Tampa Bay v. Kansas City

by John Michael

1-3. A quarter of the way through the NFL season, this is where the Buccaneers stand. Despite the change in leadership under Greg Schiano, despite a promising showing by the defense against Carolina in Week One, and despite keeping every game within one score so far, the Buccaneers have only managed to win one game. This week, with the Kansas City Chiefs coming into town, presents the best opportunity for the Bucs to end their losing streak and possibly right the ship for the remainder of the season. But like any week in the NFL, victory does not come easy.

The best looking backup QB this side of Tim Tebow

Kansas City (1-4) limps into Raymond James today after suffering the loss of their starting quarterback, Matt Cassell, to a concussion, handing over the offense to former Notre Dame star, Brady Quinn. Quinn has not started a game in the NFL since the 2009 season with the Cleveland Browns, and had not played a down since until Cassell went down last week.


With Quinn at the helm, the Chiefs will look to rely heavily running attack behind running back Jamaal Charles, a solid player who is having quite an insurgence after suffering a season-ending injury last year. Charles is averaging 5.4 yards per carry on 103 touches, scoring two touchdowns on the ground and one in the air. Kansas City is second in the NFL in rushing yards averaging 180.8 yards, largely due to the attack of Charles.

Kansas City’s defense is nothing to ignore either. Though they have allowed a lot of points in the early weeks, the Chiefs’ defense only let up 9 points last week to a Baltimore offense that many are considering as Super Bowl contenders. They are a top 10 team in passing yards against (205.8 yards) and have combined for 12 sacks.

Adderall... He was suspended for adderall
like some sort of college junkie.

Tampa Bay enters this game with problems of their own, however. The secondary has been awful, surrendering a league worst 345.3 yards per game in the air. With Aquib Talib out for four weeks with a suspension, and being replaced by E.J. Biggers, this secondary situation could possibly become worse. The Josh Freeman led offense has largely struggled to produce positive results, letting opportunities slip right through their fingers (literally, at times) to find victories. Perhaps the only slimmer of hope has been the run defense, ranked fourth in the league at 73.8 yards per game, but with such a horrible secondary, teams aren’t wasting their time with the run game.


Keys to Victory:


Shut down Jamaal Charles. Today matches up one of the top running backs against one of the top run defenses. Something’s gotta give. The Chiefs will try to establish their run game early with Quinn under center, so it’s important for the Bucs to prove early on in the game that Charles will have a difficult time running at his will. Shutting down the run game will cause a switch to passing the ball, which brings us to the next key.


Attack Brady Quinn. Quinn is starting for the first time in 3 years, so unless he has a heart of stone (he doesn’t) he will be nervous. Mistakes by Quinn are what caused him to be benched for all these years. Apply pressure, knock him down, cause Quinn to make throws he doesn’t want to make, create turnovers. Taking away any confidence that Quinn may have early on will give the Bucs an advantage if they execute the final key.


Take advantage of mistakes. Quinn will make mistakes, as well as the rest of the Chiefs’offense. Part of the Chiefs demise this season has been their turnovers, which sits at +12 going into their match-up with the Bucs. The Bucs must use these opportunities to get into
the end zone and put points on the board, which rests in the hands of Josh Freeman.



The Buccaneers have grown drastically since last years’ debacle, but still have not had much success in clinching victories. Today’s game is as close to a must-win game as the Buccaneers have faced. A victory against the Chiefs could provide that boost of confidence the Bucs need for the rest of the season - a loss could be detrimental. I believe the Buccaneers get that must-needed win today in a close game against a Chiefs team weakened by the loss of their starting quarterback. Whether the Bucs build upon it or not will remain to be seen.


John Michael's prediction: 

Tampa Bay wins 24 - 21

Florida v. Vanderbilt

by Arnaldo

Trap game.  It's the game you're expected to win.  There's a much bigger challenge the following week, and the team has overlooked the unsuspecting foe in between.  Vanderbilt is, year in and year out, the trap game that never was.  Vanderbilt hasn't beaten Florida since 1988, a streak that follows shortly behind the Florida - Kentucky win streak.  But every year, Vanderbilt sits at a sandwich week and the Gators seem to prepare for the worst, with good reason.  2005 provided the infamous "keys game" where Gator students start jingling their keys at the Commodores only being up one touchdown with two minutes left.  Jay Cutler and Vanderbilt scored with 54 seconds left to send the game into double-overtime.  The following year in Nashville, the Gators were up 25-6 while singing "We Are the Boys" into the fourth quarter when Vandy led a two-score comeback to make it one failed onside kick from a huge upset.  Don't let the streak fool you, this isn't Kentucky.  Vanderbilt is always a potential trap.

