Vols looking for running room

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Florida linebacker, Brandon Spikes, made the comment Monday after practice that Tennessee had "quit playing" last year and that Florida was tougher than Tennessee. Coach Fulmer and some of the Vols respond to Spikes' comment. Watch »

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UT head coach Phillip Fulmer addresses the media Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008. Watch »

Brace yourself for the stat.

The Vols face No. 4 Florida on Saturday in Neyland Stadium (TV: WVLT, 3:30 p.m.), and that means the inevitable mention of how the team that runs for more yards has won this game in 16 of the last 18 years.

Go ahead and add these to the list as well:

n In the last two meetings with Florida, the Vols been outgained on the ground 376-26.

n Against Florida the last two years, UT's longest rush has gone for 6 yards.

n Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's 61 yards and two touchdowns rushing in 2007 double UT's combined rushing totals from 2006 and 2007.

When it comes to Tennessee's recent history against the Gators, running the football has been a liability. And the Vols know that must change to defeat Florida and assert themselves in the SEC East.

"They definitely had our number the last couple years rushing the ball," tailback Montario Hardesty said. "This year, we have to have a mindset to go out and run the ball at them. As of right now, it's one of our team strengths. We have a lot of returning O-linemen, and we have a lot of experience on the field. We definitely need to get in and run the ball."

And buck the trends.

Counting two sacks in 2006 and a play on which quarterback Erik Ainge tripped, the Vols have been credited with 44 rushing attempts. Thirty-three of those have gone for 2 yards or fewer and 11 have resulted in lost yards.

Only six have gained 5 yards or more, including UT's two most productive running plays in the last two games - 6-yard runs by Arian Foster and Lennon Creer in last year's 59-20 loss in Gainesville.

"So if we rip off a 7-yarder," offensive coordinator Dave Clawson joked on Tuesday, "that'll be a gamebreaker?"

In recent years, Florida's dominance against UT's running game has almost been laughable. It's due to a variety of factors as well.

After watching film, Clawson said Florida's biggest strength is its ability to shed blocks quickly and penetrate the line of scrimmage.

"Florida does so many things well on defense, but the thing I'm most impressed about is their ability to get off of blocks and how well they bend up front," Clawson said. "I think that's our biggest challenge against Florida, sustaining blocks and staying on blocks and making sure that we don't have guys in the backfield."

Offensive lineman Anthony Parker said Florida's tendency to move defensive linemen into different gaps than those in which they lined up presents a problem, too.

"In my past three years of playing them, they do a lot of stunting and twisting," Parker said. "I think that creates mismatches, and it fills extra holes where they don't have a person. Hopefully we'll be ready for it this year."

Starting tailback Arian Foster hopes Tennessee can continue to be effective in the run game this week, after having success on the ground against UCLA and UAB.

"You're going to get yards when guys get pushed around," Foster said. "Even if it's not moving, even if it's just nudging them for a split second, that's enough to spring a back for a pretty long run. That's what our offensive line consistently these last two games has done."

That will be tougher to do this week.

The Gators have allowed just 121 yards rushing in their first two games, which ranks 13th nationally and sixth in the SEC. They've surrendered only one touchdown, too, which came with 1:37 remaining in a 56-10 victory over Hawaii on Aug. 30.

And if the Vols are going to run effectively against Florida this time, the game will have to unfold differently.

Tennessee needs to stay in normal down and distances and keep the score close in order to be able to run the ball well, Clawson said.

"If the score allows you to do that and that's what your strength is, you stay with it. But sometimes the score doesn't allow you to do that," Clawson said. "The other thing that dictates that is down and distance. It's hard to stay patient in a running game if you're second-and-15 or second-and-12. You can still run the ball then, but you want to get yourself to third down and manageable."

That all starts, Hardesty says, with establishing the run early Saturday.

"I think rushing the ball is more of an attitude," Hardesty said. "I think if you get out there and make some good runs early, it kind of gets our confidence up and gets coach's confidence up to call more running plays. I think that we can be effective running the ball."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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