Former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer sat down with Knoxville NBC affiliate WBIR this week to discuss Saturday’s game between the Volunteers and the Florida Gators.

He said it’s a big opportunity for both teams to earn respect nationally.

“We didn’t play very well on national TV against Georgia Tech defensively,” Fulmer said. “But you can throw that out the window … it doesn’t matter. We were an 18-point underdog in 2001 and we beat Florida up pretty good. The score was closer than the game actually was.”

Tennessee running back Travis Stephens rushed for 226 yards in that game as the Vols upset No. 2 Florida 34-32 on the road. Before the game, Fulmer gave an incredible pep talk to the team.

“I’ll be watching the game on Saturday,” Fulmer told WBIR. “I talked to coach Spurrier and he wanted me to try to come down.

“So they must be a little overconfident,” he added with a laugh.

Fulmer said Florida has “very active, enthusiastic, supporting fans.”

“I swear they used to pipe in noise … I know they did,” he said. “There was a jet engine and a couple speakers right by our bench … You couldn’t hear anything. They swear they didn’t do it, but I’m pretty sure they did.”