Today On Rocky Top: Brian Randolph Shines For Vols

Sep 21, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Daniel McCullers (98) rushes against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

From The Times Free Press

"Brian Randolph spent most of last Saturday afternoon in Gainesville near the football.Whether it was a quarterback, tailback or wide receiver toting the ball for Florida, Tennessee’s safety was not far away, and the result was a team-leading 11-tackle performance for the redshirt sophomore.It was the one tackle Randolph missed, though, that still bothers him.Early in the second quarter, Gators backup quarterback Tyler Murphy fired a flare pass to Solomon Patton, and after the speedy wideout evaded Tennessee nickelback Devaun Swafford, Randolph narrowly missed shoving him out of bounds."

From The Times Union

"Third down has been a letdown for Tennessee’s defense so far this season.Tennessee is allowing opponents to convert 45.6 percent (26 of 57) of its third-down situations. Vanderbilt is the only Southeastern Conference team doing a worse job of stopping opposing offenses on third down.“It’s very difficult and hard to deal with,” senior linebacker Dontavis Sapp said. “We fought so hard on first and second down to get them in these third-down situations – and then we let them off the hook by (giving up) the first down.”"

From Rocky Top Talk

"In any evaluation of what was a horrific mess of a game Saturday in Gainesville, one must keep in mind where Tennessee is coming from. People will criticize the coaches for failing to accept a game that Florida tried to hand to them in the first half, and there are places to criticize. But there are also places to remember that there is all too finite talent on this Vols squad, and in some cases, you’re limited by personnel. The best example, as I see it, came on Florida’s final touchdown drive that really put the game away. The Gators had a key 3rd and 8, and they threw a pass short of the marker."