Mythical Playoffs (Round 2) 98 Tennessee vs 06 Florida
By SECFans on July 3 2009 5:19 PM
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Game Nine: 1998 Tennessee Volunteers (13-0) vs 2006 Florida Gators (13-1)
Tournament to Date:
98 Tennessee:
Defeated 2000 Florida 38-31
(Players of the Game: Tee Martin, Peerless Price)
06 Florida:
Defeated 1997 Tennessee 24-20
(Players of the Game: Reggie Nelson, Chris Leak)
Argument for Tennessee:
98 Tennessee has a defense that can slow down this 06 UF squad. The secondary and linebackers cover well, while the defensive line would be a good match the Gators when they plug Tebow in for short yardage running. To have success, the Vols will have to be balanced on offense with the 1-2 punch of Jamal Lewis on the ground and Peerless Price putting pressure on the Florida secondary. Look for them to grind it out on the ground in hopes to keep Leak & Tebow on the bench.
Argument for Florida:
With Tebow still not cemented as THE quarterback for this team, the Gators will still look to Leak to get it done. Creativity will be in play as this UT defense is fairly stout. Florida feels it can win if the game gets past the middle 20s in terms of points. Look for Florida to put pressure on the UT offensive line with a stellar front seven. If they can bottle up Lewis and make the Vols one dimesional with Tee Martin having to lead the charge, the Gators like their chances.
How it Plays Out:
Eager to handle another Florida squad on it's way to the tournament title, Tennessee comes out of the gate swinging. Instead of starting out with the assumed steady dose of Jamal Lewis, the Vols have looked predominately to the air to get the job done. On the opening drive, Tee Martin was 5 of 5 passing for 58 yards. The lone run was on a designed bootleg that put Martin in the end zone. Florida, having trouble getting untracked, looked to Tebow to give the team a lift. Instead of coming in with his cursory mid-drive insertion, Tebow leads the Gators to open a drive.
Tim starts the drive with a delay give to Wynn for 8 yards. He then finds his groove passing with a curl to Baker and a post to Bubba Caldwell. After consecutive 3rd down conversions, the Gators hit a wall on the following conversion attempt. In spite of the hot start with Tebow, Florida had to settle for a chip shot field goal to reduce the deficit to 7-3.
Late in the 2nd quarter, Tee Martin has the Gator secondary on it's heels. With the defensive backfield softening, Tennessee decides to switch gears to the running game. Lewis finds success on the left side gaining a total of 42 yards on consecutive bursts. The Vols later score on a beautifully executed ball fake by Martin and a subsequent missle to Price in the end zone.
Opening the 3rd quarter trailing 14-3, Florida tries to find a weakness in the Volunteer defense. With Chris Leak back in at QB, the offense is running a balanced attack. Wynn takes a screen from the backfield and pushes the ball upfield for a 12 yard gain. Harvin uses his agility to get out of a jam and turn a busted play into a 27 yard scamper. Dallas Baker decides to get into the action by making his first catch of the day a big one. He found a jump ball in the back of the end zone where he simply out-leaped the Tennessee defenders. Score: Tennessee 14 Florida 10.
Time's running short in the 4th Quarter. The Vol offense has been less than effective in the 2nd half. They haven't been bitten by the turnover bug, but they've failed to move the ball consistently. Punt after punt has put the UT defense in a tough spot. Fortunately for Tennessee, Florida's offense hasn't been much better. Aside from a 39 yard Hetland field goal, the Gators have left the scoreboard untouched. As time runs out in this one, the Florida offense finds itself simply unable to get it going. It wasn't pretty, but Tennessee finds a way to advance to the semi-finals behind a stellar effort from this UT defense.
Final Score: Tennessee 14 Florida 13
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Tags: SEC, Florida, Tennessee,
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