Tennessee football: 5 reasons Vols will beat the Florida Gators

3. Tennessee can run the ball.

The first two games of the year, the Florida Gators gave up over 200 and over 300 yards to Charleston-Southern and the Kentucky Wildcats respectively. Tennessee football, meanwhile, can use four different running backs at any time.

Tim Jordan is the smart, efficient runner. Ty Chandler is the game-breaker with his speed. Jeremy Banks and Madre London are the power backs to wear you down. Simply put, Jeremy Pruitt and Tyson Helton have a stable of backs that anybody would kill for.

The running game was even successful against the West Virginia Mountaineers, as Jordan was able to get a touchdown and over 100 yards rushing. And for the season, the Vols are averaging over 220 rushing yards a game and over five yards a carry.

Against a Gators defense that has fallen apart against the run, this bodes extremely well for the Vols. The only worry for them is that Florida did shut down the Colorado State Rams last week, and it hints that Florida can shut down a rush defense if the quarterback is just a pocket-passer. But CSU is averaging less than three yards a carry on the season anyway. They’ve been that bad.

Meanwhile, although Jarrett Guarantano hasn’t run it much, we know he’s a mobile quarterback. So you have to believe he’ll be able to play his role to make sure the running game explodes on Saturday. The rushing battle has dictated the winner of this game too many times in the past. Right now, this early in the season, that favors Tennessee significantly.