Vols now turn attention to stopping Florida offense

KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee football team mastered UAB’s spread Saturday afternoon.

In the process, the Volunteers edged Las Vegas’s lofty betting spread of 30.5 points in their 35-3 victory.

Now comes the toughest spread.

Florida’s spread.

The Vols returned to practice Sunday night, but even their freshmen didn’t need a complete crash course against college football new wave offense. They had played one the day before.

“It should help, (but) it may make it more scary once we watch the film,” UT coach Phillip Fulmer said with a smirk Saturday afternoon.

UAB’s Joe Webb presented the Vols plenty of problems, as he’d done to the Blazers’ first two opponents. But he was held well below the nearly 250 passing yards and more than 100 rushing yards he’d averaged entering the game, and UT held his offense to three points — and that drive started with a short field.

“We wanted the goose egg,” junior defensive tackle Dan Williams said. “We were trying to keep that zero on the board, but a field goal isn’t bad, either. We faced adversity and held them to a field goal, so I guess we’ll take that as a win, too.”

Even defensive coordinator John Chavis said, “Any game where you don’t allow a touchdown is a pretty good game.”

But here’s the bad news.

Webb isn’t reigning Heisman Trophy holder Tim Tebow. UAB sophomore receiver Frantrell Forrest, talented as he is, is not Percy Harvin. The Blazers have no one like Chris Rainey or Will Demps in their backfield.

“No offense to UAB,” said senior defensive tackle Demonte Bolden from Tyner Academy. “But they’re not Florida.”

While the Gators enjoyed a full off week to get a head start on UT, the Vols had to settle for playing a Florida-like attack.

The Blazers and Gators both lineup with empty backfield sets, spreading skill players from sideline to sideline. But the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Webb looks and runs like a wide receiver, while the 6-3, 240-pound Tebow is bigger than most of UT’s defense.

“(Webb) was a great athlete out there,” Vols sophomore safety Eric Berry said. “I think he gave us a great look for what Tebow is going to look like. Tebow’s probably going to be a little bit more physical, but I think it was a pretty good opportunity to see what Florida’s going to look like.”

Tebow overpowered the Vols in Gainesville last season, completing 14-of-19 passes for 299 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 61 yards and two scores on the ground.

“He’s not a pocket passer,” Bolden said. “We know Tebow doesn’t like to pass that much. He likes to run a bunch.”

The Vols didn’t break against UAB, but they bent a few times. Berry and senior cornerback DeAngelo Willingham intercepted passes inside UT’s 5-yard line, but better tackling could have gotten the defense off the field before those throws.

Chavis said his unit didn’t wrap up and tackle as well Saturday as it did at UCLA. He said a similar effort against the Gators wouldn’t be good enough for victory.

“We didn’t tackle very well, so I’m not pleased with that at all,” Chavis said Saturday. “For us to tackle as well as did in the opening ballgame and not have the concentration to finish things ... is very, very disappointing. We’ll get that corrected, I can tell you that.

“They came off the field knowing they didn’t do a very good job tackling. I don’t want to take anything away from UAB, but half of what they got today was off of missed tackles.”