Since taking over at Florida in 2005, Urban Meyer is 3-0 against rival Tennessee, including a 59-20 rout in the Swamp last season.The Gators will attempt to make it four straight against the Volunteers at 2:30 p.m Saturday when they travel to Neyland Stadium, where the Volunteers haven’t lost since 2006.”We haven’t played quite as consistent as we’d have liked to, and that’s been an issue for us against Florida this past couple of years,” said Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer.One area of concern for the Volunteers’ defense will be Florida receiver Percy Harvin.Meyer said he expects Percy Harvin to be 100 percent against the Volunteers, after being slowed early in the season by a heel injury.Harvin rushed for 764 yards and had 858 receiving yards last season but has only 39 total yards so far this year.Harvin missed the Gators’ season opener against Hawaii and returned in Florida’s 26-3 win against Miami two weekends ago but played sparingly. The Volunteers rebounded from an opening weekend loss by beating UAB, 35-3, last Saturday.Tennessee gained 266 yards rushing in the win, behind sophomore running back Lennon Creer’s 93 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries.But rushing yards may be hard to come by this weekend against Florida’s defense. The Gators have held opponents to 60 rushing yards per game this season.PACKIN’ HEATAn early autumn cold front is usually a welcome sight around sun-baked areas of the South.But this week’s cooler air has Georgia coach Mark Richt uneasy as his team prepares for potential 100-degree temperatures this weekend at Arizona State.”It is [a concern] for me,” he said. “It takes longer than a day or two to acclimatize to whether you’re going into humidity or going into a lack of humidity.”The Bulldogs dropped a spot in the polls for the second time this season after gaining only 252 yards of total offense in a 14-7 win at South Carolina last weekend.Richt said the Bulldogs’ pass defense is an area of concern this weekend. Georgia gave up 271 passing yards to South Carolina.This weekend they face quarterback Rudy Carpenter and the high-powered Arizona State passing attack, who have averaged more than 320 passing yards per game this season.”They have a great quarterback, and I think we need to apply more pressure than we have the last few weeks,” said Georgia sophomore linebacker Akeem Dent. NEWCOMERS SET TO MAKE THEIR SEC DEBUTSArkansas coach Bobby Petrino will make his SEC coaching debut this weekend when unbeaten Arkansas hosts No. 9 Alabama in Fayetteville.The Razorbacks have experienced growing pains so far under Petrino, needing last second touchdowns to defeat Western Illinois and UL-Monroe.Crimson Tide freshman receiver Julio Jones will also be making his SEC debut in the game.Jones showed the flash that made him the No. 1 ranked receiving prospect according to Rivals.com last season and caught five passes for 66 yards and a touchdown in Alabama’s 41-7 win against Western Kentucky.The Razorbacks are returning to the field for the first time in two weeks after Hurricane Ike forced their scheduled game with Texas to be postponed to Sept. 27.Petrino said the unexpected bye week helped the Razorbacks get extra preparation for Saturday’s game.”It was somewhat disappointing,” he said. “But we just made an extra transition into Alabama. We got a couple of extra practices and some extra video preparation.”Petrino went 41-9 in his first stint as a collegiate head coach at Louisville, including a 24-6 record in conference games.Alabama coach Nick Saban said he expects the Razorbacks to continuously be near the top of the SEC under Petrino.”Bobby Petrino is an outstanding coach, and he has certainly proven that everywhere he has been responsible for,” he said. “And his team is playing extremely well right now at Arkansas.”—-Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]
Top 25 matchup headlines SEC
By Casey Gisclair
Sports Writer
Sports Writer
September 16, 2008