Rece Davis and Pete Thamel revealed what they believe will go down on Saturday night when No. 20 Tennessee faces old SEC rival Florida in a primetime showdown at The Swamp.
There won’t be any College Football Playoff implications in the 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC, but that doesn’t mean the game won’t mean anything for the Vols and Gators. Tennessee wants to finish the regular season strong and get to 9 wins, while Florida would take great pleasure in taking down its hated rivals from Knoxville amid a nightmare season.
The Gators are 3-7 and fired head coach Billy Napier, and they won’t be going bowling this postseason. But they can make everybody in Gainesville feel a little better by beating Tennessee in front of their home crowd, in primetime and on national TV.
Do Davis or Thamel see that happening in the Week 13 SEC showdown? That’s another story, as the ESPN college football experts said this week on their College GameDay Podcast.
“I think you have to take Tennessee rolling here in The Swamp,” Thamel said. “Florida is still talented, but it’s hard to pick them at this point.”
Davis agreed, pointing to Florida’s ability to play Ole Miss tough last week while not showing up the week before against Kentucky.
“I feel the same way. Would it shock me if (Florida) shows up and plays a great game? I think Tennessee rolls in this game and sets up a significant game with Vanderbilt (the week after),” Davis said.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
