Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett tackles Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton as he carries the ball during the Vols' season-opener football game against the Aggies on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014, at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.FLORIDA (2-1, 1-1 SEC) AT TENNESSEE (2-2, 0-1)Noon * Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn. * SEC Network/106.5 FMTHE MATCHUPIt's going to sound a broken record, but it's also going to be the key to the rest of Tennessee's season. If the Vols can protect quarterback Justin Worley -- he took nearly 20 hits against Oklahoma and was knocked out of the Georgia game after taking a helmet to his elbow -- the senior ought to be able to continue spreading the ball around to Tennessee's receiving corps and tight end Ethan Wolf.However, the Vols have allowed 12 sacks in four games and have struggled with blitzes. Under Will Muschamp, Florida always has tried to be aggressive defensively, and the Gators figure to come after Worley as both the Sooners and Bulldogs did. Kentucky's Patrick Towles (369 yards) and Alabama's Blake Sims (445 yards) each torched the Gators for big days throwing the ball.Worley is coming off a 264-yard, three-touchdown performance in Athens, but it won't do Tennessee any good if he's constantly throwing under duress or running for his life -- or on the sideline hurt.ONE TO WATCHWhen Jeff Driskel last stepped foot inside Neyland Stadium, the Florida quarterback played like the top-rated pro-style recruit in the 2011 class. In the Gators' 37-20 win in 2012, Driskel completed 14 of 20 passes for 219 yards with two touchdowns and added 81 rushing yards. At Alabama two weeks ago, though, he was 9-of-28 passing for just 93 yards with a pair of interceptions.Tennessee's game plan of gearing up against the run and making the opposing quarterback beat them figures to apply for another week. Oklahoma's Trevor Knight threw for 308 yards, but the Vols held Hutson Mason to 147 passing yards and picked him twice. In that 2012 game, byt the way, the Vols started Marsalis Teague, Prentiss Waggner, Byron Moore and Brian Randolph, who got hurt early in the fourth quarter, in the secondary and went on to be a defensive disaster that season. Tennessee, the nation's top third-down defense, has to get Florida and Driskel behind the chains.IN THE ENDThis once-great rivalry has lost nearly all of its national appeal, with three SEC West clashes headlining the day. The stakes, though, remain high. Tennessee needs a win from a perception standpoint and to improve its chances of reaching six wins and bowl eligibility. After last season's 4-8 debacle, Muschamp appears to be coaching for his job in his fourth season.Typically what's happened in the past carries little relevance in these games, but the Vols are bearing the weight of a nine-year losing streak to the Gators. If there is a mental block for the Vols playing Florida, this young team shouldn't be impacted by it. This is Tennessee's best chance to snap the streak since 2012, when the pick in this space was 31-21 Vols. The trajectory of the two programs suggest a Tennessee win, but fool me once ...PREDICTION: FLORIDA 27, TENNESSEE 24
KNOXVILLE - There is little questioning that Tennessee is an improved football team.
From national pundits and other Southeastern Conferences coaches to second-year coach Butch Jones and his staff, the perception is that the 2-2 Volunteers have shown progress from 2013 in the first four games of the 2014 season.
But Tennessee's coaches and players know improvement is hollow without wins to show for it.
And after their latest close call in a 35-32 loss at Georgia last week, the Vols are ready to turn progress into profit in the form of a streak-snapping win against Florida today at Neyland Stadium.
"It's the world we live in," receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Zach Azzanni told the Times Free Press this week. "That's the business we're in. Improvement's great, but at some point people want some W's, and we realize that and we understand that. We also realize reality. The reality is that we're playing with a very young football team.
"We're still not as deep as we need to be in certain areas. We're still improving on that in recruiting, but along the way we're improving our culture and improving our style of play one day at a time, and we're teaching these young guys how we want Tennessee to be.
"We're going to continue to do that every week, and hopefully people are proud of the product that we put on the field. You know what, the last couple of weeks it hasn't translated into a W, but I think people see improvement, they see a culture change and we're going to continue to build off that."
After knocking off Utah State and Arkansas State to begin Jones's second year in Knoxville, Tennessee felt it was a couple of plays away from being in the game in the fourth quarter of a 34-10 loss at fourth-ranked Oklahoma, a legitimate national title contender.
Following an open date, the Vols led 10-0 at Georgia and nearly rallied after falling behind 28-17 in the fourth quarter, a costly fumble in the end zone for a Georgia touchdown and an injury to quarterback Justin Worley ultimately dooming them.
"It was very tough," freshman receiver Josh Malone said afterward. "As a team we left a lot of opportunities out there on the field. We've just got to keep working. It's going to turn over sooner or later. We're finally going to win one of these games.
"The young team thing," he added, "I feel like we're young, but I feel like we're ready and we're competing at a high level."
Falling short like that could be a big hit to the collective psyche of a team relying on so many freshmen, but the Vols seemed galvanized by coming up just short.
"It was a little emotional watching it again, seeing how close we were and just the few plays away from winning and losing," defensive tackle Jordan Williams said after Tuesday's practice. "It's not surprising. It's what Coach Jones says all the time. It's only three or four plays between winning and losing, but we've got to put it behind us.
"We've got a new week, and we've got to use it to push us this week."
Despite the noon kickoff, Tennessee is expecting a lively atmosphere at a soldout Neyland Stadium for what would be its first win against Florida since 2004.
An impressive list of recruits will be in attendance on official and unofficial visits, and former players in the hundreds will be back on campus.
Once the premier rivalry in the SEC East, Tennessee-Florida takes a back seat to the SEC West today, but it's still a rivalry, even with the Gators' long winning streak and 18-6 record against the Vols since the two starting playing annually in 1990.
It'll be important for the Vols to jump on the Gators early, but they'll need to manage the emotions of the moment.
"You've just got to believe in the process and trust in the process and trust in what we're doing," said Williams, who grew up near Florida's campus in Gainesville. "What these coaches have got us doing and the plays we're running and the way our team's been performing, as long as we keep doing what we're doing we'll be fine."
The Vols will be fine with only one result today.
"These kids came to the University of Tennessee to be great, and there are no moral victories," defensive coordinator John Jancek said. "We expect to win every game we play. We know that we're going through a process of trying to accomplish that and achieve that.
"We knew there was going to be some bumps in the road, but each week is a new opportunity, and we just have to continue to improve and get better each and every single opportunity that we're given."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.