Yeah, so it wasn't what all Gator fans wanted, but a win is a win. People are going to complain about the offense and the lackluster passing game, but look at these two passing lines:
8/15 for 96 yards, 2 TDs 0 INTs
14/19 for 115 yards, 0 TDs 1 INT
The first line is Tebow's 2008 game against Tennessee, and the second line is from his 2009 game. Our 2008 offense turned out to be pretty decent, and I think the 2009 edition will get there as well. Florida only managed to score 23 points in Knoxville last season on offense (Brandon James added 7 on a punt return), so in reality they matched last year's output here as well.
A couple things to keep in mind:
- This was Florida's first real game.
- Tebow's 24 carries were very 2007-esque, but that 2007 team probably wins a national title if it had the 2009 defense.
- The Kiffins have tons of tape on Meyer's Gators; the Gators have very little game film on the Kiffins' Vols.
- Rainey, Moody, and Demps still all averaged above 7 yards per carry.
- Deonte Thompson sat the game out with a hamstring injury and Jeff Demps, Aaron Hernandez, and David Nelson played with the flu.
- Eric Berry is the best safety in the nation and will probably bolt for the NFL after this season.
Vol fans everywhere are no doubt feeling very good about their team tonight. They expected to lose by 50 but managed to escape with a 10 point defeat. They're sure Lane Kiffin has them headed in the right direction.
I was at the OB in 2003 when Ron Zook took an unranked Florida team and nearly knocked off #3 Miami. I left the stadium that night disappointed with the loss, but I felt the future was bright.
The Vols can claim a moral victory, but the fact of the matter is they are 1-2 and will probably have a losing season this year. Next year, they're going to have to start either a true freshman or someone who couldn't beat out Johnathon Crompton at QB. Eric Berry will also be gone.
If Lane Kiffin ultimately can't win more than 7 or 8 games a year, is that going to be enough for the Vols? Probably not.
3. Year of Resurgence
Miami, FSU, Michigan, Nebraska and Notre Dame all appear to be Top 25 worthy again after an off couple of seasons.
Miami, FSU, and Notre Dame are finally getting solid play from their quarterbacks and offensive lines. Tate Forcier has RichRod's offense humming in Ann Arbor and Bo Pelini has returned Nebraska's defense (aside from being burned by Coale, lol get it?) to blackshirt level.
4. Washington
The story here isn't USC, everybody knows they're going to lose to one team they shouldn't each year.
Is Washington going to be the team that finally steps up and challenges USC in the Pac 10? Steve Sarkisian is a Pete Carrol disciple and after playing LSU close and defeating USC he has Washington on a roll just one year removed from a winless season.