For Florida, there are two kinds of top 5 teams.  There are those that have been awarded the ranking because of an impressive win, or because they were overrated preseason and just haven't lost yet, and then there are those that are simply complete.  After fighting for some tough victories and going 5-0 for the first time since the undefeated (regular season) all-season top-ranked 2009 Gators,  Florida has kicked down doors to jump twenty spots to No. 4 (Florida was ranked 24th by week 2).  Now we're left wondering, are we truly complete?  Can we realistically contend for an SEC Championship, or daresay, a National Championship?  This is one of those games where questions may be answered.  The Gators still need to prove a lot.  Can the offense get rolling early?  Can they establish a pass game to compliment the run?  How skilled exactly is the receiving corps?  Can we be physical, focused, clean, and complete enough to stand tall with South Carolina and Alabama at the top of the SEC, and the NCAA?


The Match-Up


Vanderbilt is down, hurt, and weak, but they're not bad.  They sit at 2-3 (1-2 SEC) but have had some "quality losses" against South Carolina and Northwestern.  Recall the season opener when Vanderbilt lost a very winnable game against the Gamecocks 17-13.  The Commodores are that sleeper SEC team that can really sneak up on anybody.

Completeness - For the Gators to be complete, they need to prove they have a passing game.  It was never in the cards to air the ball around the field for Florida.  Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator, Brent Peaseb have been very vocal about that.  They want a run 'em between the hash-marks football team, and it's been an excuse to not throw the ball much.  Jeff Driskel has hit 69.2% of his passes (which is pretty good), while the Gators are 115th in the nation passing the ball.  The numbers just show we're not even trying to pass.  As long as Driskel can complete 69% or more in any given game, we should be fine, but what happens when the run game gets shut down, well read, or Mike Gillislee strains something, and Driskel is asked to make more than 15 passes a game?  Today is a day when I would like to see more passing, no matter our philosophy.


Jeff Driskel - Against LSU, Driskel showed his ability to regress a bit as a quarterback from all the progress he had made throughout the season.  He stayed in the pocket like a sitting duck getting sacked 5 times, and was caught scrambling around the backfield when he should've done what he does best, tuck the ball high and tight and run straight forward.  Maturity comes and goes with quarterbacks so watch Driskel try to make up for last week's mistakes, and look for Pease to show the Gamecocks watching in that we can throw the ball successfully.


Pass protection - Those five sacks mentioned were not all Jeff Driskel's fault.  There were two in a row where LSU penetrated the Florida offensive line before Driskel could even regrip the football.  As much praise as the offensive line received last week for leading a great run attack against a great LSU run defense, they were also incredibly one-dimensional; not a big deal when you run the ball as much as we did, but there are some serious holes in our pass protection.  I would rather chose not to pass the ball than be forced not to pass the ball.


Jordan Rodgers - Yes, he's THE Aaron Rodgers little brother.  He doesn't always play like Aaron though so don't let that little tidbit run away with you.  He's been 57/103 this season (55.3% completion) and hasn't had that Rodgers poise, but this is the quarterback who almost led the 'Dores to a victory at the Swamp last year, losing only 21-26 and throwing for 297 yards and two touchdowns.  He has the ability to be a Zach Mettenberger, but also has the ability to be an Aaron Rodgers.


Home field advantage? - Unfortunately, Vandy doesn't have the home field that most of the SEC has.  It's not the Swamp, or Death Valley.  Hell, it's not even Commonwealth Stadium.  Vanderbilt Stadium, which seats only forty-thousand, is sold out this week for the first time since the Gators visited in 2008.  So they only sell out when excited Gator fans feel like visiting the Music City.  Moral of the story, we're playing at a mini Swamp this week.  Don't look for many "road woes".

