Fetch Football Forum: Rivalry Renewed on Rocky Top

Opinion

Welcome back to the Fetch Football Forum. This week’s key SEC matchup pits the Florida Gators against the Tennessee Volunteers, a matchup that was once the most highly contested in the entire conference but had died down due to the tremendous amount of success that Florida experienced during Urban Meyer’s time in Gainesville. However, this year looks to be different, as Derek Dooley’s Vols finally look reloaded and ready to give the Gators a game.
Location: Neyland Stadium (102,455 capacity)

Key Matchup: Tennessee WRs vs Florida DBs. A substantial amount of the Volunteers’ success so far this season has been due to the play of the receiving core, which has been led by junior Justin Hunter and junior college transfer Cordarrelle Patterson, who have combined for 26 receptions and four touchdowns through two games. If Florida is going to have a chance in this game, they will have to make Volunteers quarterback Tyler Bray make mistakes and capitalize with a turnover, something they haven’t done very much so far (1 INT in two games).

Key Player: Marlin Lane, Tennessee RB. You may wonder why Tennessee’s running back is listed as the key player after I said the key matchup involved the Vols’ passing game, but that is the exact reason: Tennessee cannot afford to be one-dimensional in this game. If Lane, who has 106 rushing yards so far this season, can make his presence known early on in the game, it will effectively open up the Tennessee offense to play-action passes, which will give Patterson and Company a better chance of making a big play. The Volunteers had found themselves near the bottom of the FBS in rushing during the first two seasons of the Derek Dooley era, but more experience on the offense line means that they should be ready to pound the rock come Saturday.

Game Prediction: Get ready, Tennessee faithful: the Volunteers will actually hang with Florida for four quarters of football. Much like several of the big games that have been played in the SEC so far, this game will turn into a defensive struggle pretty early on. After three quarters of play, the key moment of this game will happen halfway through the fourth quarter, when Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel leads the Gators on another late drive that ends in the end zone, this time on a 11-yard scamper via the sophomore from Oviedo, Florida. The Volunteers put together a nice drive in order to try and tie the game back up, but Tyler Bray’s pass on fourth and ten falls harmlessly to the ground, allowing Florida to run out the rest of the clock and extend their winning streak over Tennessee to eight. Maybe next year, Vol Nation.

Final Stats Prediction

Passing: Jeff Driskel has an efficient outing, completing 16 passes on 29 attempts for 186 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT.

Tyler Bray is one of the main reasons the Volunteers have a chance in this game, completing 20 passes on 31 attempts for 207 yards with 1 TD.

Rushing: Mack Brown steps up due to Mike Gillislee’s groin issue, carrying the ball 16 times and racking up 76 yards and one TD.

Marlin Lane shows us that he is the clear starter over Rajion Neal, as he takes 17 carries for 96 yards and 1 TD.

Receiving: Jordan Reed has another big game for Florida, as he has 8 receptions for 54 yards and one touchdown.

Justin Hunter backs up Todd McShay’s belief that he is the top receiving prospect for the 2013 NFL Draft, as he finishes the game with 9 receptions and one touchdown.

FINAL SCORE Florida 24 Tennessee 17

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