![]() ![]() The Vols have a chance to win a second straight in the series for the first time since '03-04, but the Gators have a chance – in front of what figures to be a wild and wanting crowd – to reset themselves with what would be a first signature SEC victory under Coach Billy Napier. ![]() ![]() It's anyone's guess as to the last time that happened. Tennessee will come to town as a 6½-point favorite. That's year's outcome dumped the Gators to their first 0-2 start in SEC play since 1986 and into a tailspin that ended with a 6-7 record and second straight losing season for the first time since 1978-79. The Vols now have something of an upper hand, having won last year's meeting 38-33 in Knoxville that helped propel them to an 11-2 record – their first double-digit winning season since '07 and most wins in the program since the 1998 national-championship campaign – and run to blowout Orange Bowl victory over Clemson. Since back when Spurrier was a coach, not a field. Such has not been the case for a long time. ![]() The Gators put together their streak at the "Swamp" because they were the better program over the last two decades and played like it in winning 16 of the previous 18 in a series that once was served up as the league's annual marquee matchup. What a run it's been, but now it means nothing, relative to Saturday night's renewal between the Gators (1-1) and 11 th-ranked Volunteers (2-0) in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams, a highly anticipated sold-out showdown at Spurrier/Florida Field. Some were blowout UF victories (59-20 in 2007 34-3 in '19 38-14 in '21), others were memorable thrillers (Grier-to-Callaway in '15 Franks-to-Cleveland in '17). Those are Tennessee coaches who have been on the losing end. Those are the four coaches responsible for Florida's nine-game home winning streak in its rivalry series against hated Tennessee, a string that dates to the 2005 season. ![]()
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