nicksjuzunk
Coming home soon.
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With the threat of Hurricane Irma looming last week, the match-up between Tennessee and Florida was looking to be in doubt... at least in Gainesville. Thankfully, Irma was not quite as powerful as she was cracked up to be, which could also be said about the Gators first game.
For the first time in ages, there is really a great deal of mystery going into this game. Neither team really quite know what they've got, and with Florida having only played one game, they know even less.
Keys to Victory:
1. Shoop's Sleeve: One year ago, Bob Shoop stated that he was hired to beat Florida. He followed that up with a masterful half-time adjustment that led to Tennessee fans releasing over a decade of frustration on the hapless Gator offense. Truth be told, he peaked during that half, and injuries began to mount in the coming weeks, absolutely decimating what was to be a promising defense.
So, we are left with excuses... valid excuses, but excuses none-the-less. Injuries, triple option, and exotic offense explanations pile up as quickly as the rushing yards yielded. The truth is, Shoop was widely regarded as a top 5 DC before arriving at Tennessee. You are hired to have the triple option and exotic offenses not be a problem... at all.
This week, there are no excuses to be had. He's seen this offense, and he's shut it down. The defense is relatively healthy, and the Gators should be weaker on offense than they were last year... especially if suspensions hold up. You were hired to beat Florida (again) Shoop. Be about it.
2. 3rd down for naught: As much as Tennessee fans cringed with every sounding of the new 3rd down song, the Vols are 11/11 so far in holding their opponent when it plays. On the season, the Vols give up the 3rd down conversion 44.8% of the time, and the Florida defense held Michigan to 33%. Tennessee is converting 48% of 3rd downs and Florida is 127th in the nation at 15%.
Advantage, Tennessee. Though Florida's defense is stingy, their offense lacks the ability to move the football... if the Tennessee defense is up to the task.
3. Pound the Ground: As the old saying goes, "the team that rushes for the most wins the TN/FL game." Tennessee is averaging a healthy 154 yards per game, at a stout 5.22 yards per carry. Florida is close to that... with 11 yards on the season. That's their rushing total, not their YPC. To be fair, Michigan may have a great run defense this year. Their next opponent, Cincinatti, only had 200 total offensive yards, and 68 yards rushing. Florida may be better than they appear, but without Scarlett, I'm not sure how concerned I would be.
Michigan didn't really have much trouble running on the Gator defense. Look for the Vols to lean hard on the running game. They are averaging 33 passes per game on the year, if they find success on the ground, they will throw less than 20 to reduce potential interceptions.
4. Dominate the Special Teams: Not much to say here. Berry, if healthy, has been killing his returns. When he's not there, Chandler takes it to the house. Coverage has been outstanding and Trevor Daniel is in his groove. Continue to do these things, and give yourself every edge possible.
5. Grow Up: Quinten Dormady gets his first (sorta) road start in the Swamp. Historically, that's not a good thing. His first two performances have been well documented around VN. Quite simply, the biggest things for this game are as follows:
a. Feel the Rush
b. Beware of DB's jumping your routes
c. Do just enough
If he does this well, and doesn't have turnovers, I love where the Vols will be at the end of this.
6. Do You Even Contain, Bro?: The defensive line has had hit or miss success this year, but one of the things it has missed on is containment. RB's are constantly squeezing outside and hitting the corner. Florida will try to take advantage of this with jet sweeps and other annoying concoctions. Are the Vols this bad at containment, or has it just been vanilla defense? You better hope it's the latter.
7. Watch the Long Ball: If Florida cannot get the ground game going, which I think will be the case, they will certainly test our corners. Justin Martin will be tested often, if he is on the field. My heart is filled with anguish of the thought of him getting beat for a 75 yard TD bomb, and a 8 yard curl turned to the outside for another 40 yard TD.
8. Suspension Suspense: Florida was down 10-11 players against Michigan because those fellas broke the law and committed fraud, stealing from the University. Somehow, some Florida outlets are reporting that everything is suddenly ok, and many of those players are back, fully contrite, I'm sure, and ready to play against the Vols. Whether or not that is the case, is a pretty big deal. RB Scarlett and WR Callaway are the biggest names to watch, if players start becoming eligible. The complete list is:
(1.) Scarlett, (2.) receiver Rick Wells, and (3.) freshman receiver James Robinson are in addition to seven others that were announced earlier in August. Those were (4.) Callaway, (5.) offensive linemen Kadeem Telfort and (6.) Richerd Desir-Jones, (7.) linebackers James Houston and (8.) Ventrell Miller, and defensive linemen (9.) Jordan Smith and (10.) Keivonnis Davis.
Prediction: Butch goes ultra conservative. He thinks that he can outscore Florida, and it won't take a lot. As a result, the Vols lean heavily on John Kelly, and don't take many risks downfield. Dormady trusts Calloway, maybe too much, and might force one that he can't come down with. Still not sure if Shoop tries to lock down the Florida offense, or is content to bend but not break, so I don't know where to go with that one, but in the end, in spite of Vegas, the media, and seemingly everyone else, I just see this going one way.
