I would probably give the 1990 victory my vote as well. Indeed, the third quarter of that game may have been the best single quarter by a Tennessee football team that I have ever witnessed (see
1990 Tennessee 45 Florida 3 - YouTube). In a battle of top-10 teams, Tennessee entered the third quarter, leading 7-3. At the end of that period, Tennessee had reeled off 28 unanswered points, initiated by Dale Carter's 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Von Reeves later hit Carl Pickens in stride on a perfectly thrown 47-yard touchdown pass off of a reverse. Tony Thompson and the Tennessee Valley Authority absolutely gashed Florida with the running game and the defense intercepted two passes, including one returned for a touchdown.
Obviously, the 2001 game also deserves serious consideration. There probably has never been a more exciting and hard-fought game between two evenly matched teams in the history of the series. And, given the context and stakes associated with that game, there probably has not been a more important game played between the two teams. Obviously, it was a team win but Travis Stephens turned in a Herculean performance, one that was every bit the equal of Al Wilson's in the 1998 game. Speaking of which, I am surprised that thebjd is the only person to reference the '98 game, given the fact that it was a streak-ending victory and was the first major conference hurdle that catapulted us to the national championship.
For those of us who have followed the Big Orange for a long time, the 1970 game was almost as rewarding. In Doug Dickeys return to Tennessee as Floridas coach, Bobby Scott passed for a then-school record 385 yards and the Big Orange give the lizards a world-class butt-kicking, 38-7.
