Gators looking for more offense while trying to slow down Hooker, Vols

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The No. 20 Florida Gators take their show on the road Saturday at 3:30 pm. against 11th-ranked Tennessee, a game that will feature several firsts for the UF football program.

College Gameday is broadcasting the rivalry for the first time since 2016. That’s also when both teams were last in the top 20, when the Gators were last underdogs in the matchup and when they last lost to the Vols.

Saturday marks the first away game of the season for the Gators and Billy Napier, who is looking for his first SEC win as a head coach. He’ll have to take down another top-15 team to make it happen.

“Tennessee has got a good football team. You can see where Coach [Josh] Heupel and his staff have improved in their time there. A lot cleaner product,” Napier said of the Vols. “Playing on the road and in their place is going to present a number of challenges.”

It’s another first for Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson as he makes his starting debut on the road after three straight home games. Richardson is now 2-2 as a starter but has yet to win an SEC game.

Richardson started the neutral-site matchup against Georgia last season and also came off the bench at LSU, scoring four touchdowns (three passing) and totaling 204 yards of offense.

Richardson is leaning on his experience in Death Valley heading into Rocky Top, where there will be a sold-out crowd of nearly 102K fans.

“Whoa, that’s a lot of people. I’m ready for it,” Richardson said. “The Swamp gets pretty crazy. I know Tennessee fans are pretty wild themselves. I’m just looking forward to another football game.

“LSU, it did help just getting used to the crowd going against us and being loud. That’s when you just gotta show up and play ball. When you’re on the road playing an SEC team, play ball and make things happen. But it’s my first career road start and I’m just ready to play.”

Richardson hasn’t played Tennessee during his college career, missing last year’s game with a hamstring injury. He’s also yet to throw a touchdown this season but that trend could end against the Vols.

They have a trio of preseason All-SEC defenders in linebacker Jeremy Banks, defensive back Trevon Flowers and defensive lineman Byron Young, a first-team selection. However, their passing defense ranks 100th nationally, allowing 261.yards per game.

“First of all, he can throw the football. He can do that on the move, and he can do that from inside the pocket,” Heupel said of Richardson. “He’s big, physical, imposing. You have to bottle him up in the quarterback run game.

“At the same time, as you’re trying to apply pressure when they’re dropping back to throw it, he has the ability to make you pay if you don’t have rush integrity inside of your pass rush lanes. We’ve done a better job this year than we did a year ago, but that’s going to be a critical part of the football game.”

So too will be Florida’s ability to run the ball, sustain drives and control the time of possession. The Gators only ran 48 offensive plays against USF, their lowest total since 2018.

That won’t cut it against the Vols, who run an up-tempo attack. UF needs to offset that offensively with more plays and production from its unit.

“Our offense, we can definitely be explosive. Just watching the film, you can just see it. We’re one person away from having a good play, whether that’s me or a missed block or a crisp route. I feel like, if we have all 11 executing, we can be very explosive,” Richardson said. “We’re going to try to keep their offense off the field because they like to move fast, and we’re going to try to give our defense some rest.”

Napier called Tennessee’s offense one of the best in the country when it comes to pushing the pedal and playing at a pace. The Vols have run the second-most total plays (233) in the SEC this season.

“These guys are really good at it,” Napier said. “I mean, we’re talking every 20.5 seconds they’re snapping the ball.”

UF linebacker Amari Burney said the Vols’ played hurry-up offense last season, their first under Heupel, but called their tempo “crazy fast” this year. Burney admits it can be taxing to defend, but the Gators have been preparing for it all week on the field and in the film room.

“What we’re seeing on tape is that Tennessee is running plays before the chains can even get lined up. That’s what we’ve been working on in practice,” Burney said. “Their tempo is one of their biggest strengths. Just how fast they’re running plays.”

Burney and outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. both likened Tennessee’s attack to the Ole Miss offense in the 2020 season opener. Cox called that “the worst game” he’s played from a tempo standpoint but feels he and his teammates are better conditioned for Saturday’s matchup.

“It’s not really a rotation when you’re going that fast. Whoever’s out there, it’s kind of like 5-on-5 basketball. You’re playing their 11 against our 11,” Cox said. “Tennessee’s real big on running tempo, so just getting back to the ball, getting lined up, keep getting after it, reacting and running to the ball. That’s going to be real big for us to be successful this weekend.”

The Gators face another elite signal caller Saturday in Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker. He’s thrown for 844 yards and six touchdowns with no picks through three games, producing the nation’s No. 5 passing offense.

Florida’s defense will be his toughest test yet. UF has four interceptions on the year (tied for No. 19 in the FBS) and ranks in the top 30 nationally in passing defense (No. 26) and passing efficiency defense (No. 27).

“Highly skilled,” Heupel said of the Gators defensively. “That’s their front four. Being able to apply pressure and disrupt your run game. Secondary is long and athletic like you would anticipate them to be. There are schematic battles that will be fought on Saturday afternoon, but then there’s 1-on-1 battles that are going to have to be won by our players out on the field too.”

Both units are dealing with injuries to key players. Tennessee receiver Cedric Tillman, a preseason All-SEC first-team pick, will reportedly miss the game with an ankle injury, while starting running back Jabari Small (arm) is also banged up but should play.

The Gators are hoping to have linebacker Ventrell Miller (foot) back in the starting lineup after he missed the USF game. His injury status was upgraded to questionable this week and he practiced on Wednesday and Thursday.

“I think he’ll be a game time decision,” Napier said on Wednesday night. “It is really a very subjective injury, if that makes sense. Ventrell’s got a good pulse for his body. He’s a veteran player. The injury he has is simply about where he’s at and how he feels.”