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This really is no longer a rivalry

By: Darren Epps

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KNOXVILLE — Tennessee-Florida used to be the game you woke up eager to see, a reason to leave your favorite team’s game early so you didn’t miss. You made plans to watch this game with friends.

Now you turn off this game early to watch something else. You make plans to watch Auburn-LSU. It’s sad, really. It’s sad this isn’t even a rivalry anymore.

It’s not a rivalry when you’ve been outscored 61-6 in the last 80 minutes against Florida.

It’s not a rivalry when the Florida quarterback, Tim Tebow, is singing along to the Kenny Chesney song playing over the loudspeakers as the fourth quarter is about to start.

It’s not a rivalry when the Florida coach, Urban Meyer, is questioned about running up the score in this game for two straight years.

“Our defensive line played really well,” Meyer said when asked about moving the ball late in the game, dodging the question with a smile.

Tebow didn’t even play that well, completing 8 of 15 passes for 96 yards. It didn’t matter. Vanderbilt is giving Florida tougher games.

“Yeah, Tim didn’t throw it very much, I mean, 8-of-15? We’ve got to work on that,” Meyer said. “He’s not very good. We’re going to open our quarterback battle up.”

It’s easy to be funny when you’re 4-0 against Phillip Fulmer. The same Fulmer who refuses to hire a special-teams coach and continues to kick the ball to Brandon James. Tennessee’s chances of beating Florida disappeared when Ron Zook did.

“After they kicked it, I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s kind of going to be a good day,’” said James, who expressed surprise at getting a punt he could return. He ran it back 78 yards. And that was after a 52-yard kickoff return. “I was thinking they were going to kick it away.”

A major reason you can call this rivalry dead — Georgia takes Tennessee’s place for Florida — is that you can’t see it changing any time soon. Florida is an extremely young team. The Gators don’t even start a senior on defense, the defense that held the Volunteers to six points and 96 yards rushing. And next year’s game is at the Swamp.

James disagrees with me.

“No, we come into the game thinking Tennessee is a big rivalry,” he said. “We don’t overlook anyone.”

Asked why Meyer seems to dominate this game, Tebow also did not disparage the Vols.

“Because he’s a great coach,” he said. “Tennessee’s got a good program and we’ve had success against them since Coach Meyer has been here, but that’s a lot of people’s doing. All the assistant coaches and the players come from Coach Meyer. He’s done a great job of motivating everybody and keeping everybody in line, and that’s why we’ve had success over them.”

Let’s look at the Vols. Trips to Auburn and Georgia loom, so it’s hard to see them avoiding a 2-4 start. Name one SEC game that looks like a sure win. Mississippi State? Probably. But that’s it. I do think the Vols will surprise someone this season as they usually do. But losing to an awful UCLA team and getting blasted by Florida at home make me think a repeat of last year will not happen.

And the days of beating Florida, at least for the near future, also seem to be over.

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