Tennessee (2-1 | 0-0 SEK) vs. Florida (2-1 | 0-2 SEK)
Saturday, September 25, 2021 | 6:00 p.m. CT
Gainesville, FL | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium | TV: ESPN
, Greg McElroy (analyst) and Katie George (sideline) attending the conference call. The kick-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT.</p> <p>The game can also be accessed via the ESPN app on smartphones, tablets, connected streaming devices, or via espn.com/watch.</p> <p>Fans can listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast on the Vol Network (WIVK-FM 107.7 / WNML-FM 99.1) and satellite radio (Sirius Ch. 99, XM Ch. 192, Internet Ch. 963). A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com? and the official Gameday app.</p> <p>Bob Kesling (PxP), Pat Ryan (Analyst) and Brent Hubbs (Analyst) will initiate the action, while Kasey Funderburg will take on side tasks. The Big Orange countdown starts at 4:30 p.m.</p> <h3>You have to know</h3> <p><strong>Heupel records win No. 30</strong><br />First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel hit the 30-victory plateau last Saturday. The 27th head coach in the history of Vol, Heupel’s 30 wins rank ninth among the FBS head coaches since the start of the 2018 season, behind Nick Saban (41), Dabo Swinney (41), Brian Kelly (36), Lincoln Riley ( 36), Luke Fickell (34), Kirby Smart (34), Ed Orgeron (32) and Dan Mullen (31).</p> <p>With 0.769 (at least two seasons), Heupel has the eighth best profit share among the active FBS head coaches. Heupel became the fourth fastest active FBS head coach (39 games) to score 30 career wins, behind only Oklahoma’s Riley (34), Stanford’s David Shaw (35), UCLA’s Chip Kelly (35) and Georgia’s Smart (38).</p> <p><strong>Closing on Saturday</strong><br />Tennessee recorded its first shutout since September 2019 with a 56-0 hiding from Tennessee Tech last Saturday at Neyland Stadium. Eight different vols scored – four rushes, three passes, and an interception return (31 yards from Solon Page III) – when UT defeated the Golden Eagles (417-179). Quarterback Hendon Hooker, who made his first UT start in place of an injured Joe Milton III, made 263 yards total attack and four touchdowns. Hooker became the first Vol QB to throw at least three touchdowns and storm at least one touchdown in the same game since Joshua Dobbs threw for three and stormed for two against Missouri on November 19, 2016. Aubrey Solomon and Byron Young – who made his UT debut – led the Vols in tackles of six each.</p> <p><strong>Dominance in the first quarter</strong><br />Tennessee beat their opponents 38-0 in the first quarter of this season. The Vols have scored touchdowns on their first drive in two of their three games so far, including their first scrimmage game against Pitt two weeks ago.</p> <p><strong>Life in the backfield</strong><br />Tennessee has amassed 29 tackles for the loss in three games under new defensive coordinator Tim Banks. That’s seventh in the nation and third in the SEC behind LSU (40) and Auburn (33). The 29 TFLs are the most through the first three games of a season since at least 2008. A total of 17 different players have 0.5 TFL so far, including six with multiple TFLs. The Vols averaged 9.67 tackles per game, which takes sixth place in the FBS. Theo Jackson leads the path with 6.0, which is at the top of all FBS defenders and which overall equals the SEC leadership.</p> <p><strong>We want to go quickly</strong><br />A hallmark of the Heupel offenses is speed. The vols averaged 3.08 offensive games per minute, which is the front runner nationwide. Utah State is closest at 2.95. UT counts 77.67 games per game, which is 13th in the FBS. From 2018-20, Heupel’s UCF teams averaged 3.04 games per minute across the country. The closest was 2.78 from Wake Forest during this period. Heupel’s UCF squad played an average of 79.97 games per game from 2018-20.</p> <h3>Tennessee / Florida series story</h3> <p><strong>Gators lead series, 30-20</strong><br />Tennessee and Florida meet for the 51st time, with the Gators leading the series, 30-20. Florida has won over the Vols four times in a row. Tennessee’s last win against the Gators came in Knoxville on September 24, 2016, by a score of 38-28.</p> <p>UT is aiming for its first Gainesville win since September 20, 2003 (24-10). Heupel wants to become the first Vol head coach to beat Florida in his first attempt since Phillip Fulmer on September 19, 1992 in Knoxville (31-14). Fulmer served as the interim head coach in this competition. The last UT coach to win his first game against Florida in Gainesville was Bill Battle on October 24, 1970.</p> <p></p> <h3>About the Florida Gators</h3> <p>The Gators are led by fourth-year head coach Dan Mullen, who took on the program ahead of the 2018 season after a hugely successful nine-year career as head coach in the state of Mississippi. Mullen led the Gators to their first SEC East title since 2016 last season. Florida goes into the game on Saturday with a 2-1 record after beating Florida Atlantic and South Florida to open the season, before dropping a nail bitter at home last weekend against front runner Alabama.</p> <p>Florida boasts the top rushing offensive in the SEC, averaging 335.7 yards per game on the ground in three competitions. The Gators’ frantic attack is led by two talented running backs in Malik Davis and Dameon Pierce and two talented dual-threat quarterbacks in Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson.</p> <p>Davis and Piece together scored 332 yards and seven touchdowns, but it was the QB run game that was even more effective for UF. Richardson leads the team with 275 rushing yards with only 11 carries (25.0 ypc), while Jones ranks second on the team with 231 yards on the ground.</p> <p>Jones got the majority of the reps on the quarterback, completing 49 of 77 attempts to pass for 459 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but also throwing five interceptions. Jones’ favorite target was Jacob Copeland, who leads the team with seven receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns.</p> <p>The Gators’ defense was led by Redshirt seniors OLB Jeremiah Moon and DL Zachary Carter. Moon has collected 16 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a PBU, and two quarterback hurries, while Carter was a scare to enemy attacks, with a team of six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks with one forced fumble.</p>The post <a href=)
from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/tennessee-vols-football-meets-florida-gators-in-gainesville-tonight/
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