The no. 1 team Florida, currently 2 - 0 going to be playing host to Tennessee, currently 1 - 1 this upcoming weekend. Fueled by Lane Kiffin's feelings and words about the upcoming game, the game has a lot of considerable hype surrounding it and it is going to be adding a brand new chapter to this rivalry which was already quite intense before. Moments after Florida defeated Troy with 56 to 6 on Saturday, the players and the coaches of the Florida Gators immediately shifted all of their attention to the Tennessee Volunteers.
The season is beginning now for real, according to the senior receiver, David Nelson.
Although the season started a couple of games ago, this is the match up that the UF Gators have been waiting for, and there is no doubt that Tennessee is just as riled up about this upcoming match up.
The build up that has been coming for Saturday's game at 3:30 against Tennessee actually seems to have began a long time ago.
Kiffin has seemingly made it his top priority to tease, to infuriate and to one-up the coach of the Florida Gators, Urban Meyer and his team. He has been making headlines right and left by making comments and taking actions that turned this rivalry into something much more serious than it ever was before. He even tried to take Billy Gonzales away from Urban Meyer, but Meyer managed to retain his most loyal assistant.
Tennessee has even created a billboard in Broward County. Both Tennessee were working on recruiting top players in that area. What did the billboard say? Simply, "It's time", and it certainly is time, isn't it?
Tim Tebow even commented that there is something different there now when they play against Tennessee, ever since this rivalry took a much more serious turn. Meyer plans on keeping his team focused in the days before the game through more difficult practice. Offensive lineman James Wilson for UF says that the rivalry is motivating the team, and they are simply counting down the days until they can go up against Tennessee. So much so that they have a sign in their weight room denoting how many days are remaining until Tennessee.
What impact is this rivalry going to have on the upcoming game? Tennessee seems to be motivated by the rivalry, but UF has something else on their side: Two epic wins and a 2 - 0 record that puts them at the top of the scoreboard in many ways. Are these teams ready to finally put Kiffin's words on the line, challenging his threats once and for all?
This is definitely going to be an interesting game. The season starts now, it seems.
Photo Credits: Roger Smith
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What you should be watching out for on the offense: The I-formation. The new offensive coordinator, Steve Addazio, has been experimenting over the off season in order to add a few more wrinkles to this equation. This isn't going to end up being 1977 Nebraska, and the spread really isn't going to go anywhere, but part of the plan here is going to be to develop the passing ability for Tim Tebow while allowing the running backs to become more involved. The biggest beneficiary that is involved in the offense this year is the tight end, Aaron Hernandez. The third leading receiver for the team last year is going to get the ball much more often, and now that Murphy and Harvin are both gone, he is going to be the go-to receiver.
What you should be watching out for on the defense: Watch for the backups. 11 starters are returning from a team defense that managed to finish in ninth place for the entire nation, holding down the Oklahoma defense and taking fourth in scoring defense, and this means that there isn't much room available for wild and sweeping changes to this line up, but some of the back ups are better than the starters, and this is a problem without really being a problem.
The team is going to improve if: If the team doesn't buy into all of the outside hype and pressures, and if the penalties slow down, then the team is going to be far better. Every week there is going to be another greatest of all time type of story, and the players are going to want to hit that point. The attention from the media, everyone trying to win the games by three touch downs, is not necessary because all that the team has to do is play up to their capabilities rather than the hype, and everything is going to be fine.
The schedule: Playing on October 10th against LSU and then October 31st against Georgia, and this is it. There is plenty of talk already about a potential upset in South Carolina, but if Florida is going to play as well as its supposed to, then this is not going to be a bad trip at all. Unless there is some kind of a major upset at Kentucky, at Mississippi State or against Florida State, there is nothing else that needs to be worried about.
Who is the best offensive player? The Senior Quarterback, Tim Tebow. You may be sick of him, and it is likely only going to get worse, but he really is that good. He has completed 66% out of all of his passes for 67 touch downs and 6,390 yards, 11 interceptions, 43 scores and 2,037 yards rushing. He throws a much better and much more accurate ball than most of the scouts are giving him credit for. His bruising style of running isn't really pretty but it is still quite brutally effective.
Who is the best defensive player? The senior linebacker, Brandon Spikes, is the best defensive player on the team right now. He has made 239 tackles in his career, breaking up 11 passes, claiming 25 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions. His athleticism and size are prototype for the sport and he is likely to become more of a spokesman for the team than even Tebow will.
Key Player: The key player to achieving a successful season is going to be the sophomore wide receiver Deonte Thompson. Florida isn't going to have another Harvin, but it will have several different receivers capable of flying. Thompson has caught 18 passes, 3 touch downs and 269 yards and he has a catch average of 14.9 yards.
The season is going to be successful if: If Florida manages to go 14-0 while winning the national championship. If anything less than the absolute perfect season is obtained, then the team is going to be disappointed. Anything less than obtaining a national championship is going to be a complete failure. The expectations may be ridiculously high, but they certainly deserve to be.
The Key Game will be: The October 31 game against Georgia. Watch out for this. Georgia is really, exceptionally good, better than they were last year, and they absolutely have the potential to pull off this win in this truly heated rivalry.
Here are some interesting stats from 2008:
- Florida threw 5 interceptions, opponents threw 26.
- The third down percentage of conversions for Florida was 52% or 83 out of 161, and for Opponents was 33% or 63 out of 192.
- The first quarter scoring for Florida was 167 and only 20 for Opponents.
Photo Credits: OPEN Sports
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