Keep up the D - The Florida defense has been stout, it has been physical, and it has been consistent, but only just.  It's a defense that plays significantly better in the third and fourth quarters, and one that seems to just get tougher and tougher as the season rolls on.  My question is, has the defense gotten better every week, or are they playing at their opponent as the schedule has gradually gotten tougher?  With Vandy being the first real decline in the schedule, I want to see the Gators defense perform like they did against LSU from start to finish, week to week.  As always, it starts with Matt Elam, Sharrif Floyd, Jon Bostic, and Lerente McCray.


Arnaldo's prediction: 

Florida wins 41 - 17

Florida v. LSU

 by Arnaldo

Les Miles and the Louisiana State University have been the biggest thorn on the Gators' side for quite some time.  In recent years, the rivalry hasn't been the deepest-seeded but has carried some of the larger implications.  For three straight years, the winner of this game went on to win the National Championship, and almost always becomes a dominant contender in the SEC.  LSU continues to be one of my favorite rivalries to watch, and the reason is because it's not one full of hatred, but rather respect.  Gators fans don't hate LSU, they just think they smell like corn dogs.  No one knows why.  I've always thought of LSU as Florida's Bizzaro school.

Probably college football's most intimidating live
mascot, Mike the Tiger.

Besides having similar uniforms in a different set of complimentary colors, competing with us to see who can pop out more, the Tigers seem to have their own, just as great, set of unique traditions, from wearing white at home, to somehow scheduling all their home games at night.  The traditions we share are having probably the two loudest home stadiums in the nation, and a rich tradition of winning.  Most importantly, this match-up is both teams first real SEC test each year, which is why this game is often the most important of the season.


The Match-Up


The LSU Tigers are not the 4th best team in the country.  It's that simple.  Anyone with eyes can see that.  The reason they're ranked as such is because they started at No. 3 and haven't lost a game.  We learn a lot about teams in the first few weeks that no preseason stat could show, but each ranking is based off of the previous one, all the way back to the preseason rank, which is really just a guess.  So when the National Championship runner-ups bring back most starters and replace the NFL-ers and seniors with huge underclassmen talent, the preseason pollsters have no choice but to put them in the top five.  No games have been played, why not?  Today, however, we know much more about the "No. 4" LSU Tigers, and all signs point to an upset in Gainesville.

First and foremost, LSU does not look good.  They've only been proficient at shooting themselves in the foot.  In their last two games they've accumulated 19 penalties for 149 yards and have won their last two games by only an average margin of 9 points.  While that's still two scores, they were expected to win each game by at least three or more touchdowns against LSU and FCS Towson.

"Was it because of all the weed?"

Last Couple Weeks - Bye weeks are always beneficial.  It gives the team an extra week to study film, build game plans, and practice accordingly.  Most importantly however, it lets a team get healthy.  These two teams are having very different previous weeks.   The Gators are enjoying their bye and getting healthy.  Jelani Jenkins, Dominique Easley, and Trey Burton are all expected to play.  Meanwhile in Baton Rouge, LSU will not dress linebacker Tahj Jones for academic issues, left tackle, Chris Faulk (their best O-lineman), who is out for the season from a knee injury, running back Alfred Blue, from a knee injury, and fullback, J.C. Copeland, also with a knee injury.  This just adds on to the preseason loss of Heisman hopeful, Tyrann Mathieu, for "breaking the rules."  While the Gators played a very easy game against Kentucky two weeks ago and rested last Saturday, the Tigers struggled against Auburn (12-10) and then still couldn't find the right chemistry against FCS Towson (38-22).  We're talking Auburn, who doesn't hit the top 50 in any statistical category, and is scoring an average of 17.5 points a game; the SEC team who's only victory has been against Louisiana-Monroe in overtime.  And then there's Towson, an FCS team who was paid graciously to come to Death Valley and take a beating.  They put up 22 points on the heavily-touted LSU defense.  This all translates into momentum, the greatest intangible in football, and the Gators have all of it right now.

Florida Consistency - Sadly, as I've previously mentioned, the Gators are lacking consistency and fast starts.  Its seems that we're hearing "Orange and Blue" being played mostly in the second halves of games, and penalty whistles in the first.  Even in the blowout against Kentucky, Florida couldn't find the end zone until the second quarter.  As many negative stats as I've mentioned for the LSU defense, they're no joke.  They're made of some of the most skilled defensive players in college football who have just not found a rhythm quite yet.  They have the ability to turn it around at any point in the season.  The Gators need to exploit their mishaps early in the game and score, to ensure an Auburn/Towson defensive performance. 

