eViL G's Weekly Picks - September 26th



eViL G Flashback - 1997:
Classy UF fans rent out billboard to show their appreciation.

Happy Friday everyone.

 

First and foremost, I’d like to give a shout out to Marlon McKinney at GoVolsXtra.com.  Marlon is a friend, former co-worker and proud University of Tennessee alum.  Every year around this time Marlon shares this discount, off-brand blog with the good people who frequent GoVolsXtra.com.  I’m not sure why Marlon tortures his readers with my nonsense, but I appreciate the extra eyeballs…I might even eclipse 30 members by 2018.

 

I’d also like to say hello to Volunteer super fan Jason James from Jacksboro, an up and coming educator and all-around great guy.  Ditto for Scottie Hall in San Antonio and John Buchanan in Nashville.   And wherever you are David and Leslie Patterson, I hope all is well.  I miss those tailgates in Knoxville behind Copper Cellar.  Speaking of tailgates I’m looking forward to seeing James Norris and his wife Jaime this weekend in Gainesville.  We’ll be at our same spot behind Tigert Hall, so stop by anytime.

 

Contrary to popular belief in the Volunteer State (and the nutjobs on VolNation.com), Florida fans roll out the blue carpet for our visitors from Rocky Top.  The days of UF students throwing piss balloons and harassing Vickie Fulmer are all a distant memory.  Nowadays our students are too busy checking their smartphones to get into it with rival fans.

 

Lastly, before I break down Florida-Tennessee, please allow me to gloat for a few seconds for picking Ole Miss to beat Alabama last week.

 



 

Thank you.

Let’s do this.

 

 

Tennessee at Florida

Outside of Athens, Big Orange Nation is easily the SEC’s most tortured fan base.  Pre-season expectations fueled by a blowout bowl win, a budding superstar QB, and an absolutely ridiculous recruiting class had Tennessee fans downright giddy with anticipation.

 

Then Oklahoma happened.  Grief counselors worked overtime in Knoxville while Paul Finebaum further distanced himself from his alma mater.

 

Josh Dobbs went from Heisman contender to a kid who can’t complete a downfield pass.  Butch Jones went from SEC Coach of the Year favorite to resembling a former Tennessee coach whose name rhymes with Schmerek Schmooley, with a similar win-loss record as Coach Schmooley.  Extra points and field goals were an adventure.  Fans criticized Mike Debord’s play calling.  Maybe Randy Sanders wasn’t so bad after all. 

 

Meanwhile, in Gainesville, our QB situation is still uncertain despite Will Grier not having to look over his shoulder for at least a week.  Grier took some shots in Lexington last week and didn’t appear to be 100% as the game wore on.  Treon Harris decided to go full knucklehead before the Tennessee game this year, unlike last year…allegedly.

 

UF fans still don’t know what to make of Jim McElwain, and we probably won’t know until after the 2016 season.  We do know UF’s offensive line is a bigger train wreck than Tennessee’s offensive line.  We know UF’s kicking game is no better than Tennessee’s kicking game.  We know Vernon Hargreaves is not 100% healthy.  After three games we suspect UF’s best wide receiver might be a true freshman.  And without question we now know Jalen Tabor is an idiot.  Check his Twitter feed.

 

Given the state of this so-called rivalry I don’t expect Tennessee fans to cry crocodile tears over UF’s current state of affairs.  In the 90s when UT was great, UF was greater.  In the 10s when UF sucked, UT sucked worse.

 

And then there’s that 10-game winning streak...

 

Historically the winner of this game has more success running the ball, and I simply don’t trust UF’s offensive line to get the job done.  Tennessee won’t have much success running either, but they have Jalen Hurd and we don’t.

 

Unless Will Grier channels his inner 1993 Danny Wuerffel, or UF’s defense scores a TD or two, Tennessee wins an ugly, low scoring game.

 

Vols - 19

Gators - 14