Pregame Analysis: Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1) v. Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1)

Florida takes the show on the road against an old rival.

By Loren Meadows, GatorBaitMedia.com, Football Analyst

Edge rusher Tyreak Sapp (Chris Spears photo)

KNOXVILLE —  Once thought to be the de facto SEC Championship Game the Florida-Tennessee rivalry has been filled with drama and near misses lately.

Tennessee Offense

Key Players-#8 QB Nico Iamaleava (6-6, 215, R-Fr.), #6 RB Dylan Sampson (5-11, 201, Jr.), #18 RB DeSean Bishop (5-10, 200, R-Fr.), #15WR Bru McCoy (6-3, 230 R-Sr.), #1 WR Dont’e Thornton (6-5, 214, Sr.), #17 WR Chris Brazzell II (6-5, 200, R-So./Tulane), #3 WR Squirrel White (5-10, 167, Jr.), #63 Cooper Mays (6-4, 310, Sr.)

Matchups To Watch: Tennessee Offensive Line v. Florida Defensive Line, Tennessee Receivers v. Florida Corners

The Tennessee offense features plenty of start power at every level. It begins with Nico Iamaleava at the quarterback positions. In his first season as a starter Iamaleava has accounted for 1184 yards of total offense throwing seven touchdown passes and adding another on the ground. His targets include Bru McCoy a top rated recruit who looks more like a hybrid tight end than a receiver, Dont’e Thompson who at 6-5 is a matchup nightmare for smaller corners, and Squirrel White the dynamic slot receiver who can affect the game as a receiver and return threat. The best of the group may be redshirt sophomore Chris Brazzell II who transferred to Tennessee from Tulane after earning freshman All-American honors as Tulane’s leading receiver last season.

Brazzell is long with great ball skills and has been a solid addition to the group. While Iamaleava can hurt you in the run game, running backs Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop do most of the heavy lifting. Sampson has carried the ball 91 times for 589 yards while Bishop has gained 313 yards on 41 carries. Thompson leads the SEC in rushing touchdowns and is second nationally. The anchor of the offensive attack is center Cooper Mays, a Tennessee legacy who has not given up a sack in his last 18 games. Mays was voted first team All-SEC by the media and was a Walter Camp Preseason All-American. 

The Tennessee offense stubbed its toe last weekend against Arkansas in Fayetteville with 332 yards of total offense and zero first half points. This was mainly due to the inability of Tennessee to get the offense going through the air. Iamaleava had his worst game of the year and his first this season without a touchdown pass. Arkansas was able to force Iamaleava into some errant throws as the young quarterback struggled to get his eyes to the right read on a consistent basis. Coach Josh Heupel, a former quarterback, stated that his team needed to do a better job adjusting to different looks and it is certain that he and his staff were very intentional in studying the way the Gators successfully defended UCF last week. Florida will need to continue the diverse looks that Ron Roberts and Austin Armstrong want to employ and the defensive line will again need to swallow up blocks to allow the Florida linebackers to get downhill. This will be the toughest challenge for the Florida secondary this season. McCoy, Thompson, White, and Brazzell are collectively the best group of receivers Florida may see all season and they are coached by Kelsey Pope who has coached the Tennessee receivers to 22 individuals 100-yard games in 3 years leading the SEC over that span. Jason Marshall Jr. and Devin Moore have NFL caliber ability and they will be tested by this long athletic group on the deep ball particularly Thompson who averages over 35 yards per catch.   

Tennessee Defense

Key Players-#11 LB Keenan Pill (6-3, 240, Gr.), #7 LB Arion Carter (6-1, 234 So.), #27 DL James Pearce Jr. (6-5, 243, Jr.), #42 DL Tyre West (6-3, 290, Jr.), #35 S Will Brooks (6-1, 206, R-Sr.), #3 CB Jermad McCoy (6-0, 193, So./Oregon State), #2 S Andre Turrentine (5-11, 195, R-Jr)

Matchups to Watch: Florida Tackles vs. Pearce Jr., Jake Slaughter v. Tyre West

The defense of Tennessee is one of the country’s best and is littered with size, athleticism and depth. Edge rusher James Pearce Jr. was nearly a consensus Preseason All-American and was rated the #1 player in the ESPN Preseason Top 100. Long and lean, Pearce uses speed and an array of pass rush moves to get to the quarterback. Leading tackler Keenan Pill is in his seventh year of college football and has returned from injury to enjoy a solid start in 2024. Hill has 28 tackles, 2 for loss, 1.5 sack and two quarterback hurries. Arion Carter is an athletic, versatile linebacker than can play downhill as well as in space. Carter leads the team in tackles for loss and pass breakups and will be tasked with keeping an eye on the Florida tight ends and slot receivers. While Pearce has struggled to find the quarterback early in 2024 Tyre West has picked up some of the slack with two sacks and, and 3.5 tackles for loss. West is a quality linemen who has shown flashes in his first year as a starter. On the back end Will Brooks, transfer Jermad McCoy and Andre Turrentine will be tasked with containing a Florida passing attack that seems to be finding its way. Brooks brings experience and posted a career-high 10 tackles in last weeks’ game against Arkansas. Oregon State transfer Jermad McCoy played in all 12 games and started five as a true freshman. He may also be called upon as kick returner if needed. Safety Andre Turrentine is Brooks’ partner at safety and was voted the Thorpe Defensive Back of the Week in the teams road win at Oklahoma. 

Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has a unit that has played well this surrendering just 3.81 yards per play, which is tops in the SEC. They also are the SEC’s best run defense and third in pass defense. This has been done without standout play from their best player in Pearce Jr. and with giving up 431 yards to Arkansas last week. Did Arkansas crack the code or a booby trap that plagued many teams a week ago? The Florida offensive attack is built on getting ahead of the chains and allowing the play-action passing game to be a factor. Tennessee will look to limit that success and force Florida into passing downs where they can unleash their All-American pass rusher looking for a break out game. Florida’s Jake Slaughter has been rated as one of the top centers in pass protection this season and his ability to keep West and company at bay will be huge. Florida left tackle Austin Barber is listed as questionable and his back-up Devon Manuel is out this week so Pearce could meet an inexperienced foe at left tackle, allowing him even more opportunities to affect quarterbacks Graham Mertz and DJ Lagway.

The Skinny:

Tennessee has found the win column only twice in the last 19 games and hasn’t won in Gainesville in over 20 years. Last year’s game saw Florida jump on Tennessee early and ride a solid defense to a stunning 29-16 victory.  This year Tennessee will look to jump on Florida early and keep their foot on the gas to leave no doubt who is boss in this years’ showdown. Tennessee left Fayetteville a little embarrassed and a bit surprised by the lackluster play of the quarterback who had become a media darling for the first month of the season. Can the Florida defense repeat the performance of last week or will they revert to the head-scratching behavior that has shown itself in their previous two games against ranked opponents? Florida will move the ball and despite what people think the two quarterback system works for Florida and the two quarterbacks themselves. Which leads me to trust that Florida will get out of Knoxville with another stunning win and cool the seat of Billy Napier heading into homecoming. I like the Florida quarterbacks better. The UCF game was must win by any means necessary and they got it done. This week Florida continues its steady improvement on defense and forces Iamaleava into a late turnover to take a close one in Neyland. 

Prediction: Florida 28 Tennessee 24