Battle of the Trenches and Rushing the Passer - The battle of the trenches is going to be one of the more deciding match-ups, especially the Gators' offensive line versus the Tigers' defensive front.  It's a front that has allowed an average of 83 rush yards per game and are exceptionally skilled at rushing the passer.  Muschamp has been vocal about how focused he is on their defensive front. "That front right there is impressive,'' he said. "Whether it's Mingo, Edwards, Johnson, Downs, Logan, Ferguson, Montgomery, it don’t matter. They all can run. They can rush the passer. They play with great motors. You’ve to maintain blocks versus these guys. They don’t stay blocked long."  This will put a lot of pressure on Jeff Driskel to move around, in and out of the pocket.  With little time allowed by the LSU line, he'll have to showcase his mobility now more than ever, which, let's not forget, is one of the top reasons we recruited him.

On the other side of the ball, the Gators defensive line needs to improve rushing the passer.  They've only recorded 5 sacks, tying for last place in the SEC, but with the return of Dominique Easley and the soft spot left from Chris Faulk's left tackle position, the stage is set for a possible emergence of defensive pressure from our front four to shaky LSU quarterback Zack Mettenberger.  Brought in as a junior college transfer to fix what Jarret Lee/Jordan Jefferson left behind, Mettenberger hasn't looked much better.  He ranks eighth in the SEC in yards per game, seventh in completion percentage, and ninth in touchdown passes.  Not to mention, he's been sacked eleven times and has fumbled the ball three times, losing all three.  I think Mettenberger handles pressure worse than Tennessee's Tyler Bray, and we all remember how malleable he became in the fourth quarter.  While LSU has a much tougher offensive line protecting him, look for Florida to try similar tactics to remove the passing game from the LSU scheme.


The Mad Hatter - The Tigers haven't beaten the Gators, at least since 2005, without using some trickeration.  Taking risks is what the Mad Hatter is known for.  Two seasons ago, he revived the over-the-head fake field goal that stole him a National Championship in '07.  Last season, punter, Brad Wing, ran a fake punt in for a touchdown, before being called for a taunting penalty.  Whether it's a deliberate trick play, or just a unexpected play call, Will Muschamp will do his best to expect the unexpected.  After all, against the Hat, that's really all you can do.


 Arnaldo's prediction:

Florida wins 23 - 19

Florida v. Kentucky

by Arnaldo

Twenty-five.  That's how many consecutive victories the Gators have had over the Kentucky Wildcats. If you're wondering if it's some sort of record, it is.  The win streak is the longest active streak of consecutive wins over a particular opponent in an uninterrupted series.  The only longer active streak is Penn State over Temple and they don't meet every year (also, let's be real, that streak may be ending soon).

"Go Gators!" - Ronald Reagan (...maybe)

The year was 1986 when the Wildcats bested the Gators in Lexington 10-3, and I'm willing to bet most of you reading this weren't even born.  Ronald Reagan was president.  The Berlin Wall still stood.  Millions of Americans had just watched the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.  Have I made my point clear?  It's been a while.

UK head coach Joker Phillips
. . . Why so serious?

The University of Kentucky is really only a competitive rival in basketball, where both teams usually battle for the SEC East.  The football match-up is usually the final tune up game for the Gators, before entering the bulk of the SEC schedule.  There have been years when the Gators get put on upset alert against the Wildcats but end up scoring touchdown after touchdown, and we hope this year won't be any different.

As usual in this game, the Gators need to focus on the Wildcats and leave the bye week to prepare for No. 2 LSU, but I think I speak for all of us when I say it's nice to be home.  Usually around this time the Gators have already played at the Swamp two to three times, before the SEC expansion forced us to visit College Station.  This game represents a dominance over an opponent that we hope in turn represents our return to prominence in the SEC, and though the outcome is too close to obvious, the Swamp will be packed with fans welcoming their team back home as the No. 14 Florida Gators take on the Kentucky Wildcats.

The Match-up
 

Uhh... you mad?

Kentucky - Quite frankly, there's not much to see here.  This may be one of the worst Kentucky teams in recent years.  I'm not saying Joker Phillips isn't taking the team in a good direction, but after losses to Louisville and Western Kentucky (yes, the Hilltoppers), things are looking bleak for the Wildcats.  However, there are some bright spots on their team and as usual, they have potential to grow.  Kentucky's quarterback, Maxwell Smith is faring very well, despite the losses.  He actually leads the SEC in passing with 966 yards and 8 touchdowns.  His favorite target: wide receiver La'Rod King, who again, despite the losses, is quite talented.

