October 4th – Florida
Daniel: Tennessee just can’t seem to get by Florida, regardless of the circumstances. Take last year as a prime example. Everything happened that the Vols needed to have a shot: Florida suffered key injuries, botched an early punt and served up a pick-six. It didn’t matter, however. Surely the Vols get better QB play this year in this contest and maybe playing this game later in the schedule helps, but I can’t pick UT over Florida until I see it. And while this Florida team is certainly going to have plenty of question marks, I really like cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III and defensive lineman Dante Fowler Jr. Jeff Driskel will bring some level of stability to the quarterback spot if he stays healthy as well. Winner: Gators
Houston: On paper, this looks like Tennessee’s best chance to beat the Gators in the last five years or so. Florida has no proven playmakers on offense and Tennessee appears loaded with them. Florida will still be figuring out new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper’s system and likely won’t have gelled by this point. The Gators won’t feature a power-rushing attack which will likely be Tennessee’s weakness on defense. Muschamp and his team will be coming into Knoxville off of a bye week, but that will only give them time to stew over a probable thumping by Alabama in week four. Yes, the table is set for Tennessee break the nine year skid to the Gators…Which is exactly why I can’t pick them to do it. This series has just been too cruel to Tennessee over the last decade for me to suddenly think their luck will change. They are playing in October this year, so maybe that’s the curse-breaker, but as it stands today I can’t predict it. Winner: Florida
Reed: This is a massive game for both teams. It’s tough to see Muschamp weathering a loss to the Vols this year and a victory for Tennessee would probably mean the Vols return to a bowl. Florida is such a tough team to project. They have the talent to win a national championship but Muschamp has proven to be a Dooley-esque underachiever. Florida gets an open date before the game which certainly doesn’t do Tennessee any favors. The Gator defense will be one of the SEC’s best again this year and their defensive front is just a horrific matchup for Tennessee’s young offensive line. Remember how much havoc they wreaked against UT’s NFL-bound OL last year? Depending on how the season unfolds up to this game, I may change my tune headed into Florida week, but I just can’t pick Tennessee to beat Florida before the season – I’ve been burned too many times. Winner: Muschamp
