September 20, 2008 - Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images North America

Michael Oleszek takes a look at the first SEC match up for the No. 1 Florida Gators (2-0) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (1-1)

What Happened Last Week

Florida looked every bit like the No. 1 team in the nation—after the first quarter, in a 56-6 win over Troy. The opening period wasn’t kind to the Gators, as a driving rainstorm combined with sloppy ball handling left the Gator Nation feeling a little uneasy. The Gators would go on to score on their next four possessions, effectively putting the game out of reach.

Tennessee took all of the good feelings and optimism from their week one blowout win over Western Kentucky and completely flushed it down the toilet against UCLA. The Vols took their third consecutive loss to a Pac-10 team, despite holding the Bruins to only 186 yards of total offense and a dismal 3 of 14 on third down. The Tennessee offense failed to capitalize late in the game, and the Bruins came away with an upset in Neyland Stadium.

Florida will win if…

They Win the Three and Out Battle

Three plays and get the defense off the field. That’s a pretty simple philosophy that the Gators need to mandate for Saturday. Tennessee’s offense held the ball for 14 of the last 18 minutes against UCLA and had two drives totaling 30 plays.

If Florida’s offense is parked on the sidelines that long, it will allow the Vols to control the tempo of the game and hang around longer than most people expect. Tennessee can parlay this and a solid defense into keeping the game tight heading into the fourth quarter.

Getting the Vols to go three and out gives the Gators two positives: The high-scoring Gator offense comes back on the field, and Brandon James is back to return punts.

They Take Care of the Football

There were six fumbles by Florida last Saturday, with three of them being lost. Good teams can get away with that against the Troys of the world. Florida will not win if they have three turnovers against Tennessee. Eric Berry, the best defender in the country, is a ballhawk who can take turnovers back to the house from anywhere on field. Rico McCoy is an All-SEC caliber linebacker who can cause havoc at any time. And linebacker Nick Reveiz is an underrated talent who is playing well in his first year as a starter.

They Just Play Football

It is beyond time for everyone on both teams in this rivalry to just shut up and play some football. Lane Kiffin started at his press conference with “singing Rocky Top all night when we beat Florida.” Then, he (incorrectly) said that “he loved the fact that Urban had to cheat, and still didn’t get him,” (referring to recruit Nu’Keese Richardson). Florida lineman Matt Patchan has called Kiffin a “bozo,” and quarterback Tim Tebow has said that he “doesn’t like anyone talking about Coach Meyer.”

Everybody needs to shut up, immediately. Play the game on the field Saturday between the white lines, within the rules, and settle everything then. If you need an example of how to settle things on the field, just watch the tackle Brandon Spikes made early in the Georgia game on Knowshon Moreno. The talent levels at every position favor the Gators (except for Eric Berry), and when the Gators play up to their talent level—they win, and win big.

Florida will lose if…

Eric Berry dictates the pace of Florida’s offense

The best defensive player in college football, coached by one of the best defensive minds at any level (Monte Kiffin), is lining up against arguably the best offense in the game, and do you think he’s going to just sit back and play cover two the whole game?

Um, I don’t think so.

Eric Berry will have to blitz, play man to man, play cover two, play cover three, line up in the box, and then make enough big plays on top of it to disrupt and confuse the Florida offense enough to make the Gators second guess themselves.

The Tennessee defense feeds off of Berry’s play, and they will need to do so if they want to beat the Gators.

There is no doubt that the Gators will game plan for him and where he lines up, but Florida’s offensive coordinator Steve Addazio cannot allow his play calling during the game to be dictated by one person.

Tennessee doesn’t kick the ball to Brandon James

Everyone in Tennessee should know who Brandon James is by now. If they don’t know him by name, then they should know him by the number 25 he wears on his jersey. And, if that still doesn’t work, Brandon James is the guy who has torched Tennessee’s special teams for 410 return yards and two touchdowns in the last three games.

Now think about the touchdown in 2006 that was taken away on a borderline penalty, and the one also in 2006 where the kicker tripped him in the open field, and it is enough to give any special teams coach an ulcer.

Keeping the ball away from James should be at the top of the list in the Vols’ game plan for Saturday, as it will force the Gators into either bad field position or doing something different in the return game.

The X-Factors will be…

Lane Kiffin and Nu’Keese Richardson

Is this really a shock? I think every Gator fan who hasn’t been living under a rock has been waiting for this game and these two people to come to town since signing day in February.