Florida Offense - Against Tennesee, the Gators created a whopping 555 yards of offense.  That's the most in conference play since 2001 against Vanderbilt, and third most in Neyland Stadium by any team ever.  Jeff Driskel and the Gators found their momentum in the second half with several explosive plays and more suffocating defense.  What amazes me the most is the very noticeable growth of Jeff Driskel.  While it's still too early to tell how mature he's become, watching the touchdown pass to Jordan Reed last week, ignoring the two defenders set on taking him down really dropped the jaws of all the Gator hopeful.  He's come a long way from the scared freshman who played against Alabama and was almost immediately injured.


A First Half? - The first half at Tennessee was all too similar to the first half at Texas A&M.  Now, if I had to pick a style of team to be, it would be a second-half team.  But only in the sense that we play better in the second half than in the first; the first still has to be solid.  So far, the disparity between the two halves has been unacceptable. 

The coaching staff has been preaching 72 and 22, which are the total points allowed and scored, respectively, by the Gators in the second halves against SEC opponents in 2011.  This year's mantra has been "finish the game," and according to Frankie Hammond Jr. "We are a better second-half team. Over the offseason [strength coach Jeff] Dillman pretty much ingrained in our minds we have to finish out games."  So far this season Florida has outscored everyone 50-13 in the second half while pitching 27-0 shutouts in the fourth quarter, but finishing strong won't always make up for a sloppy first half.  If the Gators are proving they have the discipline and stamina to finish games strong and exploit tired opponents in the second half, there's no reason we can't see more production and fewer penalties out of the first half.  Playing half-games won't suffice against the likes of LSU, Georgia, and Florida State.

LT Xavier Nixon

Offensive Line - The O-line this season so far has been a bit of an evolution in the right direction.  From allowing eight sacks and providing reluctant run blocking, to the impenetrable sackless wall we saw against Tennessee.  The line has definitely grown in front of our very eyes, however, much more needs to be improved.  Left tackle Xavier Nixon was penalized with two 15-yarders, one from removing his helmet to argue with a referee, and the line provided Gillislee little support in short yardage interior runs. 


Injuries - Remember when I said Dominique Easley was at risk of aggravating his knee and he did towards the end of the Tennessee game.  His status is questionable, but with a soft Kentucky team coming in and a bye week before No. 2 LSU visits, I'd put my money on Easley riding the bench tomorrow.  Look for Jonathan Bullard or Earl Okine to fill in.  Jelani Jenkins is still out but is rumored to be looking forward to returning for LSU.



Tuning - No game should be taken lightly, ever.  With a bye week and LSU around the corner, players might have a hard time taking Kentucky seriously, but you can bet Will Muschamp won't let them get too distracted.  Kentucky is the last opportunity for any more tuning on the field.  It's time to try to finalize the ever shifting offensive line, iron out some kinks in the defense, and maybe work to perfect that new-look Trey Burton wildcat set. 


Arnaldo's prediction:

Florida wins 41-13

Florida v. Tennessee

by Arnaldo

"Rocky top, you'll always be home, sweet home, to me!"  ... Ugh.  The worst part of the "Third Saturday in September" is always sitting through The Pride of the Southland Band playing Rocky Top nearly 43 times.  And then there's the awkward moment when you find yourself humming the insufferably catchy tune as the Volunteers are walking out of the Swamp with Smokey's tail between his legs (this is not an impartial blog).


The Rivalry


... That never really was.  When I think of Florida's rivals, I think Georgia, Florida State, LSU, and sometimes Alabama.  What makes a great rivalry is competition and as you all know, in the last few years we've each beaten and lost to those teams.  Our streak against Tennessee is looking at a potential 8th year.  Only one of those games was even close.  The dwindling rivalry found its peak in the '90s, when Steve Spurrier and Phil Fulmer were each building the South's new reputation in football.  Danny Wuerffel was preparing a National Championship/Heisman run, while Peyton Manning was evolving into one of the best quarterbacks ever.  You know what he could never do, however?  Beat the Gators.

"You must hate me..."

