Tennessee Football vs. Florida: 3 bold predictions for SEC showdown

3. Florida’s defense outscores offense — again

For one to actually understand why I am saying such a normally absurd thing will happen, let me give a quick recap. Florida opened the season against then 11th-ranked Michigan and lost 33-17. Looks like a normal football game on the surface, right?

Well, out of those 17 points that Florida managed to get, 14 were scored by their defense as a result of turnovers. Florida’s offense would only get the kicking unit within range and successfully get three more one time.

As for why I think they will do it again, that is a mix of a couple variables I see when I am looking at both the Volunteers and Florida. Starting with the Gators, it’s pretty obvious that the defense has the capability. If a quarterback makes mistakes against them, eventually, this explosive secondary is going to make them pay.

Variable No. 1 is the Volunteers’ passing game. Quinten Dormady is playing alright. His 207.5 yards per game put him at the No. 4 spot in the SEC but it’s not how many yards he’s getting that is what I see. It’s how many throws he’s making to accumulate this amount.

Dormady’s completion percentage is 69th in the country. At home, he’s completing 72.2 percent but on the road, he’s right at 54.1 percent. His yards per attempt average is at 7.5 but drops nearly in half from 10.8 at home to six on the road or at neutral sites.

This isn’t an end of the world stat here but against a defense like Florida, who has proven that, against a good team, it can take these errors and turn them into six points, I am going to say that Florida scores more than once off of a pick-six. I’m predicting another two scores for the Gators defense but that won’t be the only points they put up.