Sure but remember you gotta do the same for me...
Tennessee is a defensive minded team. Their head coach is a defensive guy and he's a good teacher. Team is nothing like the team that started the yr 0-2. Gotta write that off. QB is the biggest question mark. In fact I can't even tell you for sure who the starter will be. I presume it'll be RS-Jr Jarrett Guarantano. At his best he is a game manager who can do a lot of things "OK" but nothing "well." His bad games have led to losses including Alabama. If he'd played better vs Alabama that game would have given the Crimson Tide a scare well into the 4th qtr. If Guarantano is suckin', coach Pruitt will not hesitate to pull him and put in one of two freshman. In general Tenn QBs do not run the ball much. The UT OC is Jim Chaney who was Georgia's OC up until this yr. So picture previous UGa offenses to know what UT runs.
Expect Tenn to pound the run and then do play action to throw over the top to any of 3 very athletic WRs. One of them, DeJuan Jennings, will not play until the second half. He's a big target kinda like a poor man's Dez Bryant but not a speedster. The other guys, Josh Palmer and Marquez Calloway have speed to burn that you don't often see in the B10. Expect IU to give them big cushions that'll likely frustrate the hell out of you.
The Vols have a FR RB who is also a speedster but he didn't play much until recently so his season stats won't impress you, Eric Gray. The Vols O-line is underrated.
The defense is led by SR ILB Daniel Bituli. He's a leader and a tackling machine. SS Nigel Warrior is another leader and a ball hawk. Soph CB Bryce Thompson is a guy who's had nagging injuries and off the field issues. He was missed in those first two losses of the season due to a suspension. When he's healthy he's also an INT waiting to happen.
UT is a mix of seniors and very young inexperienced guys. Depth is a problem so I think the extra month will really help them in that it'll get guys healthy that were in and out of the starting lineup in the past month. Expect Bituli, Warrior, O-lineman Trey Smith, TE Dominick Wood-Anderson, Calloway, Jennings and edge pass rusher Darryl Taylor to go high in the NFL draft this Spring.
I get the impression that IU has a high powered offense and a not so good defense. Therefore a high scoring game would be good for the Hoosiers. Is that your view? Nice season of 8 wins for the Hoosiers but I see no wins this year over Bowl eligible teams. Amazing that a schedule could be that light as to win 8 games and have Nebraska be your best win, but you know the team much better than I. What say you? As a UT fan, I'd rather face a defensive minded team.
I'm really pleased with the Gator Bowl as opposed to the Music City or Liberty Bowls. Much better timing. Prime time, no conflicts with other football. Tnn and IU have only faced each other once in football, in the late 80s. The Vols won in a close one.