 Spurrier loved to put down the Vols with quips like, "you can't spell Citrus without UT," and, "I heard they just hung a new sign outside the Citrus Bowl in Orlando: WINTER HOME OF THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS."  The Citrus Bowl, now known as the Capital One Bowl, is usually reserved for the second best team in the SEC and was a common game for the Vols while the Gators were invited to more prestigious bowl games. 

"Umm... yeah... sorry?"

The departure of Fulmer and arrival of Lane Kiffen at Tennessee almost relit the rivalry.  Kiffen was doing all the right things: coaching up his team, bringing in his father the legendary defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffen, and trying his best to talk to a big game.  At his inaugural speech he said he was looking forward to Tennessee traditions such as "singing Rocky Top all night after beating (top-ranked) Florida."  He later publicly accused Urban Meyer of committing a recruiting violation that doesn't exist, and by doing so, ironically broke an actual SEC rule.  Urban Meyer responded by beating the Volunteers 23-13, purposefully not running up the score as expected, which was considered as even more of an insult than lighting up the scoreboard.

Albert changes his iconic
orange sweater for a blue
one against Tennesee.

As dull as the match-ups have been on the field, fans of both schools still love this rivalry.  In Gainesville, students spend all week making redneck/incest jokes while in Knoxville, fans are making the same jorts comments (presumably, I really don't care).  When the Volunteers come to Florida Field fans and students "blue out" the stadium to stand out from their opponents who share the color orange, albeit a dull and lifeless shade.  To fuel the game and add pressure, ESPN's College Gameday is following the Gators to Knoxville for a second consecutive week.

2007 "Blue Out" as requested by Urban Meyer.

The Match-up

As easy as it's been to beat the Vols in recent history, this year will be much different.  The Volunteers are ranked for the first time since week 1 of 2008 and for good reason: they produce.  They've had two back-to-back games of 500 yards for the first time in 12 years.  Third year head coach Derek Dooley is raising his program back into prominence and needs this statement win to prove he can make waves in the SEC, but then again, so does Will Muschamp and the Gators.  Here are my keys to the game:

Protecting Driskel - Last week against the Aggies, Jeff Driskel was sacked 8 times.  That's 7 too many in my book.  Now the problem doesn't necessarily lie within the o-line's protection; Driskel admits that he held onto the ball for too long on several plays, to which I say, "we noticed."  But bettering this is a two pronged solution: on one hand Driskel does need to make his pocket decisions much quicker, and on the other, the offensive line needs to understand that the young quarterback is still facing a learning curve and work harder on their blocks.



Tyler Bray - He's excellent.  I'd rank him fourth in the SEC after Aaron Murray (Georgia), Tyler Wilson (Arkansas), and A.J. McCarron (Alabama).  The junior quarterback missed five games last season but still racked up 1,983 yards over his seven starts.  Running a no-huddle offense, so far this season he's thrown for 643 yards and six touchdowns, and he hits the big plays.  Bray completes 76.2% of his passes over 15 yards and out of those six touchdowns, five have been on passes of 15 yards or over.

He also has great
taste in body art.

Even worse, Tennessee sports one of the SEC's best receiving corps.  Justin Hunter (11), who is coming off a three-touchdown game against Georgia State, and junior college transfer Cordarrelle Patterson (84), who has proved himself over the last two games with 360 all-purpose yards.  Luckily, returning star, Da'Rick Rogers transferred to Tennessee Tech last month.  Look for Muschamp to keep a nickel/dime package on the field most for most of the game and utilize our depth at secondary.





Turnovers - The Gators aren't making any.  I'll preach it every week until we start, but the critical piece missing in the Gators defense is turnovers.  It's hard to teach forcing fumbles or being at the right place at the right time, but what the defense can focus on is not letting the right opportunities slip through their fingers (sometimes literally).  Several potential interceptions were dropped against Bowling Green, and I do recall a fumble that was knocked to the sidelines for no turnover at College Station.  The offense can't capitalize off turnovers if the defense doesn't seize these opportunities.


Injuries - Texas A&M didn't go down without a fight, and they took Jelani Jenkins and Cody Riggs with them.  Neither are expected to return today, and when you combine them with the still missing Ronald Powell, the defense is getting thinner.  True freshman Antonio Morrison (12) will be stepping in for Jenkins, while the pretty deep cornerbacks group moves around to fill in for Riggs.  Mike Gillislee strained a groin running in a touchdown but is expected to play.  He, along with Dominique Easley and Josh Evans have suffered minor injuries in the first two games so they'll at some risk of aggravation.

