Will Florida still have a mental edge over us next year?

#27
#27
It’s all according to how their new QB performs. Simple as that he will be at the Swamp no road pressure so that will factor.
 
#28
#28
Longsufferingvol said:
What do you guys think? I think it's worth asking because we have ended streaks against Florida several times in the past and it didn't change the dynamic in the series at all. I'm talking about the dynamic where we have to struggle to win a game against a vastly inferior team and if there's any way to lose the game we probably will. This past season is a good example of that. We just missed the playoff and barely beat one of the worst Florida teams in recent memory that got taken to the woodshed by Oregon State in their bowl game. I'm hoping it will be different next year. I want nothing less than a Missouri 2021 type of performance against Florida. I want to believe we can actually smoke those guys. Lol
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I don’t think so. It will still be a tough game because it’s on the road in conference and Florida will still have talent. Next year they won’t have the talent advantage they had this year so I’m confident that our coaching staff will be able to win with similar or better talent. No one wins every such game but our coaches are good about getting the kids ready to play. The reason UF was blown out by Oregon State is they weren’t anything near the team that played us nor the team that beat Pac 12 champ Utah. Also, the only reason the game against us was close was UF gambled like they were a big underdog and it worked about every time. Plus, AR made throws that he rarely makes (like that 4th down deep pass that was shockingly perfect) and UF got the breaks, like the onside kick. I know I said it before but that’s what tickles me most about beating them. They really couldn’t have played any better. That was the best they played all year and it still wasn’t enough! Honestly, you could say something similar about Bama. If that wasn’t Bama’s best game it was top 2. I believe we have a huge coaching advantage over UF and predict we will win down there, even if they “reload” in the portal.
 
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#29
#29
Tennessee had to escape with a more talented team at home. How on earth are they going to go down and win handily all of a sudden?

Unrealistic expectations lead to “fire coaches” threads.
 
#30
#30
Dudleys87 said:
Tennessee had to escape with a more talented team at home. How on earth are they going to go down and win handily all of a sudden?

Unrealistic expectations lead to “fire coaches” threads.
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Last year we had one “let’s run the clock out” possession that gave the ball back to Florida giving them a chance to get back into the game.Did they recover an onside kick down the stretch and still lose?
 
#39
#39
Until we get at least two (and probably three) straight wins over them, I am not sure I’m ready to say we’ve gotten over the mental block that’s been there since even the height of the Fulmer era. Hell, the 1998 National Championship didn’t erase Florida’s mental edge over our team.

Last season we won, but we tried hard to give the game away at the end. That alone makes me a bit hesitant to declare that we’re past it. However, I’m more optimistic than I’ve been in a long, long time (and my Volunteer fandom goes back to the 1980s).
 
#42
#42
Longsufferingvol said:
What do you guys think? I think it's worth asking because we have ended streaks against Florida several times in the past and it didn't change the dynamic in the series at all. I'm talking about the dynamic where we have to struggle to win a game against a vastly inferior team and if there's any way to lose the game we probably will. This past season is a good example of that. We just missed the playoff and barely beat one of the worst Florida teams in recent memory that got taken to the woodshed by Oregon State in their bowl game. I'm hoping it will be different next year. I want nothing less than a Missouri 2021 type of performance against Florida. I want to believe we can actually smoke those guys. Lol
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There are so many things wrong with this post it's hard to know where to start.

First, while there have been a few years in the last, say, 25, where UT had the better team and lost fact is from top to bottom over that time UF was simply the better team.

Second, UF is rebuilding from the ground up as we've had such a bad recruiting effort for a long time. So you are right that you almost lost to us, but wrong to point to Oregon State as we had about 30 players go to that game.

Third, one of two things is true. Either Napier will get things righted and this year will be your last best chance for awhile, or he isn't the real deal and you can win a few before we figure it out.
 
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#44
#44
lawgator1 said:
...one of two things is true. Either Napier will get things righted and this year will be your last best chance for awhile, or he isn't the real deal and you can win a few before we figure it out.
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No, that's not right.

There's a third thing that can be true--and I believe it is. That thing is: whether Napier is a good coach or not, Heupel is a significantly better coach, and we win a whole hell of a lot against Florida over the next three to four decades. The tilt of the rivalry has shifted back our way, as it was in the beginning.

That's the thing that we're probably witnessing come true, right now. This year's UT-UF game was a watershed event. A changing of the guard kind of event. A paradigm shift. A discontinuity. Whatever analogy you choose to use, something felt different about 2022 than any other time we've beaten Florida in our Dark Ages. Something clicked this time.

The players are not impressed with Florida. The coaches, either. The fans, less and less so. Florida is going back to being just another team on our schedule. The juju, or gris gris, or curse, or whatever you want to call it, that's gone.

We're gonna whup your ass most years for the rest of many of our lives.

That's the third thing that can be true. I think it will be.

Go Vols!
 
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#45
#45
VFL-82-JP said:
No, that's not right.

There's a third thing that can be true--and I believe it is. That thing is: whether Napier is a good coach or not, Heupel is a significantly better coach, and we win a whole hell of a lot against Florida over the next three to four decades. The tilt of the rivalry has shifted back our way, as it was in the beginning.

That's the thing that we're probably witnessing come true, right now. This year's UT-UF game was a watershed event. A changing of the guard kind of event. A paradigm shift. A discontinuity. Whatever analogy you choose to use, something felt different about 2022 than any other time we've beaten Florida in our Dark Ages. Something clicked this time.

The players are not impressed with Florida. The coaches, either. The fans, less and less so. Florida is going back to being just another team on our schedule. The juju, or gris gris, or curse, or whatever you want to call it, that's gone.

We're gonna whup your ass most years for the rest of many of our lives.

That's the third thing that can be true. I think it will be.

Go Vols!
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I think you need to work on your confidence level. It's very low and timid.
 
#47
#47
For many years, Florida benefited by playing us early in the season, before we got our crap together. Tables are turned now.

And I don’t think any Heupel team is going to be intimidated.
 
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#50
#50
To say we win in the swamp is easy or we shouldn’t be worried is foolish.. it’ll be tough a win in the swamp .It will tell us if we are going to keep up with this seasons success or not for sure.
 
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