By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

The first big SEC East showdown occurs in Week 4. No. 16 Florida travels to Knoxville to play rival No. 12 Tennessee. Both teams are undefeated with 3-0 records.

The Gators looked like they finally found a solid quarterback this year. They’ve struggled at the position since Tim Tebow exhausted all of his eligibility in 2009. Luke Del Rio has passed for 762 yards, completing 61% of his passes for 6 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.

Del Rio suffered an injury to his left knee Saturday against North Texas. He has a sprained knee, which will cause him to miss 2-3 weeks. The Gators won 32-0 so the only real excitement in the game occurred after the injury.

Head coach Jim McElwain thought the hit was dirty and he ran on the field. He yelled at the North Texas sideline and had to be restrained by his players and referees. Both teams ran on the field toward the hash marks reacting to McElwain’s tirade.

“When you see something like that, it’s my responsibility when their parents aren’t here to be their parents,” McElwain said. “I care about these kids. They’re mine. I see something like that, it ain’t right.”

This overshadowed the defense but they played great. They allowed a school-record 53 yards on 50 plays. The previous mark was 59 yards allowed against Western Carolina in 2006.

Former Purdue starter Austin Appleby will fill in for Del Rio. He completed 2 of 4 passes for 30 yards against the Mean Green.

Tennessee was a top-10 team in the preseason and so far has not lived up to the hype. They struggled in the opener against Appalachian State, winning 20-13 in overtime. App State moved up from the FCS level in 2013 so they do not have the same talent level as the Vols.

The next game they struggled early falling behind 14-0 to Virginia Tech. They dominated after that and destroyed the Hokies 45-24. They had another tough game against Ohio winning 28-19.

I’m not sure why the team is underperforming because they return a lot of experience. Senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs was expected to have a breakout year. So far he’s thrown for 486 yards with a 60% completion rate, 6 TD’s and 3 picks. He’s also rushed for 161 yards and 3 more touchdowns.

Junior running back Jalen Hurd rushed for 1,288 yards in 2015 but he’s been overshadowed by Dalvin Cook, Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey just to name a few. He’s run for 270 yards, 2 TD’s and averages 4.1 yards per carry.

Both of these players have to play well to give the Vols a chance to win. Tennessee has lost 11 consecutive meetings to Florida. Last year they lost a heartbreaker at The Swamp 28-27.

I know the fans are ready for a win. The Gators are stating an inexperienced quarterback on the road in a stadium that seats over 102,000. Tennessee will get some revenge and overwhelm Florida.

They really need to win this game because they are going to have a tough stretch of the schedule. The next two games are on the road against Georgia and Texas A&M then home versus Alabama. The momentum and confidence from this game might set them up to have a special season.