Stopping the Run -  There's a defensive strategy in football that basically says, "slow down their best components but stop their weaker ones."  The idea here is, Tennessee is a pass-centered team with a good quarterback and great receivers, but there's no such thing as a one-dimensional winning team.  The Gators need to focus and slowing down Bray, yes, but by stopping the run, which they're more than capable of doing, much more pressure gets put on Bray.  Our decent secondary and fast pass rush should take care of the rest. 



Tale of Two Defenses - This is what we saw at Texas A&M.  The first half defense allowed the first three Aggie drives to end in scores and the fourth was thankfully ended by the clock.  The yards allowed for those drives are as follows: 66, 81, 79, and 44.  Yards allowed in the second half per drive: 8, 1, 6, 5, 9, and 22.  Impressed?  So am I.  Will Muschamp finally found something to motivate his defense and provide them with something they didn't have during the Bowling Green game or the first half at Texas A&M.  Like I said last week, these guys were top recruits.  They're out of excuses and it's nice to see they can actually stand up to their potential but in the end, it's a discipline issue.  There's nothing I can reference to prove they'll show up again today.


Arnaldo's Prediction:

Florida win 34 - 20

Florida v. Texas A&M

by Arnaldo

It's finally here!  The SEC expansion kicks off with the Gators playing the Aggies and the Georgia visiting Mizzou.  As I've said before, the rich only get richer, and the SEC, already the unquestionably toughest conference in college football for the better part of a decade, just got tougher.  Say what you will about the unranked Aggies and Tigers, but they're both quality programs.  It wasn't very long ago when Chase Daniel led the Tigers to a 12-2 season finishing at No. 4, or even last season when Texas A&M made Arkansas earn their 4-point victory. But expansion talk is over; as soon as the ball is kicked off, they're both one of us.


Aggies 101


We all know about Rocky Top, Woo Pig Sooie, War Eagle, and Rammer Jammer, because the SEC is a close-knit conference fueled by tradition and mutual respect/hatred.  We don't, or shouldn't, know much about our new programs.  So in welcoming in Texas A&M University, let's quickly review some of their traditions


The 12th Man -  The Aggies nicknamed their stadium "Home of the 12th Man" and their fans "the 12th Man".  The significance is of course, that there are 11 players on a football team playing at once.  Similarly, terms like "sixth man" are used in basketball.  The term came from the 1922 Dixie Classic, where the Aggies suffered so many injuries that head coach, D.X. Bible, was forced to call into the stands for E. King Hill, a football player who had recently left the team.  Hill came running down and suited up to play, but wasn't needed.  His ambition and readiness to serve the team are remembered as the "spirit of the 12th man".


Corps of Cadets and the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band - Texas A&M University is one of the six Senior Military College.  They produce hundreds of military officers each year and have a total enrollment of over 2000 Cadets.  The Cadets have their own section in the stands and are prominently shown on televised games.  The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band is no regular marching band.  They're exclusively composed of Cadets.  As the largest precision military marching band, their drills are so complex the computer programs commonly used to design them often return errors, and must be written by hand.  The members all dine together, sleep together in their own dormitories, and practice up to forty hours a week on top of a full course load and regular Corps training.  Both Dub and I are former members of the Gator Band and we were known for some complaining, but we were never literally in boot camp.


Bonfire - Since 1909 Aggie students have been holding bonfires the week before the final game (until this year against Texas).  Originally just a small trash fire, the Bonfire grew to enormous heights over the years.  Traditionally held around the end of the season, serious engineering is required to build a safe fire of over 50 feet.  In 1999, while constructing the 5000-log stacks, the top collapse and the chain reaction killed 12 students while injuring 27.  The university ended its official support of Bonfire and a memorial was built in its place.  Since then, off campus Bonfires have been built successfully with design changes to prevent another collapse.