Personally, I could not care less what Lane Kiffin has to say about anything, but some Gator fans took it as a slap in the face. I could also not care less where Nu’Keese Richardson decided to go to school. That was his choice, and it is unfortunate for him that he was the one dragged into it.

Game Prediction

Florida has won the last four games in a row, and more than likely it will be five in a row on Saturday. Eric Berry can’t overcome the deficiencies at quarterback and receiver for Tennessee; and the Gators win with a score closer than most people think.

Florida 38 – Tennessee 13

GatorsNow is spanning the internet to see what the reactions were after the Charleston Southern game. The Gators were able to kick their 2009 season off and try and answer some of the questions facing the team.

A lot of them were answered in a short period of time. First the running game is legit, the Gators were able to rush for 369 yard with a lot of big plays from Rainey, Demps, and Moody. The Gators did show some of their quick strike offense after a 68 yard pass to Cooper then a quick snap for a 9 yard TD by Jeff Demps.

Cooper looked great hauling in 5 passes for 105 yards, and at one point catching 3 in a row. Deonte Thompson and Brandon James did drop what would have been 2 TD passes by Tebow. The Gators need the WR to step up and show they are SEC ready.

The Gators defense played a lot of base D and didn’t show a lot of blitzs. At times CSU was able to move the ball with quick passes, and hit a couple deep balls over Wondy Pierre-Louis who was filling in for Janoris Jenkins. Jenkins was sitting from his summer fight and run in with the law. Also Jermaine Cunningham did not play. Coach Meyer would only say, “He wasn’t ready to play.”

ESPN/AP reported:

Although Florida opened its most anticipated season in school history with a near-perfect performance, it came against an overmatched team from the Football Championship Subdivision.

“It’s hard to evaluate that game,” coach Urban Meyer said.

Florida, an overwhelming favorite to repeat as national champs, accomplished everything it wanted to in the opener, though. The Gators unveiled some new wrinkles, won the game in convincing fashion and avoided any major injuries.

Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel had these nuggets from the game:

On Riley Cooper, who had five catches for 105 yards, “Riley played like he practiced. He’s playing as good as he’s ever played. I know it’s been one game, but the way he practiced, I knew he was ready for a breakout game.”

John Brantley had a solid outing, going 8-of-12 for 67 yards with 2 TDs. He also ran six times for 44 yards. “It was fun watching him and being able to encourage him,” Tebow said.

LG Carl Johnson injured his knee, but Meyer said he was hoping it was just a bruise and listed the player as probable for next week.

Pat Dooley Grades the Gators:

OVERALL: A-

Not much opposition but the usual stars showed their stuff in the blowout victory for the Gators.

Read more for the full box score of the game.

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Mr. 2 Bits Will Be Missed

Two Bits! Four Bits! Six Bits! A Dollar! – All for the Gators Stand up and holler! It is time to hear this echo throughout The Swamp, but this will be first time in a long time that Mr. 2 Bits is not leading the cheer. Will this give Charleston Southern what they need to bet the Gators? Well Pine Riders Anonymous found four Ways Charleston Southern Can Beat Florida. If you buy into this I’ve got some ocean front property in Arizona up for sale.

Florida voted for its 2009 team captains this week. Brandon James, Joey Sorrentino, Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper, and Tim Tebow will be this year’s captains. Spikes, Stamper, and Tebow are returning captains from last season.

Dan Shanoff over at TimTeblog.com looks deeper into the question of Tebow making it at the next level. He comes to the conclusion that it will depend on the NFL coach for whom Tebow plays. No matter what Tebow does at the next level, a ton of people have already labeled him the greatest college football player (or at least used Tebow and greatest in the title to get readers to read more). Let’s take a look at this long list of such articles:

