Dan Mullen's biggest concern in matchup against the Tennessee Vols
It's not often that a program loses a football game and looks like a stronger team as a result. But that's exactly what happened to the Florida Gators this past weekend. Florida suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday, falling to Alabama 31-29. Losing is obviously never celebrated. A close loss to Alabama, […]
It's not often that a program loses a football game and looks like a stronger team as a result.
But that's exactly what happened to the Florida Gators this past weekend.
Florida suffered their first loss of the season last Saturday, falling to Alabama 31-29.
Losing is obviously never celebrated. A close loss to Alabama, however, is usually a sign of a program moving in the right direction.
It's Tennessee vs Florida week
The No. 11 ranked Gators are expected to cruise against the Tennessee Vols on Saturday night in the Swamp.
College football, though, can be unpredictable. While an upset win by the Volunteers is unlikely, it's certainly not out of the question.
If Tennessee's offense hits on all cylinders, and Florida sputters, it's possible that UT could shock the country and win their first game in the Swamp since 2003.
The one area that could give the Gators some trouble is the Vols' tempo.
Tennessee is averaging over three plays per minute this season, which is the fastest offense in the nation.
Florida head coach Dan Mullen is specifically concerned about Tennessee's tempo and how his team will react to it.
“Obviously that’s their scheme, you know? It is a spread it out, play it and snap the ball as fast as you can to get up there," said Mullen on SEC Coaches teleconference this week. "Just something different, you gotta practice. It’s hard sometimes to practice the tempo at which they’re going to."
"What we can’t do is be shocked by the speed of that once the game starts," added Mullen. "How fast they’re going to snap the ball. How fast they’re going to get up there and run plays, and how fast we have to get the call, get lined up, and be ready to go execute.”
The main objective of Tennessee's up-tempo offense is to catch the opposing defense off-guard. Vols head coach Josh Heupel doesn't want to give the defense time to react to Tennessee's offensive formations.
In theory, the Vols' offense should get stronger as the game unfolds. Once Heupel and his staff see what the Gators are doing defensively, they can adjust their game plan to attack the holes in Florida's coverage.
We'll see if that's how it plays out on Saturday night.
Featured image via Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
