I suppose the professionals will show me how smart they are this weekend (stats)

For what it's worth, according a Denver Post article on Sunday, even Peyton Manning says Florida will stomp his alma mater this Saturday.

So now that Tennessee fans have left us temporarily to consult Google, I want to pose a question to the rest of you: What do you think the following number represents: 37.

That is the average yards Tennessee drove, per scoring drive, versus Virginia Tech (who fumbled six times, including 2 inside their own 10). They scored 24 points on turnovers (4 drives, 12 plays). It took 55 plays to score the other 21 points. Overall, they averaged 4.2 plays per drive throughout the game. They also had the fewest number of first downs (16) since October 2014 (Ole Miss 3-34).

And that is their best game. That's the game that is giving them the most confidence.

Appalachian State gave up 45 points and 549 yards, at home, to Miami last weekend.

Ohio gave up 56 points and 546 yards, again, at home, to Texas State in week 1.

I am absolutely not saying Tennessee is bad. I am just saying they're average. Average offense. Average defense.

Both Florida and Tennessee have played easy schedules so far, but in just three games, Tennessee is 101st in the nation in total offense, 83rd in sacks allowed. Defensively, Florida is 1st in the nation in both total defense, 1st in sacks recorded. In case you're wondering, Florida is 40th in total offense in the nation, 6th in the country in sacks allowed. Tennessee is 39th in total defense and 105th in sacks recorded. (Jabari Zuniga has more sacks this year than the entire Tennessee defense).

Tennessee is giving up 3.88 yards per rush/game (4.48 yards per rush in the first half!), where Florida is giving up 1.31 yards per rush/game (#2 in the country). Florida is 4th in the SEC in rushing and passing. Tennessee is 7th in rushing and 12th in passing.

In both of Tennessee's "gimme games", they were either tied or lead by only 2 points in the 4th quarter.

You can say Florida got their stats in easy games, but I do not see Tennessee playing any top-25 or top-tier teams so far. Should not their stats be at least compatible? There is nothing in the numbers that jumps out and says "Wow, Tennessee is exceptional in this area." And you can also say statistics are lies, but watching the games sort of support the statistics. I said in week 1 that Tennessee looked to have a soft offense and defensive lines and they have done nothing to win me over.

And yet Tennessee is more than a touchdown better than Florida right now according to the experts? Still picked to win the SEC East? I suppose the professionals will show me how much smarter they are than me this weekend.

...because, based on how differently they have played so far, I just do not get it