Tennessee football at Florida: Five key Gators
Over the years, Tennessee football has been one team to make heroes out of different Florida Gators. Tony George, Alex Brown and Brandon James are just a few names. As the Vols and Gators get set to face off this year, there’s a very good chance a few more players find their way onto that list given the state of the programs.
Rocky Top travels to Gainesville, Fla. on the heels of a 56-0 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Florida, meanwhile, comes in after barely losing at home, 31-29, to the Alabama Crimson Tide. They have a lot to be proud of with that, even if it’s been their only Power Five foe so far.
Meanwhile, UT’s one Power Five game was a loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers, so there’s a lot less faith in them. If the Vols are going to have any chance at pulling off the upset, they can’t allow a new player to go off. Who is most likely to do that? Well, let’s break that down here. These are the five key Gators Tennessee football has to focus on at Florida Saturday.
Redshirt senior. 5. player. 840. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Running back. Malik Davis
5’10” 207 pounds; Hometown: Tampa, Fla.
Obviously, Florida’s rushing attack is the story. Malik Davis is one of three players to have two touchdowns and over 200 yards rushing this year, and then a fourth, Dameon Pierce, leads the team in touchdowns with five. Davis almost didn’t make it, as Antonio Richardson, one of the two quarterbacks, is the leading rusher with 275 yards, and he’s averaging an insane 25 yards a carry.
However, Richardson was out last week, and Davis is more of the workhorse back, so over time, it’s likely he’ll be the main rusher. Last week, he had 10 carries for 86 yards and a touchdown, and for the year, he’s got 31 carries for 214 yards. It’s worth adding that Davis also has three catches for 14 yards, so he can be deadly in lots of ways.
So far this year, Tennessee football has had a top five rush defense in the nation. However, they haven’t faced anybody with a decent run game. Florida is their first test, and if they want to keep up that success, they have to focus on Davis.