Gators Set To Face Vols In SEC Opener
Saturday, September 17, 2011 | Football
FLORIDA (2-0) vs. TENNESSEE (2-0)
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 – 3:30PM ET
BEN HILL GRIFFIN STADIUM
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Scott Carter's In-Game Live Blog
The Storyline:
Florida (2-0, 0-0) is set to open Southeastern Conference play against rival Tennessee (2-0, 0-0) at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday in Gainesville. For the seventh-straight year UF and UT will play in front of a nationally-televised CBS audience. It is the 10th year in a row that the Gators and Vols open SEC play against each other. UF holds a 21-19 edge in the overall series and has won six-straight over the Vols.
The Gators are coming off a dominating defensive performance, beating UAB 39-0 in Week 2 to earn the first shutout for Florida since 2006 (62-0 over Western Carolina). In nine years as a defensive coordinator, head coach Will Muschamp coached his defenses to five shutout wins (2 at Auburn, 2 at LSU, 1 at Valdosta St.). UF's offense, which ranks 21st in the nation (490.0/game), is led by senior RB Chris Rainey, who is the only player in the nation to lead his team in both rushing (27 carries, 198 yds, 2 TD) and receiving (9 catches, 110 yds, 1 TD).
Entering SEC play, the Gators are tied for 1st in the nation in scoring defense (1.5/gm) and rank 6th in the nation in total defense (174.5/gm). They will have their stiffest challenge yet facing Tennessee, whose offense has racked up 970 total yards and ranks 9th in the NCAA with 358.0 passing ypg.
The Vols are led by sophomore QB Tyler Bray, who has been outstanding through the first two games with 698 passing yards, 7 TD and 0 INT, while leading the SEC with a 204.2 passer rating. His favorite targets are Justin Hunter (16 catches, 302 yards, 2 TD) and Da'Rick Rogers (15 catches, 200 yards, 3 TD), who rank 1 and 2 in the SEC in receptions, respectively.
Crossing Paths:
• Head coaches Will Muschamp and Derek Dooley have spent a lot of time together, working alongside each other at LSU
(2001-04) and with the Miami Dolphins (2005).
• UT defensive line coach Lance Thompson also worked with Muschamp and Dooley at LSU (2002-03).
• UF defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and UT Assistant Head Coach Charlie Baggett joined Muschamp and Dooley on the Dolphins staff in 2005. Quinn, Baggett and Dooley also worked on the Dolphins staff together in 2006.
• Florida running backs coach Brian White worked with Baggett at the University of Washington during the 2008 season.
• Tennessee has 11 players from the state of Florida. The Gators do not have any players from Tennessee.
• Florida WR Solomon Patton attended Murphy High School and Tennessee DL Willie Bohannon attended Blount High School, both in Mobile, Ala., and competed against each other for three straight years.
• Tennessee freshmen Trevarris Saulsberry and Jordan Williams graduated together from Gainesville High School along with
Florida freshman Ryan McGriff. All three freshmen played one year with Florida junior Earl Okine at Gainesville High School.
• Florida sophomore Cody Riggs, senior Dan Wenger and freshman Marcus Roberson, along with Tennessee sophomore
Michael Palardy, graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Coral Springs, Fla. Riggs and Palardy played four years together before parting ways to Florida and Tennessee. Roberson played three years with them.
Last Time Out:
• Florida's 39-0 victory over UAB last Saturday marked the Gators' 24th-straight home non-conference victory dating back to 2003 versus FSU
• The last time Florida gave up three or fewer total points over the first two games of a season was in 1933
• With UF's shutout Saturday, UF head coach Will Muschamp became the quickest Gator coach to record a shutout in his first season at the helm of the UF program since Galen Hall in 1984 (also second game of season)
• UF's last shutout was Nov. 18, 2006, against Western Carolina (62-0)
• Caleb Sturgis scored a career-high 13 points against UAB (3 FG, 4 XP) – his previous career high was 11, six times
• John Brantley went 12-for-19 with 195 yards through the air, the sixth-best output of his career
• Chris Rainey had 162 yards of total offense – including 119 yards on the ground on a career-tying 16 attempts (7.4 avg), while punching in his fourth TD of the season; Saturday's 100-yard rushing performance marked the third of his career; Rainey additionally tallied 43 yards on three catches in the air (14.3 avg)
• Florida's running backs averaged 6.2 yards after 299 yards rushing on 48 carries against the Blazers and are averaging 6.6 on the season with 502 yards on 76 carries through the first two games
• The Gators scored 54 points, tallied 41 first downs, went 7-for-8 in trips to the red zone and forced eight opponent punts before booting their first punt of the season in the second quarter against UAB
• Sturgis got the Gators on the board first with 24 and 35-yard field goals to start the game. He also had a 28-yarder; Sturgis is now 5-5 on the season, and for the fourth time in his career as a Gator, he hit three field goals in a single game, the last time coming versus Mississippi State in 2009
Follow the Gators leading up to kick, during at after the game at GatorZone.com with full coverage from Senior Writer Scott Carter. Follow on twitter @GatorZoneNews and @GatorZoneScott and on Facebook at Facebook.com/FloridaGators
