When they talk about the 2015 Florida-Tennessee game all one will have to say is, “Fourth-and-14”.
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Seniors on each team, at the most, have played or were in the sidelines for five UF-UK games (if they were red-shirted).
The Vols challenged a 9-yard pass completion to Florida’s Jake McGee, and the play was overturned to a 7-yard gain when it was ruled that McGee stepped out of bounds.
So, here I am at the end of the week feeling Florida again. And it came back to haunt him, big-time. “We’re 4-0 and we did it the best way”. Last year, Hurd had only ten carries for 39 yards against the Gators.
However, Dobbs completed three of his last eight throws against the Catamounts, and the passing yardage will be much tougher against the Gators’ loaded secondary.
Finchum: That’s a fair point.
Auburn 23, Mississippi State 16: The Tigers get back on track against perhaps the second-most overrated team in the SEC West (talking to you, Gus). Tennessee has had four coaches during this run and this defeat may leave them talking about needing a fifth. It’s time to stop trying to use “youth and inexperience” as a reason for Tennessee’s struggles.
The Vols contributed to Florida’s furious rally. One small difference, TCU was tied with Ole Miss last week.
A win against the Gators would not only help team morale, but it would also serve as a stepping stone towards the ultimate goal of reaching Atlanta for Tennessee. “They present some matchup concerns for you”. The frustrating part for the Vols was that they had top-10 teams in a lot of those years, but would lose to the Gators and be relegated to the Citrus Bowl. Against Missouri, he completed 14 of his first 15 attempts, and led touchdown drives of 75 and 93-yards, turning a three-point deficit into an 11-point lead. Florida allowed a grand total of 166 rushing yards in the first three games of the season (58 yards per game), but Dobbs had 107 rushing yards in the first half alone, and the Vols ran for 148 yards in the first 30 minutes. Butch Stones didn’t make an appearance in the second half, but rather “Butch Bachmann”, a coach who’s game card would be considered “too conservative” even by the Tea Party. He gets tight and so do his players.
Dobbs and Dormady were each sacked once in Saturday’s victory, and that shouldn’t happen against a Football Championship Subdivision team like Western Carolina.
The Vols want to learn how far their offense has come the last two weeks. Of course, on three pivotal plays in the fourth quarter, he had no choice – go for it or take the first loss of the season.
The surprise statistic might be that Florida had a higher percentage of fourth-down conversions under Muschamp (.581, 32 of 55) than Meyer (.563, 67 of 119) – who had one of the best short-yardage runners ever in Tebow. The Vols rank No. 24 in defensive efficiency and have faced two of the top-20 offensive efficient teams in the country in Bowling Green and Oklahoma.
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Pandemonium reigns The frustration of losing to Florida had reached its boiling point in 1998 for Tennessee. Most expected the Vols to win. The Vols have waited ten long years to beat Florida, and they will finally accomplish it Saturday afternoon. In that respect, Florida and Tennessee represent pre-tests for one another. Later, as a student, I remembered Chattanooga’s Greg “Boomer” Cater launching punts that seem like they took hours before landing, backing up opponents on their side of the field.
