Know Your Enemy: Florida Gators
By Zach Ragan
September 22, 2012; Gainesville FL, USA; Florida Gators mascot, Albert, against the Kentucky Wildcats in the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Who: Florida Gators — Gainesville, FL
Distance From Knoxville: 545 miles
Head coach: Will Muschamp (third season at Florida)
Conference: SEC
2013 Record: 1-1 (0-0)
Ranking: AP #19, USA Today #18
All time series: Florida leads 23-19
Last meeting: Florida — 37 Tennessee – 20 (September 15, 2012)
The Florida Gators currently own a eight-game winning streak over the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols’ last win in the series came in 2004, when James Wilhoit kicked a game-winning 50 yard field goal to give the Vols the 30-28 victory in Knoxville.
Tennessee will have a tall task in front of them if they plan on ending the losing streak and knocking off Will Muschamp and the Gators.
Muschamp, in his third season as Florida’s head coach, has assembled an extremely stout defense. Florida is 17th in the nation in points-allowed, giving up only 13.5 points a game. On top of that, the Gator defense has been incredibly difficult to convert a third down against. Florida has allowed only two third down conversions out of 24 attempts.
If the Gators have a weakness, it’s on offense. Florida managed only 24 points against Toledo, a team that allowed 38 points to Missouri. In Florida’s loss to Miami, they only scored 16 points.
Florida moved the ball effectively against the Canes, but they struggled to turn those drives into points. At one point the Gators made three consecutive trips to the red zone, without scoring any points.
Some might think this Florida team is significantly weaker than last year’s Florida team, but they’d be wrong. The Gators have the capability of being a very effective offensive team. The Vols definitely have a chance to pull the upset, but they’ll have to force Florida to make mistakes, like Miami did, in order to have the chance for a win in the swamp.
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