KNOXVILLE,
Tenn. — The
Florida Gators are off to a 3-0 start again, but this year’s run is
more convincing and promising than their three-game winning streak to
open 2011.
They
pounded nonconference softballs Florida Atlantic and
Alabama-Birmingham by a total score of 80-3, then outlasted a pitiful
version of Tennessee to get to 3-0 last year. The season unraveled
shortly after that as the Gators lost six of their final eight
regular-season games on their way to a 7-6 record.
This
year’s opening three wins look better. Florida took a methodical
approach to beat Bowling Green, using the game as a way to test out
what it wanted to do the rest of the season. Then there were
consecutive road wins at Texas A&M and Tennessee, charging back
from deficits in both.
The
Volunteers were ranked No. 23 this time, and Florida embarrassed them
with a 37-20 victory at Neyland Stadium on Saturday night.
“This
is a different 3-0,” coach Will Muschamp said. “Better teams.
Tennessee is a much, much, much improved football team.
“Going
on the road to two tough environments … we are a much better
football team than we were at this time last year. Does that mean
anything? No. It just means we’re 3-0. The great thing about being
3-0 is you’ve got a chance to be 4-0.”
His
math is precise. The Gators shot from No. 18 to No. 14 in the
Associated Press poll by beating Tennessee and can get to 4-0 for the
fourth straight year if they beat Kentucky (1-2, 0-0 SEC) this week.
The Wildcats, limping from an overtime loss to Western Kentucky, come
to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday (12:21 p.m., SEC Network).
If
beating Tennessee seems routine, the Kentucky game has become a
formality. The Gators have 25 straight wins in the series.
Even
though this 3-0 mark is identical to where Florida stood last
September before faltering to its worst record in 32 years, the
improvements in this year’s team are clear.
Above
all, the Gators are dramatically improved at the most important
position on the field: quarterback. True sophomore Jeff Driskel
delivered a more impressive win last week than former starter John
Brantley ever had.
“Unbelievable
game,” multi-purpose junior Trey Burton said after Driskel
completed 14 of 20 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns against
Tennessee. “The whole team’s proud of him. We knew that’s what
he could do.”
Florida’s
defense, which returned most of its starters from a group that was
No. 8 in the country in fewest yards allowed, frustrated Volunteers
quarterback Tyler Bray with a four-man rush. Bray completed just five
of his final 17 attempts and misfired on a pair of interceptions.
The
defense is coming through with takeaways, too, forming a strong
combination with the careful offense to give Florida a plus-three
turnover margin.
The
healthy rushing statistics — 232.7 yards per game — look
sustainable. The speedy perimeter moves of Jeff Demps and Chris
Rainey stopped working when Florida ran into sturdier opponents a
year ago, but a straightforward power game built around Mike
Gillislee seems likely to last.
Gillislee
ran for 115 yards on 18 carries. One of those went for 45 yards and
set up a touchdown. He leads the SEC with 346 rushing yards and is
averaging 6.2 per attempt.
New
offensive coordinator Brent Pease supplemented Gillislee’s forceful
style with a viable Wildcat package featuring Burton as quarterback
and some crafty plays to cash in on Driskel’s mobility.
Burton
scored touchdowns on runs of 14 and 80 yards out of the Wildcat
against Tennessee, and Driskel ran eight times for 81 yards. Driskel
looked like he had a 36-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but
the officials reviewed the play and ruled him out of bounds after 8
yards.
“I
definitely thought we could be a team that put up a lot of points,”
Driskel said. “We know that we have a great defense that’s going
to give us a lot of chances. We have playmakers all over the field,
and our line has done a tremendous job to this point.
“I’m
not surprised at all.”
