Elite Tennessee Volunteers Defense Poses Challenge for Florida Gators

The Florida Gators offense will see their greatest challenge yet when they head to Knoxville

The Florida Gators offense hits the road to face their stiffest competition yet against the Tennessee Volunteers' defense / Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

When the Florida Gators travel to Knoxville this weekend to take on the eighth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers, they’ll be up against one of the best defenses in all of college football. They are top 10, and even top five in some cases, in multiple defensive categories and have constantly terrorized their opposition this season. 

Yes, much of the talk surrounding this Volunteers team is on their offense, and rightfully so. But their defense has been rock solid when they’ve needed it to be. The defense gives up an average of 9.4 points per game. They haven’t allowed more than 19 points in a game.

Additionally, they boast the No. 2 total defense in FBS. The Vols are allowing only 227.6 total yards per game. This defense is also the best in the SEC with Texas and Kentucky as the only other schools finding themselves in the top 10 in total defense.  

So, how are they able to limit their opponents to such little points and total yards? Well, they are successful at many of the key parts of a fundamental defense. 

For starters, they are the best team when it comes to getting their opponents off the field. They rank No. 1 in the country with a .221 opponent third down conversion percentage. Specifically, opponents have only converted 15 of their 68 third down attempts against this Volunteers defense.  

Tennessee is also the home of the second-best FBS rushing defense. It has allowed 340 opponent rushing yards on 173 attempts in five games. That comes out to be just 68 yards per game and 1.97 yards per rush. Moreover, they’ve only given up three rushing touchdowns on the year. 

So, teams might want to attack them through the air, right? Nope, wrong answer. 

While they aren’t top 10 in passing yards allowed per game, this defense still cracks the top 15 , giving up 159.6 yards through the air on average. Unfortunately, this is the part of the game where the Gators do most of their damage and will be hoping to break through.

But as you can see, it’s going to be difficult to unlock this top-tier defense. Florida’s offense will have to be on its A-game come Saturday. Even then, it’s hard to know if that will be enough given the trajectory both teams are on right now.