Following a bye week for Florida, coach Will Muschamp and company turn their attention to their next test: a matchup in Neyland Stadium facing longtime Southeastern Conference Eastern Division rival Tennessee.
The Gators’ last outing was a 42-21 beat down, suffered at the hands of the No. 3 Alabama Crimson Tide, in which the 645 yards given up on defense was the most of any team in Florida football history.
The biggest criticism following the loss was the play of quarterback Jeff Driskel, who went 9 of 25 for 93 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Despite their poor performance, Muschamp said his confidence levels remains high, and he takes the heat from the Florida fan base with stride.
"That’s part of it. He understands that," the fourth-year head coach said. "I don’t know if physically or mentally there’s any tougher kid that I’ve been around. He takes the heat and understands that comes with the territory."
Driskel said the bye week came at an opportune time, and in the extra week he got to work with his receivers to develop more chemistry within the group.
"I think we got a lot of good on good action and I think that helps out a lot when you see a higher level of competition," Driskel said. "We really didn’t do too much differently, trying to hone in on some route concepts, make sure we know what we’re doing, make sure we are getting our eyes to the right spots and we’re looking at signals."
Despite Driskel’s struggles against the Crimson Tide’s front seven and secondary, Muschamp made it clear that there will not be a change in play-calling in terms of executing less passing plays for Driskel on Saturday.
He also said that there is no plan for a two-quarterback system with true freshman Treon Harris at this point in the season, as some speculated following the loss in Tuscaloosa. Muchamp said Monday that Driskel took the majority of the first-team snaps at practice last week.
Perhaps the most impressive statistical category for the Vol defense is on third down.
Tennessee leads the conference and the nation in third-down conversion defense, holding opponents to get the first down just 20.8 percent of the time on third down.
As for Tennesse’s offense, it all starts with senior quarterback Justin Worley, who has drastically improved this season as opposed to year’s past.
Worley ranks sixth in the SEC in passing average per game, accounting for 246 yards in the air per contest through four games.
The Gators secondary, which has looked underwhelming against both Kentucky and Alabama, will be rotating different personnel this week as they prepare for Worley and the Vol offense.
"Brian (Poole’s) repping some in the nickel. Duke Dawson’s repping some at the safety position," Muschamp said.
"You know, between Jalen and Quincy at corner, trying to find the right combination there and continuing to rep Marcus in the nickel and at safety as well,"
The match up between Florida’s struggling secondary and the Tennessee’s wide receiving corps will be one to watch Saturday. The leader of the Volunteers’ group is Marquez North, who is averaging 47 receiving yards per game and has three touchdowns on the year.
Redshirt sophomore Jason Croom leads the team in average yards per reception with 16.
"They’ve really improved themselves at the receiver position," Muschamp said. "Marquez North and Jason Croom are both 6-4 plus guys that are very difficult match ups in coverage down the field they take probably 8 to 10 shots in the game."
Despite losing to Alabama two weeks ago, Florida still has a chance to win the SEC East and represent the division in Atlanta.
The next step in doing that comes this week as they take on the Vols.
"All the goals are still there, got a lot of football to play everything’s out in front of us, let’s go get it," Muschamp said. "They’re all must wins. When has it ever changed?"
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Will Muschamp reacts after a play during Florida's 42-21 loss to Alabama on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
