Pregame Notes: The Vols task at hand today is to take on the Florida Gators this afternoon and repay them for last year's 59-20 rout in Gainesville. Coming into the game, the Vols have not had the start they were hoping for with an opening week loss to UCLA and a poor start last weekend against UAB.

The good news for the Vols in last week's win was the team put together some good offensive drives in the second half with several key runs. Montario Hardesty and Arian Foster got the majority of the carries.

The running game is going to need to be a success for the Vols against the Gators if they want to match Tim Tebow and the Florida offense. Running the ball successfully will keep the high-scoring Florida offense off the field.

A storyline to watch today will be how the Tennessee offense does with Stan Drayton as the running backs coach. Drayton spent the last three years on the Gators' sideline in the same position.

A successful running game will help keep Jonathon Crompton calm. Last week, Crompton made some nice passes to Gerald Jones for touchdowns and a few more to Luke Stocker that were dropped. Those passes weren't Crompton's fault but he is going to need to stay accurate or a much better Florida secondary will look to take advantage.

If the Vols get the ball first, the offense needs to put some points on the scoreboard, obviously, preferably with a touchdown to get the crowd into the game. If the Vols go on defense first, they must hold Florida to a field goal or less or it is going to be a long day trying to keep up with the Gators.

By the end of the first quarter, we could know where this game will be headed.

I am looking forward to seeing how the Tennessee offense comes out to start the game. The games against UCLA and UAB featured offenses that looked very similar to the offense they ran last year.

During the spring, there were some practices that included Jones and Eric Berry running the offense with plays specifically designed for them.

We didn't see them against UCLA other than a few plays by Jones. We probably could have used a few more of those plays too. It will be interesting to see if UT comes out with a few of those plays to start the game to catch the Gator defense off guard.

Last year in the SEC championship game, the Vols caught LSU unprepared for it and perhaps they will catch the Gators today.

The Vols will enter today's game 1-1 and unranked while Florida is 2-0 and ranked fourth in both major polls. Today is the first conference game for each team.

1st quarter 10:15: The first offensive series for Florida leaves the Vols down by a touchdown. After a fumbled return, that looked to pin the Gators deep into their own territory, missed tackles allowed Tim Tebow and the offense to start on the Vols' 44 yard line. Tebow by way of a shuffle pass and a jump pass, converted two third downs, the second for the score to Aaron Hernandez. The momentum is on the Gators side early.

1st quarter 7:35: After a Montario Hardesty fumble on a third down pass play, the Vol defense came up with their first big save of the day, keeping Florida from gaining any yards and holding them to a field goal. Although the Gators have the momentum, that's a big win for the Tennessee defense.

1st quarter 4:42: The Vols running game didn't look great on the second offensive series. Crompton is shaky at best passing the ball. After leaving Hardesty defenseless on the first offensive series, causing the fumble, he threw into triple coverage on third down. The coverage team is being out played as well as Brandon James played with the Vols on a punt return for a 78-yard score. Florida has taken the wind out of the Vols and the fans.

Second quarter 11:36: The offense finally got into a groove toward the end of the first quarter. Crompton made several key passes to Jones, Brandon Warren, and Denarius Moore all for first downs. Jones came in for a few plays at quarterback and picked up a first down. Hardesty put in a few good runs to get the Vols a first down in the red zone. Luke Stocker made up for three drops last week, making a tough catch and run to get the Vols a first down inside the three-yard line of Florida. All this was great and really got the Vols some good momentum; then Crompton fumbles the handoff to take it all away.

Second quarter 4:43: The defense continued to control the running game, keeping Florida from big runs. However, on an obvious third-down passing play, the secondary managed to let Percy Harvin get into the middle of the field wide open. By far the easiest decision Tebow had to make all day so far. To add insult to the big play, UT got its second personal foul penalty of the game. The defense did hold the Florida offense to a field goal after the big play. Overall the defense is playing fairly good allowing only the one big play and a few penalties. The special teams and offense are going to need to step up if Tennessee has any chance of getting back in it.

Second quarter 0:02: Tennessee once again put together another good offensive set. The Vols were saved by a few penalties including when Crompton's first interception was called back by 12 men on the field for Florida. The Vols worked their way down to the 1-yard line and the offense stalled again. To make matters worse on fourth and one, Crompton threw his second interception of the game. For those who want to keep track, that's two turnovers by Crompton inside the Florida three-yard line.

Halftime: Although the 20-0 score in Florida's favor doesn't show it, Tennessee is controlling the tempo of the game. The defense has limited Florida the entire game to small gains other than the one big pass play in the middle of the second quarter. The offense has moved the ball fairly well too. Tennessee leads Florida in the running game 58-54 and in the passing game 80-54.
The turnovers and special teams are the main reason this is not a close ball game or dare I say, a Vol lead. Two times inside the three-yard line and no points is almost unthinkable. Tennessee should have 14 points there.
The first turnover for the Vols left Florida in field goal range. The offense did nothing with the ball but the Gators still came away with three points. The long kick return set up a short touchdown drive and the punt return for touchdown showed how bad Tennessee's coverage was.
Tennessee needs to keep up the level of play and hope Florida can make a few mistakes to let them back in the game.

Third Quarter 9:11: The offense has stalled in the second half for the Vols. The defense did its part holding Florida to a three-and-out, but Crompton's indecision and penalties for the offense are keeping Tennessee from even coming close to putting points on the board. Chad Cunningham's punts have been very poor today, leaving Florida with great return opportunities.

Third Quarter 4:29: The defense for the Vols is wearing down. They have kept Florida close till now. Other than Berry, who has been in on several key tackles, the rest of the defense is starting to get outplayed and winded. Tebow and Harvin worked the defense with the run game and then put up another touchdown via the passing game. The game is basically out of reach now as the fans know it and are heading for the exit. The offense needs a touchdown this drive to give the defense a rest and close the score.

End of  Third Quarter: The offense has responded. Crompton has showed some aggression trying to move the ball down the field, taking some unnecessary hits. Crompton's pass to Stocker over the middle was a good read that brought the offense to the one-yard line. There is no excuse why Crompton didn't get the play off before the end of the quarter. Poor clock management.

Fourth Quarter 14:18: Crompton finally got the Vols on the board with a one-yard sneak. The good news, Tennessee didn't get shutout. The bad news, It took three drives, inside the Gator three to finally get points on the board. The failed two-point conversion shows the desperation.

Final: The game today showed that Tennessee can play the best teams. However, no team is going to win a game when you commit as many mistakes as the Vols did today. 95 yards in penalties along with several big turnovers cost the Vols just like it would cost any other team. Tennessee will have to limit the mistakes and they can do just fine. Remember Vols fans, last year Tennessee started 1-2 with a loss in California and a loss to Florida, things can quickly be turned around.