The Tennessee Volunteers will travel to Gainsville, Florida, this Saturday, September 21st, 2019, to take on the Florida Gators.

The game will take place at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, which has been the home of the Gators since 1930.

Florida enters week four of the college football season at number nine in the AP Top 25 poll.  Tennessee enters the week unranked and they did not receive any votes.

This game is one of the biggest rivalry games in the SEC.  At its peak, it decided which team got the right to represent the SEC East in Atlanta, and possibly the national championship.  Both teams have something to prove in this game.  A win for Tennessee could be a job-saving win for second-year coach Jeremy Pruitt, while a loss would continue the talks of a historically bad season in Knoxville.  A win for Florida would keep the Gators on the right path, but it would also calm the nerves of Florida fans after losing starting quarterback Feleipe Franks for the season.

Tennessee vs. Florida TV channel 

The Tennessee-Florida game will air on ESPN.  Kickoff is currently scheduled for 11:00 a.m. central time.

Tennessee vs. Florida players to watch 

Kyle Trask has been at the University of Florida for 4 years and has never started a game.  That all changes this weekend against Tennessee.  Last weekend he entered the game after the injury to Feleipe Franks and did well.  He went 9/13 and threw for 126 yards, but most importantly, Trask did not turn the ball over.  In addition to his efficient game in the air, his rushing touchdown gave Florida the lead late in the fourth.  This game is huge for Trask to prove to Florida fans that he can get the job done.

Jarrett Guarantano has had a very up and down season as the quarterback for the Vols.  He has passed for 629 yards and seven touchdowns this season, but his 56.0 QBR is 73rd in the country.  This could possibly be the game that turns Tennessee’s season around, and if they are to win on the road, Guarantano will have to be at his best.

Van Jefferson leads the Gators in receiving yards so far this season and will be crucial this weekend against Tennessee for many reasons.  To win, Florida needs to get the ball to their best playmakers, and one of those players is Van Jefferson.  He needs to produce, especially with the absence of Tyrie Cleveland and Kadarius Toney.

Another key to the success of the Tennessee offense is running back Ty Chandler.  Chandler only got 10 carries against Chattanooga, but against BYU he had 26 carries for 156 yards.  When Chandler is running the ball with efficiency, the Tennessee offense is at its best, and that will be crucial if they want to pull off the upset this weekend.

Tennessee vs. Florida odds

The line currently sits at -14 in favor of Florida.  The over/under currently sits at 48.5.

We will continue to monitor the line as the week progresses.

Tennessee vs. Florida predictions

Here are the SDS staff predictions for the Georgia-Notre Dame game and others:

Tennessee vs. Florida previous meetings

This will be the 49th meeting between the two teams.  Florida leads the all-time series with 28 wins compared to Tennessee’s 20 wins.

The last meeting between the schools came in 2018, a game in which Florida won 47-21.  In 2017, Florida won 26-20, and in 2016 Tennessee won 38-28, which snapped an 11 game losing streak.

The largest margin of victory in the series came in 1990 when Tennessee beat Florida 45-3.

The longest winning streak in the series belongs to Florida, winning 11 games from 2005-2015.

Tennessee week three review

After a tough overtime loss to BYU in week two, the Tennessee Volunteers hosted the Chattanooga Mocs in week three of the college football season.  This game was never close.  With eight minutes left in the first quarter, Tennessee was already up 21-0.  That should tell you all you need to know about this one.  Tennessee ended up winning by a score of 45-0.

Tennessee gained a total of 360 yards against Chattanooga, with 165 of those coming via air and 195 coming on the ground.  Most of the Tennessee starters were out by the third quarter, as the Vols had this one in hand.

The Tennessee defense played a great game and did not allow a point to Chattanooga, and they even blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.  The only concern is that they gave up 150 yards on the ground to Chattanooga.  The run defense has been the weakness of the defense so far, so it will be interesting to see Lamical Perine against this Vols defense.

Jeremy Pruitt in SEC openers

This will be Jeremy Pruit’s second year as a head coach and his second year at Tennessee.  Let’s see how his 2018 Tennessee team performed in their SEC opener:

-2018: Tennessee loss against Florida

Florida week three review

The Florida Gators traveled to Lexington, Kentucky last weekend to take on the Kentucky Wildcats in their SEC opener.  Florida struggled throughout this game and lost starting quarterback Feleipe Franks in the process of it.  At one point, they were down 21-10, but they scored 19 in the fourth quarter, led by back up quarterback Kyle Trask.

The Florida offense struggled to get anything going for three quarters but erupted for 19 points in the fourth quarter, and that was enough to get them the victory. Starting quarterback Feleipe Franks left mid game due to injury, and it was later announced that he would be out for the rest of the season.  The injuries are piling up for the Gators and that’s not a good sign heading into SEC play.

The Gator defense struggled to get stops early in the game, but that changed in the second half.  They forced four turnovers while allowing 438 total yards.  Those turnovers were crucial for getting back in the game.  The Florida defense may not have been that sharp, but they gave their team a chance to win, and that’s what happened.