1. Florida 23 - Tennessee 13- That 30 point spread that even I will admit looked like a definite possibility wasn't even close. Instead the Vols looked to play good old SEC/Jonathan Crompton-less football and manage the game with a ground game and defense. I'll give it to Kiffin, he did only what he thought his offense could do which was nothing. Tennessee played not-to lose badly by keeping Tebow & Co. on the sidelines. But I can't blame the guy. If I talked that much sh*t in the offseason I would do everything I could to not get my kids embarrassed.
The bigger deal may have been the first sign of vulnerability by the Florida Gators. For the first time this season no Percy Harvin was quite evident. Demps, Rainey, and James are good playmakers but don't have the combination of threatening tools that Havin brought to the table. The running game was good, but against a better team some kind of passing game has to be present. I personally wouldn't want Tebow having more total rushing attempts than all 4 of my other RB's COMBINED. But that defense is still nasty. They did exactly what they needed to against an offensively challenged team, making Jonathan Crompton look like Jonathan Crompton. Florida was never in trouble in this one. But I guarantee future opponents are going to have a look at this film.
2. Texas 34 - Texas Tech 24- At least UT finally played a competent team. If had to watch them play a Wyoming-ish team again I was going to puke. First things first: Colt hasn't looked that good yet. There are reports that he was slowed last week by the flu but who the hell isn't these days. He's just not all the way in sync and kudos to Ruffin McNeill for limiting the Horns offensively, especially in the first half. I know NO ONE would have thought this one would have been 10-3 at halftime. Texas made better adjustments at the end and won the game. Simple as that. Muschamp got his guys to play tremendous bend-but-don't-break defense and though they gave up over 400 yards through the air, Tech couldn't figure it out close to the goal line. Once again Jordan Shipley comes up big with a big return. This guy changes the pace of games on special teams. It's not even as if he runs a 4.2 40, I just think some guys have great vision and a knack for returning. And he's got it.
Possibly the biggest plus coming out of this one was the emergence of Tre Newton at RB. He ran it 20 times (mostly in the second half) for 88 yards and helped Texas to shorten the game towards the end. He got tough yards and even broke a nice little 20 yarder in the 3rd. It's been awhile since Mack Brown has been confident enough to hand the ball off 20 times to a single RB in a high profile game. We'll see if he carries over this success or if it was a one night hype.
On Tech's end, they just got beat. Texas is better athletically and they were at home to boot. If this one is in Lubbock I think it could have been a bit dicier. Potts showed that the Red Raiders haven't really missed a beat without Harrell. Potts actually might have more upside than his predecessor because he showed a strong arm. He just might have to work a little more on accuracy, as that was Harrell's specialty. I think Tech needed a little bit more out of their running game as the passing attack was having trouble close to the goal line. Texas was more physical at the line of scrimmage which forced Tech (who normally does anyway) to go exclusively to the air. But like I said last season, the underrated thing about Tech last year was their ability to run the ball better than they ever had before. They needed it Saturday night in the redzone but didn't get it. But overall, good effort. And much like Tennessee did to Florida, Tech showed some Longhorn vulnerability in this one.
The bigger deal may have been the first sign of vulnerability by the Florida Gators. For the first time this season no Percy Harvin was quite evident. Demps, Rainey, and James are good playmakers but don't have the combination of threatening tools that Havin brought to the table. The running game was good, but against a better team some kind of passing game has to be present. I personally wouldn't want Tebow having more total rushing attempts than all 4 of my other RB's COMBINED. But that defense is still nasty. They did exactly what they needed to against an offensively challenged team, making Jonathan Crompton look like Jonathan Crompton. Florida was never in trouble in this one. But I guarantee future opponents are going to have a look at this film.
2. Texas 34 - Texas Tech 24- At least UT finally played a competent team. If had to watch them play a Wyoming-ish team again I was going to puke. First things first: Colt hasn't looked that good yet. There are reports that he was slowed last week by the flu but who the hell isn't these days. He's just not all the way in sync and kudos to Ruffin McNeill for limiting the Horns offensively, especially in the first half. I know NO ONE would have thought this one would have been 10-3 at halftime. Texas made better adjustments at the end and won the game. Simple as that. Muschamp got his guys to play tremendous bend-but-don't-break defense and though they gave up over 400 yards through the air, Tech couldn't figure it out close to the goal line. Once again Jordan Shipley comes up big with a big return. This guy changes the pace of games on special teams. It's not even as if he runs a 4.2 40, I just think some guys have great vision and a knack for returning. And he's got it.
Possibly the biggest plus coming out of this one was the emergence of Tre Newton at RB. He ran it 20 times (mostly in the second half) for 88 yards and helped Texas to shorten the game towards the end. He got tough yards and even broke a nice little 20 yarder in the 3rd. It's been awhile since Mack Brown has been confident enough to hand the ball off 20 times to a single RB in a high profile game. We'll see if he carries over this success or if it was a one night hype.
On Tech's end, they just got beat. Texas is better athletically and they were at home to boot. If this one is in Lubbock I think it could have been a bit dicier. Potts showed that the Red Raiders haven't really missed a beat without Harrell. Potts actually might have more upside than his predecessor because he showed a strong arm. He just might have to work a little more on accuracy, as that was Harrell's specialty. I think Tech needed a little bit more out of their running game as the passing attack was having trouble close to the goal line. Texas was more physical at the line of scrimmage which forced Tech (who normally does anyway) to go exclusively to the air. But like I said last season, the underrated thing about Tech last year was their ability to run the ball better than they ever had before. They needed it Saturday night in the redzone but didn't get it. But overall, good effort. And much like Tennessee did to Florida, Tech showed some Longhorn vulnerability in this one.
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