• MSNBC Sports - Tebow greatest college athlete of all-time
• NCAA Fanhouse - Tebow May Be Greatest of All Time, but Not of Any Time
• The Biglead - The greatest player in college football history, Tim Tebow
• ESPN - Needs to be Discussed: Tim Tebow, All-Time Evaluation?
• CBS Sports - The best? Surely you jest — but Tebow just might be the greatest
• The Sporting News - Shanoff’s WUC: Why Tebow Will Be Best Ever
• B/R - Confessions of a Seminoles Fan: Tim Tebow Is the Greatest of All Time
• St. Pete Times - Is Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow the best college football player ever?
• SI.com - Tim Tebow poised to pass Vince Young as all-time greatest player
• B/R - Tim Tebow: The Greatest College Football Player Ever?
• WJHG - Is Tebow the best college player ever?
• PlayingField - Is Tim Tebow The Greatest College Player Ever?
• Sun Sentinel - Tim Tebow the best ever? Bobby Bowden doesn’t think he’s better than Charlie Ward
• Jacksonville.com - Is Tebow the best college player ever?
• Washington Times - Is Tebow the best ever? Maybe
• YardBarker - The Greatest of All Time

Jarred Fayson would have been a top candidate for Tebow’s go to receiver this year. Adam West (not Batman) takes a look at what could have been in his blog post - SEC blog: Fayson would have been UF go-to guy? I’m in agreement that Fayson would have been able to put up big numbers this year in the Gators’ spread offense, but he should still have a great year at Illinois, puting up big numbers agaist Big 10 defenses.

When I was looking over the 2009 squad in May, the Wide Receiver position was an area of concern. I was looking forward to the summer practices to see which wide-outs would step up. After everything that has transpired leading up to the start of the season, I just don’t see any way that this Wide Receiver group is going to be any where as good as last year’s.

We need to see more of this from Deonte Thompson

Gators’ fans knew there was no replacing Percy Harvin with one player, but there hasn’t been anyone step up to show they could be the next Louis Murphy. It is also uncertain who is going to fill the slot position this year

In his Monday press conference, Coach Meyer hit on this point, “Our number one concern on offense is depth at wide receiver and tight-end; that and finalizing our Top-5 [offensive-line]. I will feel better as soon I know who we have and which way we’re going. It’s critical. Carl Moore is still not healthy. Riley Cooper almost didn’t come back, has been practicing every day and is playing the best football of his career right now. In the last week, Deonte [Thompson] took that step to become one of our core receivers. We don’t have a third-string anywhere.”

Carl Moore was a huge talent coming out of JUCO, but there is a good chance he won’t be able to take another snap as a Gator due to a back injury. Then news came out this weekend that Andre Debose hamstring injury is not healing and is worse that previously thought. Debose and his family will be meeting with doctors on Tuesday to weigh the options, but all signs are pointing to a redshirt season for the “next Percy.”

Coach Meyer addressed it by saying, “It’s been difficult; I’ll meet with Dr. Pete (Indelicato) today. It’s a very unique injury. There is an issue with one of the tendons that leads into the bone. It’s certainly not career-ending is what they’ve told me. It’s just do you fix it or give it time. He’s already had a lot of time so that decision will be made within the next 24 hours. I talked to Andre this morning and his attitude is great. It’s almost like he’s relived because a hamstring pull should be healed by now. It’s comparable to the young man DeMarco Murray at Oklahoma last year, who missed our game. I don’t think many guys have had what he has.”

The Gators have the following returning players – David Nelson, Carl Moore, Brandon James, Justin Williams, T.J. Lawrence, Frankie Hammond, Riley Cooper, Deonte Thompson, Paul Wilson, and Omarius Hines.

You can add Paul Wilson to the injured list along with Carl Moore and Andre Debose. So that leaves the Gators with 59 receptions returning from healthy Wide Receivers. To put that in perspective UGA returns A.J. Green with 56 grabs from last year, and Bams’a Julio Jones had 58 receptions.

Heading into the 2006 season the Gators were in this same boat at the Running Back position. Urban was able to work his magic and got the most out of DeShawn Wynn, Tim Tebow, and Percy Harvin to give the Gators a legitimate ground game.

Production from the offense is going to have to come from the running game. This will be a run first team that uses the ground game to open up the passing game. This is not all gloom and doom for the Gators. Aaron Hernandez will still be there to offer huge match up troubles, and with the speed of Cooper and Thompson on the outside it will be hard for defensive coordinators to load up the box and try to shut down the running game.

David Nelson, T. J. Lawrence, Frankie Hammond– please prove me wrong and be that extra weapon that puts this offense on another level.

This is the second recruit this week that has flew under the radar, and surprised most of us (Stephen Alli was the other). Travon is a 5′ 10″ athlete that has the skill set to be in the back field and line up at Wide Receiver. The video I’ve seen on him reminds me of Brandon James. James was also a player that was under everyone’s radar, and has turned out to be a great pick up.

