Florida vs. Tennessee Preview
Photo Credit: Austin Perryman/Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee faces Florida on Saturday, in what should be a raucous environment inside Neyland Stadium. The game is Jeremy Pruitt's first against an SEC opponent as a head coach. Kickoff is set for 7:00 and the game will air on ESPN. Tennessee has sold out at least one game in each of the last 22 seasons. Neyland Stadium should be packed for this matchup, continuing the impressive streak.
Tennessee and Florida share a record of 2-1. The Gators have beaten Charleston Southern and Colorado State, while losing to Kentucky for the first time in 31 years. The Wildcats won that contest on the road by a score of 27-16. The last time the Vols and Gators squared off in Knoxville, Tennessee scored 38 consecutive points to defeat Florida 38-28. The 2018 edition of this historic rivalry marks the 48th time these teams have met, with Florida leading the series 27-20. Tennessee has looked to be the better team in the previous 4 matchups, but has gone just 1-3 against the Gators in that span, with each of those meeting being decided by 10 points or less.
Florida's new head coach, Dan Mullen spent the previous 9 season as the head coach at Mississippi State and was the Gators' offensive coordinator from 2005-08. This season, quarterback Feleipe Franks has completed 41-77 passes for 570 yards, 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Running back Dameon Pierce has carried the ball 14 times for 162 yards and a touchdown, while Jordan Scarlett's 19 rushing attempts have resulted in 105 yards and 1 touchdown. Receiver, Van Jefferson has recorded 8 receptions for 127 yards and 3 touchdowns, while Freddie Swain has caught 6 passes for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Additionally, Florida's defense has forced 8 turnovers this year.
Tennessee's defense has stepped up in the past 2 games, giving up a combined 3 points against ETSU and UTEP. This is the fewest point total given up by the Vols in a 2-game span since they held both Kentucky and Vanderbilt scoreless in 2002. Jarrett Guarantano has completed 39-54 pass attempts this season, totaling 494 yards and 2 touchdowns. Josh Palmer has been Tennessee's most efficient receiver this season, hauling in 6 passes for 148 yards. His average of 24.7 yards per catch has him ranked eighth in the nation. I have a feeling that this duo will have at least one play of at least 50 yards against Florida.
The Vols will celebrate the program's 20th anniversary of the 1998 National Championship team on Saturday. The second game of that season was a 20-17 overtime home victory over Florida as the Gators missed a field goal to end the game. The win is marked by the famous words of John Ward after the Gators' missed field goal, as he uttered, "NO-SIR-REE. NO SIR-REE." If Jeremy Pruitt wants to return to these glory days, it all starts with controlling the Florida series. Bill Battle, in 1970, is the last Tennessee coach to beat Florida in his first try. Pruitt will look to do just this.
Neyland should be deafening on Saturday night. One of the reasons that I am picking the Vols to win this game is the major homefield advantage that they will receive. Guarantano has not thrown an interception this season and I do not foresee him throwing one against the Gators. I also predict that Tennessee, for the first time this season, will come out fast and never trail in their victory over Florida. In recent years, Tennessee has left the door open for the Gators to hang around and end up winning the game. While I do believe that this game will be tightly contested, Tennessee will put Florida away in the fourth quarter.
Preston's Pick: Tennessee 24 Florida 14
Alex’s Pick: Tennessee 31 Florida 24
