As if losing 11 in a row to a hated rival wasn’t enough, Tennessee trailed Florida 21-0 late in the first half at Neyland Stadium last season.
The hometown fans weren’t just restless, they were booing.
But in a remarkable about face, the Vols rallied for a 38-28 victory – scoring 38 unanswered points — to snap the skid and spark a celebration.
Surely, that will give the Vols added confidence heading to Florida this Saturday.
Or maybe not.
“I think we’ve always had confidence playing Florida,’’ said redshirt sophomore defensive end Kyle Phillips. “We’ve had tough times at the end of the game, which we corrected last year.’’
Indeed. In 2014, the Vols led 9-0 in the fourth quarter before Treon Harris – not to be confused with Tim Tebow – did just enough to help the Gators pull out a 10-9 victory at Neyland Stadium.
In 2015, the Vols led by 13 points with about 10 minutes left in the game before the Gators rallied for a 28-27 win.
“We always expect to beat them,’’ Phillips said. “But to get that breakthrough win and actually beat them, that was really exciting.’’
Does that result in a confidence carryover?
“I don’t know if it’s confidence,’’ Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said, “but there is a sense of urgency. The practice (Monday) was the best practice of the year. They were spirited. They were excited.
“I think the players are excited for this opportunity. I think they respect Florida and their offensive scheme and their offensive coaches a lot. But they’re looking forward to this challenge.’’
Tennessee senior center Jashon Robertson would agree.
“Everybody has high expectations going into the game,’’ he said. “You have two quality opponents going at it with a lot of confidence and a lot of energy. I’m sure it’s going to be a great game.’’
For Tennessee to win, it must accomplish several things:
- Run the ball effectively. Since 1990, the team that has rushed for the most yards in 24-3 in this series. Tennessee outrushed Florida 179-106 last year. At Florida, Jim McElwain is 14-0 when the Gators outrush their opponent.
Running effectively can keep the Vols out of second- or third-and-long situations. If UT gets behind the chains, it would allow the Gators to tee off against a UT offensive line that hasn’t proven it can pass protect against a solid group of rushers.
2. Beat press coverage. Florida has always had a solid secondary, it seems. And the Gators have been superb in stymieing UT receivers with a bump-and-run scheme.
UT has only one receiver that played in The Swamp two years ago and this young group of wideouts hasn’t faced cornerbacks like Florida has. If UT’s receivers struggle to get open, that puts more pressure on quarterback Quinten Dormady to either throw darts against tight coverage or scramble to safety.
3. Feed running back John Kelly. Kelly is the only SEC player who leads his team in rushing (208) and receptions (10). His four rushing touchdowns against Georgia Tech were the most by a Vol since 1994.
You can save Kelly for UMass, next week’s opponent. But he has to have a huge game for UT to have a chance against Florida.
4. Run the quarterback in the zone read. Dormady isn’t Josh Dobbs, but he can’t be Justin Worley, who rarely ran in the zone read when he was at the helm. Dormady must run at least four to six times a game in the zone read to keep the Gators defense off balance.
5. First down defense. UT must find a way to keep Florida’s quarterback uncomfortable. You have a chance to do that if it’s constantly second-and-9 or third-and-8. But if Florida is productive on first down, it puts play-caller Doug Nussmeier in position to keep the Vols’ defense guessing.
6. Neutralize Florida’s special teams. Florida has a slight edge at punter with Johnny Townsend (54.7) over UT’s Trevor Daniel (47.3). UT has a slight edge in the return game despite likely not having the nation’s best kick returner, Evan Berry, questionable with an injury. The big edge for Florida is at place kicker, where Eddy Pineiro has a cannon for a leg and is a threat to boot 55-yard field goals. UT is considering going with a long-distance kicker and a short-distance kicker.
7. Win the line of scrimmage. Or, perhaps, don’t lose the line of scrimmage. Neither offensive line has been impressive thus far. Florida looked down right awful against Michigan’s front seven. But UT’s front seven doesn’t remind anyone of the 1985 Chicago Bears. Florida’s front seven has a better chance of whipping UT’s o-line than UT’s front seven has of kicking butt against Florida’s o-line.
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