Tennessee football at Florida: 10 keys for Vols and Gators

6. Health of Florida players

Three weeks ago, Tennessee football would be the team dealing with all the health issues. Daniel Bituli missed the opener to clean up a knee injury, Bryce Thompson had his indefinite suspension, and Trey Smith was just getting back into the groove of things after the blood clots in his lungs kept him limited dating back to last November.

However, Smith appears fully back now despite always being listed week-to-week, Bituli got back in the game last week, and Thompson is traveling with the team this week. So all of a sudden, the injury issues are on Florida’s side. And they are all big deals when you break them down.

For starters, Florida wins with elite defenses. And their defense is wrecked. C.J. Henderson, their best defensive back, and Jabari Zuniga, the star of their elite pass rush, which is the best part of the team, are both questionable Saturday. Meanwhile, safety Amari Burney is banged up. That’s brutal enough.

Florida’s ability to offset the loss of those defensive players is going to be key to whether or not they can avoid any upset in this game. They are suffering brutally right now, something that came with the territory of facing two decent Power Five schools with elite defenses to open the season.

Then there is the season-ending injury to quarterback Feleipe Franks, who has actually had UT’s number the past two years. We didn’t leave that out. It’s a major issue on its own, and it leads us to the next key in this game.