Film study: How Trask exploited Vols’ coverage
Florida didn't deliver its best performance Saturday, but the Gators were plenty good enough to beat Tennessee 34-3 at The Swamp.
Here are five observations from a film study of a loss that dropped Tennessee to 1-3.
Where Kyle Trask found success
Tennessee cornerback Bryce Thompson had a rough afternoon in his season debut following his suspension for a preseason arrest.
Florida's Kyle Trask was 8-of-9 passing for 91 yards when targeting Thompson. Florida receivers had success showing their physicality against the 5foot-11, 181-pound Thompson.
Trask also torched Tennessee over the middle of the field, where he frequently found receivers at a level between the inside linebackers and safeties. He was 9-of-10 passing for 173 yards on throws between the hash marks.
That included a 43-yard completion to receiver Trevon Grimes on his first pass, with Grimes working against safety Nigel Warrior.
Trask also found Freddie Swain over the middle for a 29-yard touchdown when Swain got inside position on cornerback Warren Burrell, with no safety support.
Kyle Pitts, a 6-foot-6, 239-pound tight end, caught three passes between the hash marks.
Key play
A deflating moment for the Vols came when Jarrett Guarantano's third-andgoal pass hit receiver Jauan Jennings in the hands in the end zone. Jennings couldn't handle the throw, and Trey Dean III intercepted the ricochet. A Jennings catch would have tied the score at 7 in the first quarter.
Easily forgotten was the fact that Tennessee nearly scored on the previous play. Guarantano tried to swing a play-action pass to tight end Austin Pope, but defensive end Jonathan Greenard batted down the pass. That became a recurring them.
Greenard batted down three passes. Overall, five Tennessee passes were deflected at the line of scrimmage. Backup quarterback Brian Maurer caught one of those deflections, giving him a completion and a reception on the same play. five tackles.
Solomon and Greg Emerson have started every game on the defensive line, while Latrell Bumphus started the past three games after Darel Middleton started the opener.
Middleton's playing time has reduced, as has that of fellow junior-college transfer Savion Williams, who went from being a key reserve early in the season to barely playing against Florida.
Was a fake punt brewing?
A curious moment unfolded with Tennessee trailing 10-0 and facing a fourth-and-8 with 5:02 remaining before halftime.
Backup punter Paxton Brooks came onto the field, with Jennings and Pope as the upbacks. Normally, Bumphus is the upback alongside Pope, and Jennings is split into the slot as a gunner.
It would have been a curious moment to try a fake punt – the Vols were backed up at their own 23-yard line, and their offense was sputtering – but Florida coach Dan Mullen smelled something fishy and called a timeout.
After the timeout, Joe Doyle replaced Brooks and punted with Bumphus and Pope as the upbacks.
Highs, lows for Brian Maurer
Maurer had a few good moments during his third-quarter replacement of Guarantano, but also a few bad misreads.
On the bright side, he threw a 17-yard dart to receiver Josh Palmer to set up Brent Cimaglia's 40-yard field goal. The pass was thrown into tight coverage, but to a spot where only Palmer could catch it.
Two plays later, Maurer threw an incompletion into triple coverage intended for receiver Cedric Tillman. The pass was nearly intercepted.
Maurer's second drive ended when his pass into double coverage intended for tight end Dominick Wood-anderson was deflected and intercepted.
His third drive ended after he overthrew Palmer downfield when Woodanderson and Jennings were open on shorter routes that would have extended the drive.