After staggering to its first loss and set to face a rival that holds a sizable advantage in the recent series, No. 8 Tennessee has its work cut out as it prepares to face Florida.
With the two teams trending in different directions, the Volunteers will oppose the Gators in a Southeastern Conference game Saturday night in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC) joined conference rivals Alabama and Missouri last weekend as all three took their first loss.
In the SEC’s parity-riddled first six weeks, only first-place Texas A&M (3-0) and one-win Texas and LSU remain undefeated in conference tilts, while the remaining elites lost over the past two weekends.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s team went to Arkansas and dropped a 19-14 decision, failing to display the productive offense it enjoyed over the season’s first month.
After managing only two touchdowns in a low-key 25-15 win over Oklahoma on Sept. 21, Tennessee found paydirt just twice once again vs. the Razorbacks.
“So many self-inflicted wounds,” Heupel said. “Too many pre-snap penalties, playing penalties and miscommunication. So at times you’re not playing on tempo. At the end of the day, you’ve got to play smart, effective football.”
Volunteers freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava went 16 of 28 for 156 yards and was sacked four times.
Heupel said it will be a relief to play a home game for the first time in a month, and he expects Neyland Stadium to be rocking.
“We need to have the Neyland Effect in effect on Saturday night,” he said.
The Gators (3-2, 1-1) have produced two straight victories — an SEC win at Mississippi State and an in-state triumph last Saturday over UCF.
Quarterback Graham Mertz passed for 179 yards and a touchdown as Florida downed the Knights 24-13.
While Heupel said the Gators are “playing their best ball right now,” the team’s top performances over the past two decades typically come in meetings with the Volunteers, whether it be in Knoxville or Gainesville.
Over the past 19 matchups, Florida has won 17 times, and the Gators logged an 11-game winning streak from 2005 to 2015.
Only stellar outings by a pair of Tennessee quarterbacks prevented a 19-game Gators streak: Joshua Dobbs accounted for five TDs in a 38-28 rally in 2016, and Hendon Hooker’s 349-yard effort in a 38-33 win two years ago, both in Knoxville.
Florida holds the all-time series lead 32-21 after a 29-16 upset of the then-11th-ranked Volunteers at home last September.
“Tennessee has a really good football team, and all three parts of their team present challenges,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “I have a ton of respect for how they play, the tempo on offense and the physicality of their run game paired with the explosive plays. The vertical shots and the perimeter concepts can be very challenging. Defensively, they continue to get better.”
The Gators stuffed UCF’s powerful running attack in on Saturday, limiting the Knights to 108 yards on 40 carries (2.7 per rush).
“As I’ve said before, if we want to be a consistent contender here and have a championship-caliber team, we’re going to have to play championship-caliber defense,” Napier said. “I’m pleased with the direction there.”
