The Gators play at Tennessee on Saturday with a chance to clinch the SEC. (Photo: Kevin Camps/UAA Communications)
Game Day: No. 6 Florida at Tennessee (CBS, 3:30 pm)
Saturday, December 5, 2020 | Football, Chris Harry
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It borders on the unfathomable to consider the current state of the Florida-Tennessee rivalry in relation to what it was during that glorious stretch of the 1990s into the early 2000s. The event horizon that took the series to new and hated heights, of course, was the UF return of favorite son Steve Spurrier, a native of the Volunteer State, who needed one season to turn the Southeastern Conference upside down and establish a new championship pecking order.
Tennessee was a major casualty of Spurrier's dominance, but the Vols definitely had their days at the Gators' expense.
Lately, though, not so much. The No. 6 Gators (7-1) head Saturday into Neyland Stadium with 15 wins against the Vols (2-5) over the previous 16 meetings and with a chance to clinch the SEC East Division title. It's only a rivalry when both sides are pitching in, right?
[Read senior writer Scott Carter's comprehensive "Opening Kickoff" preview here]
Some history.
Before Spurrier bolted Duke for his alma mater, UF and UT had played just 19 times ever. Seriously. And only 14 of those were as members of the SEC. The Vols won the first 10. The Gators won the last four, with those coming in 1976 and '77, then '84 and '85. The next meeting came in 1990, Spurrier's first season, with Florida, despite being saddled with NCAA probation due to deeds of the previous coaching regime, opening the year with five straight wins and rocketing to No. 5.
The Vols embarrassed the Gators 45-3 that night in the Smoky Mountains and went on to claim the SEC title, despite finishing second to UF in the league standings by a half game. Why? The Gators were on probation and not eligible for the title. This, some may recall, was something of a sore spot with the Head Ball Coach. Not just then, but still, and it helped fuel his fire Tennessee week and it was infectious with his players.
The two met in 1991, with Florida winning 35-18 at home on the way to the program's historic first SEC championship. In '92, the league expanded, split into divisions and introduced its championship-game format, with the Gators and Vols becoming annual rivals and their game one of the most anticipated of each season.
UF won five straight in the series, capturing four straight SEC titles (1993-96) and by the time Spurrier left for the NFL he owned an 8-4 record in the series. Truth: As richly satisfying as some of those victories were for the Gators (see Manning, Peyton), two of the losses proved as bitter as any — not just of the Spurrier era — in program history.
1996: No. 2 Tennessee vs No. 3 Florida (Manning vs Wuerffel)
A missed field goal in overtime in 1998 at Knoxville proved the impetus for the Vols' run to a 13-0 record and national championship. Then, in 2001, second-ranked UF needed only to beat No. 5 UT at home in the regular-season finale — pushed to December due to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — to win the East and keep alive for a likely berth in the Rose Bowl national-title game. Tennessee won 34-32 in what turned out to be Spurrier's final home game; one of just five home losses in his reign at the "Swamp."
The Vols took two of the games during Ron Zook's three seasons. With three wins over four years, they couldn't possibly have seen what was coming when Urban Meyer arrived in 2005. Or Will Muschamp in 2011. Or Jim McElwain in 2015. Or Dan Mullen in 2018.
Florida is 14-1 against Tennessee since 2005, with the lone win coming in 2016, when the Vols opened the season with five straight victories, soared to No. 9 in the country, then collapsed during a three-game losing streak that opened the door for the Gators to rally and win the East.
But UT's woes (and they are woeful) are not limited to its issues with the Gators. Oh no. Since 2005, Tennessee has combined to go 101-94, posting just seven winning seasons, and finishing ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 all of four times. The Vols' last three coaches — Derek Dooley (2010-12), Butch Jones (2013-17) and Jeremy Pruitt (2018-present) — are 27-57 in SEC play, including an 0-8 record under Pruitt against UT's three biggest rivals, Florida, Georgia and Alabama, with an average margin of defeat of 28.1 points in the contests. The closest loss was by 22 points.
Oh, and UT is also 3-5 against Vanderbilt since 2012.
This season was supposed to be different. Tennessee won its last six games of 2019, including a defeat over Indiana in the Gator Bowl, and returned a solid nucleus of players. But after starting the 2020 season ranked 16th and winning their first two games, the Vols have dropped five in a row, all by double digits, and now come the Gators, led by Heisman Trophy-candidate quarterback Kyle Trask, with his 2,810 yards, 34 touchdowns and just three interceptions, and an offense ranked 12th in the country at 509.3 yards per game. The Vols are giving up 404.7 a game, that's 61st nationally, but are 102nd in pass-efficiency defense.
Uh oh.
Tennessee senior quarterback Jarrett Guarantano
On the other side, senior UT quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, a starter for the better part of the last four seasons, has thrown for 1,112 yards, just six touchdowns and been intercepted four times. In 41 career games, he has four more TDs than Trask has this season, and the Tennessee offense rates 106th among FBS teams (339.3 yards per game) and 105th (next to last in the SEC) in passing (184.3 yards per game).
Florida needs just one win over their next two games (or one Georgia loss) to lock up the first East crown since 2016 and subsequent berth in the SEC Championship Game. They'd love to do so by celebrating in Tennessee's checkerboard end zone, but there will be something missing, assuming the Gators take care of their business.
And if they don't … well … Florida's dreams of a really big season will be dashed.
And the rivalry will be back.
Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on CBS, with the crew of Carter Blackburn on play-by-play, Aaron Murray providing analysis, and Jenny Dall working the sidelines. The game will be rebroadcasted Thursday at noon and Friday at 1 a.m., both on the SEC Network. For Gator Radio Network info, click here.
Finally, follow senior staff writer Scott Carter on Twitter (@GatorsScott) for commentary and analysis throughout the afternoon. FloridaGators.com will have complete coverage from the game Saturday and fresh content Sunday, as well.