Travon Van 2008-09 Football Highlight Video

Every since Percy announced he was going pro on January 15, the buzz surrounding the Gators has been about who is going to replace Harvin.

I’ve read many different opinions on how to replace Percy, but I would like to put all that to rest. The Gators will not replace Percy Harvin next year, and we may never see an athlete like him lace up the Nikes for the Gators again.

Percy Harvin Will Be Missed

Percy was a one of a kind athlete that is seldom seen in any program. During his career, he averaged more than a first down every time he touched the ball and had 32 touchdowns over three years.

The biggest thing that will be hard to replace is his big play threat. Harvin had 24 receptions of 10 yards or more and 10 catches of 20 yards or more.

Don’t get me wrong—the Gators have a bunch of guys with blazing speed, but there is not that one player who can line up both in the backfield or out at wideout and strike the same fear in defensive coordinators.

What we have to see from the Gators is a playbook change to remove the “Percy position” and divide the plays up to showcase the talent on the roster. We saw in the Alabama game that there is not a single player that can be plugged to replace Percy.

Brandon James has been the player that the Gators have gone to when Harvin was out with injury, but James needs more open space that Harvin did and he is not going to be able to take the ball between the tackles. The offense has to evolve this year to showcase the weapons we do have.

Due to injuries, I don’t think we were able to get a true indication of what the Gators’ offense will look like in 2009.

We have to get the three biggest weapons we have on the field at the same time to keep the other teams guessing where the Gators are going to strike from.

Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, and Aaron Hernandez must have packages where they are on the field at the same time. With Hernandez creating matchup nightmares in the middle of the field and the threat of a quick swing pass to Demps or Rainey in the open field, this offense could even rack up bigger numbers than last year if there is a clean No. 1 receiver.

I’ve written about it before, but that one X factor needed for the Gators offense to be elite is going to hinge on a wide receiver stepping up. This spring there were flashes from Deonte Thompson and Frankie Hammond, Jr., but none of the wide-outs were consistent day in and day out.

The Gator Nation has been blessed to have Percy Harvin for three years, and we will always dream about seeing another playing in The Swamp with as quick of a first step as Percy.

We’ll be doing this just the same way that USC hopes for another Reggie Bush, Notre Dame tries to figure out how they got Rocket Ismail in the first place, UGA wants to make every back the next Herschel Walker, and Auburn—you can exhale, there will never be another Bo Jackson.

Oh wait there is this kid Andre Debose…

With Harvin Gone Who Steps Up?

Heading into the 2009 there is a good chance that 2009 Gators will open as the preseason # 1. The debate will begin with the worthiness of this team to open this high and how Texas, USC, and Oklahoma should be ranked in the useless preseason top spot. If you really consider the situation carefully, this team is going to be improved in just about every way. The defense is going to be two deep in every position, Tebow is back, and the running game is more secure than in the past. However, the one spot that is going to have to improve is the Gators Wide Receiver Position. Right now the roster looks like this:

2009 WRs - David Nelson, Carl Moore, Brandon James, Justin Williams, T.J. Lawrence, Frankie Hammond, Riley Cooper, Deonte Thompson, Paul Wilson, Omarius Hines

2009 WRs Recruits - Andre Debose, Nu’Keese Richardson

Just looking at this list on paper, you see a lot of four and five star recruits with tons of raw talent, but when you start to look at  results from actual game situations, this group lacks an impressive resume. A bunch of these guys had key catches in the 2008, but it would be a stretch to say any of them had a great game. The top returning pass catcher from last year is not even a WR. Aaron Hernandez hauled in 34 receptions last year with 5 TDs. From there the stats drop to 18 receptions from Riley Cooper and Deonte Thompson. David Nelson has shown signs he could be the replacement for Louis Murphy, but I would put Murphy further along coming into his Senior season.

I’m pretty sure no one in Gator Nation thinks any of these guys are going to be a replacement for Percy Harvin. His unreal first step and home run threat each time he touched the ball are going to be missed a lot more as the 2009 season continues. So is it all gloom and doom for the Gators next year, No! I just see Billy Gonzales having push this group a lot harder that last year to get them ready for life in the SEC. So who’s ready to step up for 2009?

Other Gator stuff:

• GatorCountry found this great article by Smart Football on the The Florida Gator/Urban Meyer Offense.

• Just how good is Nick Calathes.