Last meeting: Florida 10, Tennessee 9 (2014)
All time series: Florida, 25-19
Time/TV: 3:30pm on CBS (also streaming on CBS Sports app)
Pregame betting line: Florida, 1
Summer analysis and prediction: Florida 24, Tennessee 20.
What to watch for: Tennessee’s defense is suspiciously weak this year, and for the first time all year, Will Grier won’t be playing while looking over his shoulder at the bench, wondering when/whether he’ll be replaced by Treon Harris. It’s Grier’s show today, no matter what. Can he light up the Tennessee defense?
Florida key to the game: Contain Josh Dobbs, and there’s no chance Tennessee wins. Then again, easier said than done. Dobbs is a true dual threat, and keeping him at bay requires every defender to do his job on any given play. But if Florida can shut him down, the Vols are in big trouble.
Tennessee key to the game: Special teams has screwed the Volunteers throughout the last ten years of this rivalry. And those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it. If Tennessee really wants to win, they’ll quit making costly blunders in the kicking game.
Prediction: For the second straight week, I’m really, really nervous about a game against a team Florida has historically dominated. Florida should win because of its superior defense, one which seems perfectly equipped to silence the Tennessee offense. And despite the uneasy feeling, I think- I think– the Gators will get it done. Jim McElwain starts his Gator tenure 4-0 with a huge win in front of his home crowd. Florida 24, Tennessee 20
