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Stopping the run FSU, Tennessee both solid in rush defense
Posted: Friday January 01, 1999 05:47 PM
The real key for the Seminoles' run defense is this one very sobering statistic: The 'Noles have allowed only 79 yards rushing a game this year. The reason? FSU can put eight men in the box. Florida State was hurt a little bit this week by the loss of nose tackle Larry Smith to a knee injury in practice, but it's not as big a loss as some people might think. FSU defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews has rotated a lot of players in and out of the front line all season long so there may not be much of a drop off. But I don't think FSU's front seven is anything like what they have been in past years because there's no Andre Wadsworth-type player dominating play. In fact, linebacker Lamont Green is the team's best run stopper. Coming into the 1998 season, I think people thought Tennessee's defense would be less than stellar. However, Darwin Walker and Shaun Ellis have really done the job for the Vols. Having said that, the bottom line, heart and soul of this team is linebacker Al Wilson. He's had some nagging injuries this year but he will healthy for this game. There are few people out there who are not a rah-rah type of guy and Wilson gets the people around him to play at his level. When he's not on the field, the Vols defensive level of play goes down. Against Florida earlier this year, Wilson caused three turnovers and almost single-handedly beat the Gators. He's athletic enough so he can stay on the field for all three downs. He's their leader, the courage guy who exemplifies what this Tennessee team is all about. These two teams are so similar on defense. They have speed, they can stop the run and they can get after the QB. The team that can do those three things the best will win this game. Coming next: Pass defense
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