 |
Meyer and Tim Tebow are
laughing at you, Tennessee. |
Sometimes it’s really fun grading out your team. Sometimes it’s painful.
Needless to say, this is a fun one… if you’re a Gator fan.
Running game
Florida picked up 255 yards on the ground. The yardage was distributed between Percy Harvin (75 yards, 8.3 YPC, 1 TD), Tim Tebow (61 yards, 3.4 YPC, 2 TD), Kestahn Moore (48 yards, 4.4 YPC) and Jarred Fayson, who picked up 29 yards on 3 carries — 9.7 yards per carry! Newton, James, Rainey and Walker got 42 yards in mop-up duty.
Urban Meyer yet again shows brilliance through simplicity. Not liking the look of Tennessee’s defensive line, he wore them down by simply running around them. Speed kills, and Meyer knows how to stick the dagger in. Tennessee didn’t have the speed to keep up with Percy Harvin on the perimeter, and the Gators’ ran a simple outside sweep to great effect, usually gashing for 7-8 yards or a first down on every try. If Harvin had the gas to do it, Florida could have run that play all day.
And of course the opportunistic Tim Tebow, the one man play-action, was just as effective as always, picking up yards wherever they were to be found. Final grade: A
Passing game
Deadly. This is what fans envisioned when Meyer left Utah for Florida. Tennessee had no idea how to cover Florida’s speedsters, and with Tim Tebow’s running threat, linebackers and safeties were forced to guess on every play whether they should drop into coverage or press the line of scrimmage. Tennessee was rarely able to get a stop on Florida after the first quarter, and their confusion on defense was evident. Little Timmy scorched the Vols’ secondary for 299 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT, again competing over 73% of his passes. He also threw several 40+ yard bombs and averaged 15.7 yards per reception… (!) His sole interception, a pick-six, came due to Riley Cooper’s errant route behind a cornerback. Final grade: A
Rushing defense
What more can you say when your first string holds Tennessee, whose chief pride is the ability to pound the football, to 22 total yards of rushing? Tennessee got zilch, nada, zero. Tennessee OC David Cutcliffe abandoned the run on third and short in the second quarter, electing to pass on 3rd down — even 3rd-and-one. Now that’s a scary good rush defense. Bonus: Dustin Doe scooping up Arian Foster’s fumble in Tennessee territory for a TD. Final grade: A+
Passing defense
Florida allowed Tennessee QB Erik Ainge to complete 63% of his passes for 261 yards and a TD. Considering that the Gators’ front line never really pressured a very accurate senior quarterback, that’s pretty impressive. A hallmark of Florida’s defense under Meyer is ‘bend don’t break’ as opposing teams can progress toward the red zone but rarely score. This defense is similar to last year’s in that the secondary give opponents the underneath passing option all game long, but when the ball gets to the 30, they stiffen and hold. The biggest weakness on defense, perhaps the entire team, is the lack of a pass rush. Overall, though, holding this Vol offense to one TD and two field goals was a great achievement. Final grade: B+
Special teams
Brandon James and the kickoff return team… wow. James scored a TD on his first return, and set up the Gators with great field position for the rest of the day, starting Florida at or beyond their own 34-yard line four out of five times. On the flip side, kickoff coverage wasn’t great, and there were no blocked punts. Still, when special teams puts up a touchdown, it’s hard to give them less than an A.
Coaching
Urban Meyer strapped Phil Fulmer to the operating table, whipped out his scalpel, and proceeded to carve Fulmer’s pride right out of its flabby receptacle. The game plan on offense and defense was a thing of beauty. In Fulmer’s defense, I doubt there’s a team in America that could have withstood this assault, executed the way it was by the fastest team in the country. Meyer and staff are collective geniuses from top to bottom, the best coaches in the business. Getting a 39-point win over your hated rival is a gift to be treasured and cherished. Thank you, coaches, thank you. A+