Tennessee Football will travel to The Swamp in Gainesville this weekend for a Saturday night showdown against the Florida Gators in the penultimate game of the regular season. The Vols are looking for a massive win on the road to a potential 9-3 season, but the Gators are looking to put some misery into Tennessee’s late-season push.
Florida has had a brutal year, complete with firing head coach Billy Napier mid-season, but there are few things that fanbase would enjoy more on Saturday night than to put another loss in Tennessee’s column in late November.
It’s been a long time since Tennessee last won in Gainesville – 2003, to be exact. Much of Tennessee’s roster wasn’t even born at the time of the Vols’ 24-10 win over the Gators back in September ’03.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said he talked to his team about the streak briefly on Monday, but that no previous result directly impacts the next one.
“One play doesn’t have anything to do with the next, and a previous trip down to Gainesville doesn’t have anything to do with (this one),” Heupel said on Monday. “You’ve got to prepare the right way, you’ve got to practice the right way and you’re going to have to go play extremely well in this one.”
More From RTI: Boo Carter Reportedly Left ‘Confused’ By Split With Tennessee Football
While getting his team in the right mindset for Saturday’s rivalry game, Heupel said that the staff showed the team highlights of great moments from the series’ history.
“I showed a video of just the rivalry and great players, great moments, what it takes to go win in this game, ultimately,” Heupel said. “This is a great game and it’s going to be a great stage.”
Perhaps the video included highlights of Al Wilson’s nine tackles in a 20-17 overtime win over the Gators in 1998, or Hendon Hooker’s 349-yard showing against Florida in a 38-33 win in 2022. Maybe it was something that included Travis Stephens’ highlights when he went for 226 yards on the ground in a 34-32 win in Gainesville in 2001, or Tennessee’s overtime victory over the Gators last season when Dylan Sampson punched in the game-winning score.
There’s been some great moments in Tennessee’s history against the Gators, but the Vols have been shut out of the victory column in The Swamp for the past 22 years. Maybe someone on Tennessee’s current roster will join that highlight video with a memorable showing against the Gators this weekend, leading to a win in Gainesville.
We’ll just have to see on Saturday night.
Florida will host No. 20 Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Gainesville. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage and live coverage of the game on Saturday night.