TN 24
FL 20
Fun Facts: Will Grier, who Jim McElwain reportedly chased away with a broom after the steroid scandal is 10th in the nation in passing yards (361 per game) for West Virginia. Feleiepepepepepe Franks is averaging 75. Nice call, Jim.
For the first time in ages, there is really a great deal of mystery going into this game. Neither team really quite know what they've got, and with Florida having only played one game, they know even less.
Keys to Victory:
1. Shoop's Sleeve: One year ago, Bob Shoop stated that he was hired to beat Florida. He followed that up with a masterful half-time adjustment that led to Tennessee fans releasing over a decade of frustration on the hapless Gator offense. Truth be told, he peaked during that half, and injuries began to mount in the coming weeks, absolutely decimating what was to be a promising defense.
So, we are left with excuses... valid excuses, but excuses none-the-less. Injuries, triple option, and exotic offense explanations pile up as quickly as the rushing yards yielded. The truth is, Shoop was widely regarded as a top 5 DC before arriving at Tennessee. You are hired to have the triple option and exotic offenses not be a problem... at all.
This week, there are no excuses to be had. He's seen this offense, and he's shut it down. The defense is relatively healthy, and the Gators should be weaker on offense than they were last year... especially if suspensions hold up. You were hired to beat Florida (again) Shoop. Be about it.
2. 3rd down for naught: As much as Tennessee fans cringed with every sounding of the new 3rd down song, the Vols are 11/11 so far in holding their opponent when it plays. On the season, the Vols give up the 3rd down conversion 44.8% of the time, and the Florida defense held Michigan to 33%. Tennessee is converting 48% of 3rd downs and Florida is 127th in the nation at 15%.
Advantage, Tennessee. Though Florida's defense is stingy, their offense lacks the ability to move the football... if the Tennessee defense is up to the task.
3. Pound the Ground: As the old saying goes, "the team that rushes for the most wins the TN/FL game." Tennessee is averaging a healthy 154 yards per game, at a stout 5.22 yards per carry. Florida is close to that... with 11 yards on the season. That's their rushing total, not their YPC. To be fair, Michigan may have a great run defense this year. Their next opponent, Cincinatti, only had 200 total offensive yards, and 68 yards rushing. Florida may be better than they appear, but without Scarlett, I'm not sure how concerned I would be.
Michigan didn't really have much trouble running on the Gator defense. Look for the Vols to lean hard on the running game. They are averaging 33 passes per game on the year, if they find success on the ground, they will throw less than 20 to reduce potential interceptions.
4. Dominate the Special Teams: Not much to say here. Berry, if healthy, has been killing his returns. When he's not there, Chandler takes it to the house. Coverage has been outstanding and Trevor Daniel is in his groove. Continue to do these things, and give yourself every edge possible.
5. Grow Up: Quinten Dormady gets his first (sorta) road start in the Swamp. Historically, that's not a good thing. His first two performances have been well documented around VN. Quite simply, the biggest things for this game are as follows:
a. Feel the Rush
b. Beware of DB's jumping your routes
c. Do just enough
If he does this well, and doesn't have turnovers, I love where the Vols will be at the end of this.
6. Do You Even Contain, Bro?: The defensive line has had hit or miss success this year, but one of the things it has missed on is containment. RB's are constantly squeezing outside and hitting the corner. Florida will try to take advantage of this with jet sweeps and other annoying concoctions. Are the Vols this bad at containment, or has it just been vanilla defense? You better hope it's the latter.
7. Watch the Long Ball: If Florida cannot get the ground game going, which I think will be the case, they will certainly test our corners. Justin Martin will be tested often, if he is on the field. My heart is filled with anguish of the thought of him getting beat for a 75 yard TD bomb, and a 8 yard curl turned to the outside for another 40 yard TD.
8. Suspension Suspense: Florida was down 10-11 players against Michigan because those fellas broke the law and committed fraud, stealing from the University. Somehow, some Florida outlets are reporting that everything is suddenly ok, and many of those players are back, fully contrite, I'm sure, and ready to play against the Vols. Whether or not that is the case, is a pretty big deal. RB Scarlett and WR Callaway are the biggest names to watch, if players start becoming eligible. The complete list is:
(1.) Scarlett, (2.) receiver Rick Wells, and (3.) freshman receiver James Robinson are in addition to seven others that were announced earlier in August. Those were (4.) Callaway, (5.) offensive linemen Kadeem Telfort and (6.) Richerd Desir-Jones, (7.) linebackers James Houston and (8.) Ventrell Miller, and defensive linemen (9.) Jordan Smith and (10.) Keivonnis Davis.
Prediction: Butch goes ultra conservative. He thinks that he can outscore Florida, and it won't take a lot. As a result, the Vols lean heavily on John Kelly, and don't take many risks downfield. Dormady trusts Calloway, maybe too much, and might force one that he can't come down with. Still not sure if Shoop tries to lock down the Florida offense, or is content to bend but not break, so I don't know where to go with that one, but in the end, in spite of Vegas, the media, and seemingly everyone else, I just see this going one way.
TN 24
FL 20
Fun Facts: Will Grier, who Jim McElwain reportedly chased away with a broom after the steroid scandal is 10th in the nation in passing yards (361 per game) for West Virginia. Feleiepepepepepe Franks is averaging 75. Nice call, Jim.
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