Florida vs. Tennessee is a division rivalry game that once carried SEC championship implications. Both teams carry plenty of motivation to win, and both need a victory to keep their season goals in sight.

But which coach needs the win more right now?

On the visiting sideline will be coach Butch Jones, 14-14 in his third season at UT. Jones has sold fans, the media and, most importantly, recruits on the vision of rebuilding a championship program by acquiring elite talent and maintaining continuity on the coaching staff.

Back-to-back top-5 recruiting classes combined with minimal staff turnover (quarterback coach/offensive coordinator Mike DeBord is new) led many analysts to predict this season would be the turning point for Tennessee.

But the Volunteers’ 2015 campaign isn’t off to a perfect start. Tennessee is 2-1, with its one defeat a 31-24 heartbreaker to Oklahoma in double overtime. It’s a loss Jones and the Volunteers can endure for now because it doesn’t interfere with the goal of getting back to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta for the first time since 2007.

Losing to Florida could change that. If the Gators make it 11 wins in a row, Tennessee would drop to 2-2 before facing a three-game stretch of Arkansas, Georgia and Alabama. If the Volunteers are anything below 4-3 after the game against Crimson Tide, the 2015 season would be have to be considered a disappointment.

Coach Jim McElwain doesn’t have to worry about meeting or exceeding a certain win total in his first season. But on Saturday, he’ll inevitably be compared to his predecessors and how their squads fared in the Florida-Tennessee rivalry.

Before Urban Meyer even coached a UF game, he used his media appearances to stress the importance of Florida’s rivalries and the need to reclaim the home-field advantage of The Swamp. On Sept. 17, 2005, Meyer’s Gators, ranked No. 6, took down No. 5 Tennessee, 16-7, in Gainesville, Fla. – and so began the current 10-game streak.

Previous coach Will Muschamp left with a losing record against most Florida rivals, but he did manage to go 4-0 against Tennessee. The last thing McElwain wants to do is fail in one of the few areas that Muschamp succeeded.

Comparisons to other coaches come with the job, but Meyer and Muschamp’s records against Tennessee will have little bearing on how McElwain will be evaluated this season, the next season or in his overall tenure at Florida. McElwain ultimately will be judged by the direction of the program. In the short term, the result of this Saturday’s Tennessee game does not make or break the future of Florida football.

For Butch Jones, now is the time to see results at Tennessee. He has three of the necessary components for a special season: a quarterback he believes in, talent at the skill positions and coaches who have been on his UT staff since day one. Jones needs a victory Saturday to signal that his team is finally over the Florida hump and has the confidence to win against any team on any field. If not, his management of the Tennessee rebuild will likely be subjected to increased scrutiny.