KNOXVILLE — It’s not the same.

It’s just not.

September’s annual Tennessee-Florida game doesn’t carry the hype it did a few years ago. Florida’s Gators dipped under former coach Ron Zook, and the Volunteers haven’t won the Southeastern Conference since 1998.

Florida is back among the SEC’s elite, and Tennessee isn’t. The Vols won the Eastern Division last season, and they’ve played in three league title games since 2001, but they haven’t won any of them.

Paint it with any brush, and that’s what’s left on the canvas.

UT fans and players often speak of regaining the respect this program had around the turn of the century, but these Vols have done nothing to earn that respect.

That’s not an opinion. As the beat writer, I’m not paid to give opinions. These are facts.

UT opened the season with an overtime loss at UCLA, which lost 59-0 — FIFTY-NINE-TO-NOTHING! — at 14th-ranked BYU last Saturday. The Vols took care of business with a 35-3 victory over UAB, but the Blazers are one of the nation’s worst statistical defenses.

None of that means Florida will simply show up and throttle the Vols on Saturday. The Gators won’t automatically come to Neyland Stadium and do a Tennessee Waltz.

But Vols-Gators is no longer viewed as the SEC’s game of the year. It’s not even considered the league’s biggest game this weekend. That would be sixth-rated LSU’s visit to No. 10 Auburn.

Consider these words from Florida cornerback Joe Haden, as quoted in an Orlando Sentinel blog.

“The game we look forward to is Georgia,” Florida cornerback Joe Haden said. “We take every SEC opponent seriously, but that’s the one game we circle.”

Haden was then reportedly asked about his “perception of the Tennessee program,” and here was his response, according to the Sentinel:

“I don’t really know much about Tennessee other than they’re another SEC opponent.”

UT is still relevant in most college football circles, and coach Phillip Fulmer is still a force on the recruiting trail, but the brightest orange glasses can’t help but see some troubling trends.

South Carolina has again squandered an opportunity to gain on the three traditional beasts of the SEC East, but are the Vols slipping onto the second tier? These next two weeks against Florida and Auburn could answer that.

The Vols rallied after three embarrassing early-season losses last season, but they had to win the SEC title game to sniff the Bowl Championship Series — and they didn’t.

UT would do well to rebound earlier this season, or it will risk rendering next year’s Vols-Gators buildup even less exciting.

Read Tuesday’s Times Free Press for more Vols coverage.