The No. 10 ranked Florida Gators (2-0) will be traveling to Neyland Stadium for their first SEC road test against the Tennessee Volunteers (1-1) tomorrow.

Florida has played 27 freshman and including red-shirts, and this will be their first real test outside of the Swamp. Head coach Urban Meyer is going to expect a lot out of his team, especially with the offense still trying to find a groove. The Gators are also going to be challenged with the absence of Chris Rainey.

Rainey has six catches for 36 yards and a touchdown this season, despite sitting out the whole second half of the 38-14 win over USF last weekend with a concussion.

Let’s talk more about the struggling offense. The Gators improved a lot better last weekend, fumbling two times rather than eight against Miami Ohio. Pouncey looked a lot better under center but still has some tweaks here and there. Florida always seems to start out slow with their offense. They needed John Brantley’s touchdown pass that tied the game up 7-7 with 44 seconds left in the first half for a little momentum. Demps looked real well last game, rushing for 139 yards on 11 carries including a 62-yard touchdown run that put them ahead for good in the third quarter. Moody contributed with 54 yards on the ground and also Mike Gillislee who rushed for a touchdown and was apart of the 256-yard rushing day. With the offensive line healthy, you may see Demps and Moody try and work their way on the ground to start off by testing the Tennessee defense. Especially after watching the Tennessee and Oregon game last week, we should be able to run it down their throats like the second half against South Florida.

“The ability for us to be able to play some power football is going to be important,” Addazio said. “It was nice to see the demeanor our team in the second half. That felt really good. I think I felt really good for them as well as for us.”

Florida’s defense played phenomenal once again. The Gators picked off four passes against South Florida last Saturday and also four against Miami Ohio. My only concerns with the defense is the ability to stop the run. The defense gave up 244 yards rushing to the Bulls last week, and couldn’t seem to find a way to stop QB P.J. Daniel’s from running. But with Will Hill returning to the secondary along with Janoris Jenkins and Ahmad Black, they could be very dangerous.

Now looking at Tennessee. Defensive wise, they didn’t look too sharp against the Oregon ducks. Tennessee’s defensive tackles seem to have a hard time stopping the run, especially in the second half of their 48-13 loss against Oregon. Expect much of that this season. On the flip side, the Vol’s do have a couple solid defensive ends, Chris Walker and Ben Martin. Both of them should provide a nice pass rush against Florida which will help them take some of the pressure off of the secondary.

Looking over on their offense. One positive sign last week was Tauren Poole’s 162 yards on the ground on 23 carries. The Tennessee junior has so far racked up 272 yards and three touchdowns this season and could possibly be one of their offensive weapons if Florida doesn’t find a way to improve their rushing defense. Tennessee center Cody Pope is day to day after suffering from a stinger, can be a huge loss in Poole’s run game.

It’s going to be tough playing in the Tennessee atmosphere. Always has been. Tennessee has won 11 of 20 meetings in Knoxville, but the Gators still have a 20-19 advantage in the series. But with Florida playing a lot of true freshman on the road for the first time in a tough environment, its still not icing on the cake for them.

“That’s one of the most difficult environments in the country to play in, so we’ve got to be on our game,” Meyer told the Gators’ official website about Neyland.

This weekend will be the first time Tennessee has hosted a top ten team in back-to-back weeks.

• I predict the score to be Florida- 42  Tennessee- 17. Still not a ton of confidence on offense, but if you compare the talent with both teams, Florida is a whole level above the Vol’s.

Game Details:

Coverage: CBS

- 89°F / 61°F
- Precip: 0%
- 3:30 PM ET, September 18, 2010
- Neyland Stadium, KNOXVILLE, TN