Van Jefferson flexes as the Gators rolled to their eighth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon with a 34-3 thumping of Tennessee at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators' Climb Under Mullen Illuminates Grip on Vols
Saturday, September 21, 2019 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Steve Spurrier and Phil Fulmer, the architects of one of college football's great rivalries of the 1990s, were both at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday afternoon. They stood in contrast as they usually do, almost 18 years since the longtime Southeastern Conference head coaches last squared off in the Florida-Tennessee rivalry.
Florida's official athletics ambassador, Spurrier took the microphone at the end of the first quarter to celebrate the 25-year anniversary of the '94 Gators' SEC championship. Fulmer, back at Tennessee as athletic director, watched much of the game away from the cameras in the visitor's tunnel.
What transpired on Spurrier/Florida Field on a sunny and breezy September afternoon hardly resembled the Gators-Volunteers games when Spurrier and Fulmer dialed up plays with a spot in the driver's seat of the SEC East at stake. The ninth-ranked Gators (4-0, 2-0), with fourth-year junior quarterback Kyle Trask making his first career start, scored on the game's opening drive.
Off they went, and despite three turnovers, the Gators strolled smoothly most of the afternoon on the way to a 34-3 victory, their 14th win in the last 15 meetings with Tennessee (1-3, 0-2).
In his two seasons back at UF, Gators head coach Dan Mullen has won both head-to-head meetings against Tennessee second-year coach Jeremy Pruitt. Combined score: 81-24.
Quarterback Kyle Trask and head coach Dan Mullen do an on-field interview with ESPN after Saturday's victory. (Photo: Adler Garfield/UAA Communications)
Even as the Gators dipped in the post-Urban Meyer era, they lost only once to the Vols, a 38-28 setback at Neyland Stadium in 2016 that snapped an 11-game UF win streak in the rivalry.
Nothing has gone right for Tennessee in 2019, most shockingly its season-opening loss to heavy underdog Georgia State. The story remained the same Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 82,776 at "The Swamp."
"We're not good enough to beat a good team if we don't play mistake-free,'' Pruitt said. "We can't give them stuff, and we did that."
In his postgame press conference, Mullen traveled into the past and recalled how during his first stint with the Gators as offensive coordinator and with the Vols still one of the league's top programs, a popular talking point each week leading up to the annual rivalry was how the team that rushed for the most yards usually won.
He pointed out how the Gators outrushed the Vols on Saturday.
"That was a big deal when I was here before,'' he said. "I picked up right where we left off."
There's no debating these two programs are headed in opposite directions. The Gators were favored by 14 points Saturday and left little doubt that the divide between the programs remains wide.
The victory was Florida's eighth consecutive, the Gators' longest win steak since 2012 when they won their first seven games and beat Ohio State in the Gator Bowl to end the previous season. The Gators had plenty to celebrate Saturday:
Trask completed 20 of 28 passes for 293 yards and two touchdowns, a 19-yarder to tight end Kyle Pitts on the opening drive and a 29-yarder to Freddie Swain that put the Gators up 24-3 in the third quarter.
The UF defense forced four turnovers, leading to 10 points; Trask tossed two interceptions and lost a fumble, but the Vols were unable to cash in for points on any of the miscues.
Florida went 5-for-5 scoring in the red zone and defensively, limited the Vols to 4 of 13 converting third downs.
The Gators outgained Tennessee 441-239 and the Vols managed only 88 yards in the first half as Florida opened a 17-0 lead at the break.
The Gators have been far from perfect, but through four games, they are exactly where they want to be.
"We're 4-0,'' Trask said. "That's huge in the SEC."
The primary concern heading into a game against FCS-member Towson next week is to get some key players back from injury. The team's two top NFL prospects on defense, end Jabari Zuniga and cornerback CJ Henderson, did not play against the Vols.
It was difficult to tell.
Linebacker Amari Burney had an interception and fumble recovery. Nickelback Trey Dean and cornerback Marco Wilson each had an interception. Defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard had a sack, two tackles for loss and three pass deflections.
Greenard made life miserable for Vols starting quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who finished 10 of 17 for 107 yards and two interceptions. The Gators sacked Guarantano and true freshman Brian Mauer, who started the second half, four times. Guarantano was 8 of 15 for 73 yards and an interception in the first half when Pruitt opted to see if Mauer could ignite the offense.
"He hates pressure,'' Greenard said. "If you get in his face -- I got a good hit on him one time, just let him know I was there. He knew I was there and after that, he just felt what we wanted to do and then they brought the backup quarterback in."
In the celebratory locker room, Mullen praised his team for the way they handled the Vols.
"Every single person in this room did their job to win the game,'' Mullen said. "You don't execute the way we executed unless at practice we prepared ourselves to do this the right way."
Florida receiver Freddie Swain, No. 16, celebrates after his 29-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. (Photo: Kelsi Bevington/UAA Communications)
The Gators will be even heavier favorites when Towson comes to town next week. Once October arrives, so does the intensity. Auburn visits "The Swamp" for the first time in more than a decade. The next week the Gators play at LSU, then a trip to South Carolina looms. Finally, following a bye week, the annual showdown with Georgia in Jacksonville is on the schedule.
The Gators will learn what kind of team they have.
"Feeling pretty good right now,'' Swain said. "We're 2-0 in the SEC."
As for the visitors, they departed seemingly a million miles from that night in 2001 when they spoiled Spurrier's final home game as Florida's head coach. Fulmer was the victor that night.
On Saturday, Spurrier bounced around the press box sharing past glories. Fulmer stood in a tunnel contemplating current misery.
Mullen offered context to the great divide that has interrupted this once-thrilling rivalry of Wuerffel and Manning, of Rex and Tee and so many others.
"You can see they have some talented young guys. One of the things we try to do schematically, take their young guys and put them in tough situations and put pressure on them,'' Mullen said. "They're building for the future."
The Gators continue to revive memories of the past, one win at a time.
