Tennessee Looks to Right the Ship as Florida Visits

Oct 10, 20242 min read

Josh Heupel | Tennessee Head Coach — © Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

Head coach Josh Heupel and the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) look to get back on track after falling to the Arkansas Razorbacks (4-2, 2-1) 19-14 in Week 6. The Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1) are coming off of a victory against the UCF Knights (3-2, 1-1 Big 12 Conference) 24-13 in Week 6. The Volunteers and Gators will meet on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. EST at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

What's at Stake?

The Volunteers look to start a new winning streak as their six-game winning streak came to an end against the Razorbacks.

The Gators look to improve to 7-2 in Knoxville since 2006.

Key Players: Tennessee

Running Back Dylan Sampson, Wide Receiver Squirrel White

Sampson had himself quite the game against the Razorbacks despite the loss. He had 22 carries for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was the main offense the Volunteers had all game and is a superstar.

White didn't put up a ton of receiving yards in the game, but he did have 7 catches. It was the most out of everyone on offense that caught a pass.

Defensive Lineman James Pearce Jr., Defensive Back Will Brooks

Pearce Jr. is actually projected to be a first-round pick in this year's NFL Draft and solidified that in the game against the Razorbacks as he registered another sack.

Brooks also did not have the best game against the Razorbacks, but he has 11 tackles on the season and has an interception returned for a touchdown.

Key Players: Florida

Quarterback Graham Mertz, Wide Receiver Chimere Dike

Mertz had himself a good game against the Knights. He completed 19-of-23 passes for 179 yards and 1 touchdown. He did not have to do too much but his stat line was decent.

Dike also had himself a good game against the Knights. He hauled in 4 passes for 88 yards and was the leading receiver on the team in receiving yards.

Linebacker Grayson Howard, Defensive End George Gumbs

Howard had himself a decent game against the Knights. He totaled 3 tackles with 1 of them being for a sack. He has had quite a good season as well with 23 tackles and being one of the anchors of the Gators' defense.

Gumbs had 1.5 sacks against the Gators and brought his season total to 3 sacks to go along with 15 tackles on the season.