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In 2004, George W. Bush was running for his second term in office and ‘Anchorman’ was just released in theaters. That fall, the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium 30-28. Since then, Tennessee has not defeated them.
The most recent matchup between the two teams was a 10-9 loss by the Vols in 2014. It’s safe to say that revenge is long overdue and the Florida Gators need to be careful against the Vols in 2015, because they are coming in hot. 2015 will be Tennessee’s best chance to get anything done. Not only against Florida, but against the rest of the SEC East. The Gators’ weaknesses on offense is something the Vols will be able to take advantage of.
Florida has simply had a terrible offseason thus far, beginning with their offensive line issues. Basically, with numerous injuries and surprise NFL Draft inductees, Florida is going into the 2015 having no lineman with any collegiate experience. Given that this conference is the SEC, this situation is not something that first-year coach Jim McElwain wanted or anticipated. Given Tennessee’s somewhat poor defense, this is the perfect opportunity for them to take serious action.
Then there’s the quarterback situation that is happening. As of right now redshirt freshman Will Grier will be the starting QB for Florida this fall, but then again it could change. Returning Sophomore Treon Harris is also in the mix. Assuming that Grier starts though, he is a kid who has never faced an SEC team in his life, and Tennessee will be his first. In that kind of environment it isn’t advised to put that much confidence in Grier to pull out a win just yet.
Tennessee’s quarterback situation is much more relaxed. In fact, you could even say that the Vols’ quarterback situation is entirely the opposite of Florida’s. Joshua Dobbs is for sure the starting QB for the Vols in 2015, and he is impressive. Dobbs only started half of the season last year, but in that short amount of time he was able to wrangle together some spectacular ball playing. Now coming back into 2015 he will be more relaxed and have some quality SEC experience under his belt. And with wide receivers like Pig Howard and Marquez North, there should be nobody stopping Dobbs. Joshua Dobbs will be a big part of winning that Florida game.
With all that said I think there is no reason why the Tennessee Volunteers won’t be defeating the Florida Gators this fall. The odds are definitely in their favor. I do not feel like the home-field advantage for Florida will help them, just because of the poor squad that they have for 2015.
The Vols take on the Gators in The Swamp on September 26.
