Florida football: Florida’s offense vs Tennessee’s defense

Each week, we look at the Florida football’s offense and we compare it to the opposing team’s defense.

This week the Gators will take on the Tennessee Volunteers in Gainsville at the Swamp. Florida football will be going into the game with a different look.

With the unfortunate injury to starting quarterback Feleipe Franks, Kyle Trask, and Emory Jones will both be apart of the game plan. Tennessee will be ready to try to exploit that area.

Trask will most likely be the starter Saturday night. Trask came in after Franks went down in the third quarter. He then led the offense to three scoring possessions and a come from behind victory at Kentucky.

Trask is a more conventional quarterback, he likes to throw from the pocket and he is good at doing so.

He went 9-of-13 for 126 yards and a rushing touchdown, the go-ahead score. The offensive line had a hard time stopping the penetration of the Kentucky D line. They pressured Franks all night and were not letting the running game get going at all. The running game ended with 138 yards on the day.

Lamical Perine got 27 yards on 14 carries and was the leading rusher until the big play in the fourth when Josh Hammond went in motion and took the handoff from Trask and went 76 yards for a touchdown.  It was the score that put the game away for the Gators.

The line must do a better job this week. Emory Jones is a duel threat as we all know, it is this dimension that will help the line. When Jones comes in and takes the snap he can run or pass and is very good at making the read quickly.

This helps the line as Jones hits the hole fast and takes a little pressure off that line. The defense cannot then just blast off the line, which will slow the rush. As well the Vols defensive line is not exactly a powerhouse this year.

It is not that Trask cannot run, but he is more comfortable in the pocket slinging it. Having both quarterbacks playing will make a tough week of preparation for the Volunteers defense.

The receiving core had a great night against Kentucky and should be ready to handle whatever is thrown their way. Van Jefferson, who had 93 yards on Saturday, will command attention, but the receivers as a whole are a bunch that is capable of turning a game around in a hurry.

The offense will be fine this week as I expect a big day and high output from them.

The Tennessee defense

The Volunteer’s defense is not what it used to be. They play the 3-4 defense which is a good defense but the Vols  are going with a whole new bunch up front and it is a work in progress, as coach Jeremy Pruitt states;

"“We’ve really got to continue to improve upfront, and we will,” Pruitt said. “Most of those guys have very little playing experience, and if you look at them, a lot of the guys we’re playing, you know, were not even here during the spring, so they’re gonna continue to improve.”"

Their best player on that D line is junior Aubrey Solomon who left Michigan and transferred to Tennessee in January.  he has had a decent year so far but has only played since the first game. His match up with the Gator’s front line should be won by Florida as he is still getting acclimated to their defense.

Jeremy Banks is a linebacker that was once a running back. Last week he recorded two interceptions in the game, but this week he was arrested on an outstanding warrant. He will play this week but after all, he has been through, will he be effective?

Daniel Bituli who is their career leader in tackles with 178  over 33 career games. He is back and will have a say in the running game. It will be hard for him to cover all the weapons coming out of the backfield. He may have a nice game but they will need a lot more to win.

I give another advantage to the Florida football

Nigel Warrior helps lead the defense and is a 2019 Preseason All-SEC Third Team (Coaches). Warrior also had an interception last week and will have his hands full this week with a Florida receiving core that is second to none.

On the other side of the defense is  Kenney Solomon who also had one of the four interceptions the defense had last week. He is a freshman and most definitely will be in for a long night. Coming into the Swamp facing a very fast and experienced batch of receivers, he will have to play at his best, and then some.

Game result

This game should be won by the Gators. Even with new QB’s at the helm for the Gators, it should not slow their attack at all. If anything it may ramp it up and help with some issues on the line.  The Tennessee defensive line is having its own issues this year and the game is in the Swamp which will benefit that O line as well.

The highly experienced and talented group of receivers for Florida will prove to be too much for the Vols DB’s. With no pressure from their D-line that will put a lot of pressure on those DB’s to stay with a receiver for longer than they can. The Gator receivers will have another big game.

This matchup will go to Florida football and they go to 4-0. Next up,  the Towson Tigers.