Florida and Tennessee used to spend football seasons battling for supremacy on the SEC mountaintop. Their annual clashes were often legendary, always bitterly contested, met with fevered anticipation, and they captivated the nation. The storylines wrote themselves. Peyton vs. Danny. Spurrier vs. Fulmer. Winner in the driver’s seat in the SEC.

Saturday night, the two rivals met on Rocky Top in a game largely forgotten nationally but nonetheless a referendum on who will get back to the summit most quickly.

The stakes Saturday night were definitely different.

But the crowd of 100,00 plus, deafening for much of the football game, gave the game a special environment and the big-time feel of old. And to first-year Florida head coaches Dan Mullen and first-year Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, this game was massively important, an early challenge and chance to put their signature on their new programs.

Mullen, who arrived in Gainesville preaching a mantra of relentless effort, saw his football team respond to the challenge with a huge first half, and ride it to a 47-21 SEC road victory.

After a Tommy Townsend punt pinned Tennessee inside its 10-yard line on the Volunteers’ opening possession, Todd Grantham and the Florida defense brought pressure on third and 7 and Jachai Polite hit Volunteer quarterback Jarrett Guarantano just as he was setting to throw. Guarantano fumbled, and Florida linebacker David Reese caught the fumble in the air, setting the Gators up deep in Tennessee territory.

Four plays later, Feleipe Franks found fifth-year senior and former walk-on R.J. Raymond on a beautifully executed play-action pass to give the Gators a 7-0 lead and temporarily silence a rowdy 100,000-plus fans in Knoxville.

On the nest Vols drive, Florida defensive lineman Luke Ancrum read a third-and-12 screen perfectly, peeling off his blocker and intercepting Guarantano’s soft pass. Florida cashed in two plays later, with Franks scoring his first career rushing touchdown on a 1-yard plunge.

Later, after another splendid Townsend punt pinned the Volunteers inside their 10, Florida’s All-SEC LB Cece Jefferson easily beat left tackle Trey Smith off the snap and bulldozed Tim Jordan for a safety to give the Gators a 16-3 advantage.

Florida needed only one play after the ensuing kick to make it 23-3. Buying time with his legs in a broken pocket, Franks calmly found Freddie Swain streaking toward the right sideline. Swain collected the pass and did the rest, streaking for a 65-yard touchdown to give the Gators their largest lead in a SEC football game since 2016.

A possession later, more relentless Gators effort.

Trying to give his team a spark, Pruitt elected to go for it with the Vols facing fourth and 1 in their own territory. Tennessee offensive coordinator Tyson Helton appeared to have the perfect play drawn up, a play-action flair to Austin Pope that caught Florida selling out on the run. Pope caught the ball and started streaking towards the checkerboard end zone. But cornerback C.J. Henderson never quit on the play, chasing Pope down inside the 5 and knocking the ball loose and into the end zone for a touchback.

Florida led 26-3 at the half, and more than anything, that Henderson play perfectly summarized the way the first half went for both teams.

It didn’t get better in the second half for the Volunteers.

Tennessee’s Shawn Shamburger fumbled the opening kickoff and Florida recovered. Jordan Scarlett scored from 19 yards a play later with a combination of nice power running and poor Tennessee tackling. Sixteen seconds into the second half, Florida led 33-3, and more than a few of the sold-out Neyland Stadium faithful began their sad marches to the exits.

Florida did its best to leave the door ajar for a Tennessee comeback.

The Gators offense, efficient in the red zone, struggled to drive the field.

Florida was extremely inefficient on third downs and for all the touchdowns, Franks’ numbers — 9-of-18 passing for 186 yards, nine carries for 11 yards — were fairly pedestrian. He was particularly ineffective in the third quarter, when he completed only one pass and forced two others, needlessly risking turnovers.

The Gators won’t leave Knoxville without questions.

Franks very much remains a work in progress and while the UF running game was far more physical at the point of attack Saturday night, the Gators still lack the consistent push up front they’ll need in the meat of their schedule.

Still, Mullen won’t complain too much.

Florida’s defense and special teams were salty and opportunistic, and UT never really threatened. Mullen and the coaching staff will be encouraged by the way Florida started the game with focus and energy in a brutal environment and should sell that level of commitment and buy-in as they ready for another frenzied atmosphere next Saturday night at Mississippi State.

Meanwhile, it was a disappointing SEC debut for Pruitt and the Vols for many reasons.

With a trip to SEC Champion Georgia next week, and games against Auburn, Alabama and South Carolina following that, the Florida game was the last time for a month that Tennessee could legitimately circle a game and argue that it had a great chance to win.

To squander that opportunity in a tremendous environment and not even be competitive is discouraging and suggests the rebuild from the brick-by-brick rubble in Knoxville might take even longer than anticipated.