
The Volunteers linebacking crew Ellix Wilson and Rico McCoy are offto a pretty good start. Wilson leads the Vols in stops, while McCoy haseight tackles and a pair of passes defended.
Tennessee’s secondary received an awful lot of attention in the springand early summer. They lead the Southeastern Conference with seveninterceptions. They currently rank 9th allowing 213 yards passing pergame.
Is this the week the Gators put it all together with the return of Harvin and Tartt? I think so.
EDGE: Florida
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Field position always plays a major role in games of this magnitude.Florida punter Chas Henry has outstanding. Return specialist BrandonJames is one of the most explosive players in the nation and can swingthe momentum into an Orange and Blue advantage in a hurry. The Gatorshave also proved how lethal they are when the punt block is on. Onearea the Gators special teams hope to have improved is kickoffs andkickoff coverage.
Tennessee kicker Daniel Lincoln has gotten off to a slow start (1-4on field goals). The Volunteers are ranked last in punting with a 25.3net average. They have covered kickoffs well though with a net of 46.2yards per kick.
BIG EDGE: Florida