Because of the storm the Gators come into this key SEC opening game with a 0-1 record as their 2nd game was ppd.  The Vols enter 2-0 with 1 win coming vs Georgia Tech. I love the way both of these teams enter this game as it relates to my selection here.  Florida got completely pushed around by Michigan and the score was slightly misleading as the Gators scored their only 2 TDs thanks to their defense (and if you want to get technical it was really poor decisions by the Michigan QB).  Any ways it’s undebatable that Florida’s opening game was a massive disappointment for their fans and supporters alike.

On the flip side the Vols won their game vs Georgia Tech but they were extremely fortunate to win that game. Tech had the ball and busted a long play that was going to get them prime red zone position up 7 points with the clock running down however explicitly the Tech player fumbles and the Vols end up getting the game tied with a drive in the closing seconds off that turnover and then subsequently won the game in overtime.

So what does that tell us? Well on the Florida side I love that they are coming off an ass kicking and furthermore that they have had 2 weeks to let it stir around in their heads and on the Tennessee side I think their win vs Tech had plenty of misperception baked into it.

THE RIVALRY

Florida Tennessee is a big rivalry game as for many years it has been 1 of 2 or 3 games that directly decided the winner of the SEC East.  Last year Florida had a very comfortable lead in this game when Tennessee had a crazy come back and won the game.  So Florida is playing with revenge on their minds as I know the loss did not sit well with them last year plus the nature in which they lost makes their revenge even stronger. 

THE MATCH UP

If we look back at the 1 meaningful game Tennessee played they were absolutely terrible defending the run to the point where Tech averaged 6.6 yards per rushing attempt and yes it is a different style of attach as Tech runs the triple option however it still showed me that the Vols defense against the run is suspect at best right now. The Gators plan of attack will very likely be based off their ground attack regardless which QB is under center.

SITUATIONAL ADVANTAGE

Florida coming in off that loss to Michigan should set up a situation where the Gators are a very hungry team. There are times when I will evaluate situations and tell you play on the team that is not in desperation mode.  However in both CFB and NFL particularly in a early season spot I usually like to back the team that is going to come flying out of the locker room like their pants are on fire and this fits that criteria here.  So the team that is more hungry and angry from last season’s game should definitely be Florida. Situational Edge Florida. 

So adding it all up I think we see a very very hungry and angry Gators team that has had 2 weeks to think about their awful performance vs Michigan and Tennessee is the piece of prime meat that is right in front of them.

I’m going to call it 33-20 Gators  

 You can follow me on Twitter @thereal_hbc where I will give out some other free plays. Enjoy the games this week!

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