No. 10 Florida Outlasts Young Tennessee, 31-17
Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - John Brantley threw for 167 yards and a touchdown and Mike Gillislee ran for two scores, as 10th-ranked Florida took a 31-17 win over Tennessee in the teams’ SEC opener.
Brantley connected on 14-of-23 throws while Jeffery Demps rushed for 73 yards on 26 carries for the Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC), who have won 15 consecutive regular-season conference games.
Read Article >Florida Vs. Tennessee: A History Of Violent Embarrassments
SB Nation’s Alligator Army traces the humiliating (for both sides) history of the Tennessee-Florida football rivalry:
This game has a history of upsets. In 1995, Sports Illustrated came to Gainesville for a piece on the young Tennessee quarterback. Instead, the Gators defeated Tennessee 62-37, and Danny Wuerffel made the SI cover. In 1997, Peyton Manning got his cover the week before the Florida game. Tennessee lost 33-20. In 1998, Tennessee stunned the Gators in overtime, 20-17, on their way to a National Championship.
The 2001 game became the SEC East Championship Game, after being moved from September to the last day of the regular season. What many Gator fans felt would be a coronation became a nightmare when the Vols won 34-32 in Gainesville and Steve Spurrier gave us three years of Ron Zook.
Read Article >Florida Vs. Tennessee: It’s The Ground Game, Stupid.
SB Nation’s Rocky Top Talk previews the weekend’s forthcoming Tennessee-Florida tilt, and comes away with a premonition that will shock absolutely no one who’s ever followed this rivalry:
[We] were never more hopeless against these guys than we were last year, and the Vols surprised us then. If they’re going to surprise us again (and not just a moral surprise this time, but a real one), here’s the blueprint:
1. The first rule of Tennessee-Florida is: The team that wins rushing yards wins the game.
2. The second rule of Tennessee-Florida is: THE TEAM THAT WINS RUSHING YARDS WINS THE GAME.
20 consecutive years we’ve played. 18 times, the team that’s run for the most yards has won the game. It’s like death, and I’m pretty sure more people know this stat than actually pay their taxes. Take it to the bank.
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