Midnight Yell Practice - Texas A&M does not have cheerleaders, and they do not have pep rallies.  Instead, they have Yell Leaders and Yell Practice.  The Yell Leaders are five males elected by the student body to lead the various yells with corresponding hand signals.  In place of a traditional pep rally, the Aggies meet up the night before each home game, or two nights before each away game, on Kyle Field at midnight to practice yelling.  At the end of the practice the lights are shut off and everyone "mugs down" and kisses their date.  The dateless hold up their cigarette lighters to better find each other in the dark ... to kiss.  This is in preparation for their best tradition, "When One Aggie Scores, All Aggies Score."  During football games, when the team scores, the students kiss their date.  Are you asking yourself why you didn't send your applications to College Station, Texas?  Me too.


The Match-Up


Enough about them; let's talk about us.  The Bowling Green game had a lot of Gator fans shaking their heads in confusion.  To whom I remind, it was more of a preseason game than anything.  Unlike most years, where a finished product is brought onto the field, the 2012 squad still needed some live practice, and that's fine.  Yes, the Falcons tied the game twice, and I know, the team seemed very undisciplined.  What should you should take out of that game is this: it was a warm-up, and it was treated as such.  It's not at all uncommon for play-calling on both sides of the ball to get extremely conservative on the first couple games.  Teams don't want a lot of footage so readily available to their conference rivals.  Play-calling on offense was all run.  Mike Gillislee on the power; Gillislee on the stretch.  If you're worried at the lack of success that produced, don't be.  He got solid yardage against a team that expected all run and stacked 8-9 guys in the box.  Against better defenses not knowing what to expect and keeping 7 in the box, results should be comparable.  Keep in mind Brent Pease is also the quarterbacks coach.  You can bet his style of offense includes plenty of passing, though we didn't see as much last Saturday, which brings me to...


Jeff Driskel - Named the starting quarterback after the Bowling Green game, Driskel was just impressive enough to edge out Brissett but wasn't asked to do much.  The majority of his game were simple bubble screens and short routes.  As a down-field passer in the SEC, he remains a question mark.  A&M should expose a lot out of him, fielding one of the SEC's weaker secondaries.


Defense - On defense, conservative was still the name of the game.  From what I could tell, there wasn't a lot of tight man coverage.  There was, however, plenty of loose zones.  This means a defensive player is given more space around an area, or his assignment, to protect.  The result is a sacrifice of big plays for sure tackles.  We allowed the Falcons to pass the ball around much more than we will any other team.  By that same token, the players were probably told to not make plays on the ball, but instead focus on the receiver and a sure tackle.  Otherwise, we may have seen more interceptions.  The potential ones that were mishandled were more "right place, right time" than aggressively going for the ball.  What worried me about this style of play was its effect on the players' discipline, which brings me to...

He looks thrilled...

Discipline - There's no doubt Will Muschamp is strict.  He's even said there's not much more he can do to motivate or discipline the team.  What worries me are the results on the field: poor tackling, lack of drive, and lots of penalties.   When Jelani Jenkins wraps his arms around a player, that player (short of a Trent Richardson) should go down immediately.  As for penalties, the Gators stacked 14 last week.  That many flags this week could make the difference in the game.




Texas A&M - For the Aggies, this is a historic game for more than being their SEC debut.  It's also their season opener; their first game was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac.  This game also marks the debut of the new coaching staff under Kevin Sumlin, replacing Mike Sherman, and the debut of their new redshirt freshman quarterback, Johnny Manziel, replacing Ryan Tannehill.  All circumstances provided, it seems the Gators have the intangibles advantage.

Jeremy Brown in 2010

Aggies Pass v. Gators Secondary - Sumlin's air raid offense has the potential to disrupt the Gators secondary, however.  The air raid is exactly what it sounds like: lots of passing, which is something the SEC in general isn't very used to.  Even Steve Spurrier, our most pass-happy coach, admits the SEC forces him to run the ball.  The Gators secondary is well equipped for the raid but still remains unproven.  The biggest challenge will be keeping fresh bodies on the field, but with four rotating cornerbacks (Roberson, Watkins, Purifoy, Riggs) and the return of the skilled and sorely-missed Jeremy Brown (8), it may be pretty feasible.  Muschamp says he's prepared to have up to six DBs in often to counter-act the up-tempo passing attack. 


Aggies Pass Rush - Texas A&M led the nation in sacks a year ago with 51.  Keep an eye on the trenches as their best pass rushers, Linebacker Sean Porter (10) and defensive end Damontre Moore (94) return attack a much improved Florida offensive line.


Arnaldo's Prediction: 

Florida wins 24 - 21