In Tennessee’s last two football games against Pittsburgh and Tennessee Tech, the Volunteers haven’t connected on a deep throw and have received very little production from their running backs.
Think that might need to change Saturday night if the Vols are to compete at 11th-ranked Florida?
After Tennessee enjoyed its easiest test of the season with a 56-0 rout of the Golden Eagles, the Gators went up against No. 1 Alabama and played the Crimson Tide to a virtual standoff. Florida fell 31-29 despite outgaining the Tide 440-331, and a lot of that was due to the Gators holding Alabama to 28 carries for 91 yards, or just 3.3 yards per rush.
“They’re big, long and athletic,” Tennessee first-year coach Josh Heupel said Monday of the Gators after having studied Saturday’s thriller in the Swamp. “They’re violent. They strike the line of scrimmage and play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Structurally, I thought their second and third levels fit extremely well, and they tackled extremely well for the most part throughout the course of the day.
“When you do those things, it makes it tough to run the football.”