On September 21, 2019, the University of Florida will honor Steve Spurrier's 1994 SEC championship team on the traditional Third Saturday in September against rival Tennessee. In 1994, the #1 Gators traveled to the newly upgraded Neyland Stadium to take on the #15 Volunteers and crush Volunteers 31-0. This was the first time that Spurrier defeated Tennessee in Knoxville as a Gator coach, and the second time as coach overall (Duke, 1982 as offensive coordinator). Fast forward to 2019 where the Tennessee program is in a tailspin and the Gators are favored by 14 at home.
The Florida Gators lead the all-time series 28-20-0 in a rivalry that goes back to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1916 (later the Southern Conference in the 1920s, and finally the SEC in 1932).
#9 Florida Gators (3-0, 1-0 SEC) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (1-2, 0-0 SEC)
ESPN Play-by-Play: Bob Wischusen Analyst: Dan Orlovsky Reporter: Allison Williams Channel (Cox): 26 / 1026 [HD] Channel (DirecTV): 206 [HD]
Gator IMG Sports Network Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert Analyst: Lee McGriff Sideline: Tate Casey Station Freq.: Local Affiliates Sirius Channel: 119 / XM 191
September 21 // 12 p.m. // Gainesville, Fla. Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (88,548)
Historical Meetings
1 October 28, 1916 Tampa, Florida Tennessee 24 Florida 0
2 October 22, 1921 Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee 9 Florida 0
3 December 8, 1928 Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee 13 Florida 12
4 December 6, 1930 Jacksonville, Florida Tennessee 13 Florida 6
5 December 3, 1932 Jacksonville, Florida Tennessee 32 Florida 13
6 October 28, 1933 Knoxville, Tennessee Tennessee 13 Florida 6
7 October 26, 1940 Knoxville, Tennessee #5 Tennessee 14 Florida 0
8 October 14, 1944 Knoxville, Tennessee #15 Tennessee 40 Florida 0
9 November 15, 1952 Knoxville, Tennessee #7 Tennessee 26 #18 Florida 12
10 November 14, 1953 Gainesville, Florida #18 Tennessee 9 Florida 7
11 November 13, 1954 Knoxville, Tennessee Florida 14 Tennessee 0
12 November 12, 1955 Gainesville, Florida Tennessee 20 Florida 0
13 December 27, 1969 Jacksonville, Florida #14 Florida 14 #11 Tennessee 13
14 October 24, 1970 Knoxville, Tennessee #11 Tennessee 38 Florida 7
15 October 2, 1971 Gainesville, Florida #12 Tennessee 20 Florida 13
16 October 23, 1976 Knoxville, Tennessee #11 Florida 20 Tennessee 18
17 October 22, 1977 Gainesville, Florida #19 Florida 27 Tennessee 17
18 October 13, 1984 Knoxville, Tennessee #18 Florida 43 Tennessee 30
19 October 12, 1985 Gainesville, Florida #7 Florida 17 #14 Tennessee 10
20 October 13, 1990 Knoxville, Tennessee #5 Tennessee 45 #9 Florida 3
21 October 12, 1991 Gainesville, Florida #10 Florida 35 #4 Tennessee 18
22 September 19, 1992 Knoxville, Tennessee #14 Tennessee 31 #4 Florida 14
23 September 18, 1993 Gainesville, Florida #9 Florida 41 #5 Tennessee 34
24 September 17, 1994 Knoxville, Tennessee #1 Florida 31 #15 Tennessee 0
25 September 16, 1995 Gainesville, Florida #4 Florida 62 #8 Tennessee 37
26 September 21, 1996 Knoxville, Tennessee #4 Florida 35 #2 Tennessee 29
27 September 20, 1997 Gainesville, Florida #1 Florida 33 #4 Tennessee 20
28 September 19, 1998 Knoxville, Tennessee #6 Tennessee 20 #2 Florida 17OT
29 September 18, 1999 Gainesville, Florida #4 Florida 23 #2 Tennessee 21
30 September 16, 2000 Knoxville, Tennessee #6 Florida 27 #11 Tennessee 23
31 December 1, 2001 Gainesville, Florida #5 Tennessee 34 #2 Florida 32
32 September 21, 2002 Knoxville, Tennessee #10 Florida 30 #4 Tennessee 13
33 September 20, 2003 Gainesville, Florida #12 Tennessee 24 #17 Florida 10
34 September 18, 2004 Knoxville, Tennessee #13 Tennessee 30 #11 Florida 28
35 September 17, 2005 Gainesville, Florida #6 Florida 16 #5 Tennessee 7
36 September 16, 2006 Knoxville, Tennessee #6 Florida 21 #17 Tennessee 20
37 September 15, 2007 Gainesville, Florida #3 Florida 59 #22 Tennessee 20
38 September 20, 2008 Knoxville, Tennessee #4 Florida 30 Tennessee 6
39 September 19, 2009 Gainesville, Florida #1 Florida 23 Tennessee 13
40 September 18, 2010 Knoxville, Tennessee #10 Florida 31 Tennessee 17
41 September 17, 2011 Gainesville, Florida #17 Florida 33 Tennessee 23
42 September 15, 2012 Knoxville, Tennessee #18 Florida 37 #23 Tennessee 20
43 September 21, 2013 Gainesville, Florida #19 Florida 31 Tennessee 17
44 October 4, 2014 Knoxville, Tennessee Florida 10 Tennessee 9
45 September 26, 2015 Gainesville, Florida Florida 28 Tennessee 27
46 September 24, 2016 Knoxville, Tennessee #14 Tennessee 38 #19 Florida 28
47 September 16, 2017 Gainesville, Florida #24 Florida 26 #23 Tennessee 20
48 September 22, 2018 Knoxville, Tennessee Florida 47 Tennessee 21
49 September 21, 2019 Gainesville, Florida
Florida comes into this game ranked #9 after a tough road victory against Kentucky. Tennessee is coming off a victory over an FCS team. Florida is #13 in the Sagarin ratings, and Tennessee is #92. The Gators are 3-0 by a thin margin defined by a couple key plays, so the Gators need to clean up their execution and live up to their expected level of performance. The Gators are favored by 14 and the over/under is at 48.5. I predict a 32-21 victory for the Gators.