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

[Go47]

All the above is well said.....however, people who love to ponder the upcoming Fall football schedule and their hoped-for record should remember to take into account the portal windows that cover both now and post Spring practice. There will me much rearranging of teams trajectories right into late Summer. So despite Fla losing quite a few players to portal, they will have the opportunity (as we did) to re-arm themselves. And judging by the recruiting results Napier brought in, one would assume he will haul in talent in the portal. I'm just saying that anyone who assumes that the Gators will be a automatic W in Gainesville are making a jump way ahead and prematurely so. BTW, Napier probably did his finest coaching job of the year in Knoxville just to keep his team in the game till the end.. So I won't get caught discounting that team any time ever. It will take a series of wins to feel any kind of comfort and that will have to be earned.

 

[Go47]

I agree. UF will ALWAYS have speed and athletes. Each year has its own stories and the transfer portal makes it even harder to predict.

I see next year’s game at Florida as a 50/50 game with two ways of looking at it:

1. Slight edge to UF because it’s a home game for them

2. Slight edge for UT because of the momentum the Vols built this year . . . But so much depends on what happens with Joe Milton

 

[VolinMichigan]

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

I think UF is a team struggling to find an identity under Napier. Most teams do in a coaches first year. I know history, and historically it hasn’t mattered who the coach at UF is, they always give us a game. So I’m predicting another close game next year. When their roster isn’t composed of guys who have never lost to UT, then you can say they don’t have a mental edge against us.

 

[VolinMichigan]

I expect we will get Florida’s best game. It’s early in the year, at the swamp and before they quit on the year and their coach.

I don’t see JH allowing another team having a mental edge over the Vols. He seems like a coach that can can out together a winning game plan and can get the players ready to execute the plan to get the win.

It IS about timing and where teams fall on the schedule. How many times have we seen UF pummel us and then fall apart halfway through the season? I hate playing them that early in the year for that exact reason.

 

[Iam4utalways]

It IS about timing and where teams fall on the schedule. How many times have we seen UF pummel us and then fall apart halfway through the season? I hate playing them that early in the year for that exact reason.

It would benefit Florida to play us late in the year, considering our game is their Super Bowl and they usually stink it up after playing us. It would help them stay focused the entire year and not quit on the year or their coach so early in the season.

 

[Evol]

I was as frustrated as anyone that we almost blew a 17 point lead with less than 8 minutes to go this year. But something to keep in mind is how many times Florida had to go for it on 4th down, and converted. Sometimes deep in their own territory. Had Napier not played extremely aggressive, or had all of those gambles not worked out for him, that game would have likely turned in to a blow out.

 

[Hank Bukowski]

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

Nah. I believe we should have the mental edge in this year’s game. I truly hope our players believe that, too. Because we should. It’s not so much FL having a few down years…it’s because we are having some incredibly UP years. This team we have could have successfully traded blows with the best of Stinking Steve’s teams (I just spit after typing his name) and won.

FL has been in our heads for so many years…that’s my only concern. But very few of these kids remember any of that. We should roll in there and gator-stomp those guys and leave saying “next!” while they wipe their bloody noses.

 

[OrangeTsar]

We gonna go all Amos Moses on the Gators next year. No worries

 

[OrangeTsar]

I was as frustrated as anyone that we almost blew a 17 point lead with less than 8 minutes to go this year. But something to keep in mind is how many times Florida had to go for it on 4th down, and converted. Sometimes deep in their own territory. Had Napier not played extremely aggressive, or had all of those gambles not worked out for him, that game would have likely turned in to a blow out.

That was when Tennessee was still trying to perfect the four minute slowdown pace. We got it down in subsequent games. We improved a ton between Florida and LSU IMO

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

It will be a tough game there. We somehow manage to poop the bed with them too many years

 

[OffTackleVol]

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

No, not with our current Head Coach. Dude is the epitome of cool and confidence............which translates to the players.

 

[lawgator1]

I was as frustrated as anyone that we almost blew a 17 point lead with less than 8 minutes to go this year. But something to keep in mind is how many times Florida had to go for it on 4th down, and converted. Sometimes deep in their own territory. Had Napier not played extremely aggressive, or had all of those gambles not worked out for him, that game would have likely turned in to a blow out.

I agree with you there. Although UF had a chance at the end and made a lot of big plays to get into position to possibly win, there was very much a flukeish quality to that.

UT soundly beat Florida this past season and the score ended up being much closer than the game actually was.

 

[perico]

This. Florida is just another opponent now.

Florida will never be just another opponent. We will always get their best shot and they will have too much talent to take them lightly, even with the portal issues. They will reload, and for all the talk about 2001, Zook led Florida into Neyland in 2002 and waxed us. Let me emphasize- a Zook led Florida still kicked our ass at home when we were big favorites.

We were 0 for Mushchamp, and have had a losing record against every coach they’ve had since Spurrier (we may have split with Zook, or had a 1 game advantage, I don’t remember). They are our rival and it doesn’t matter. They crapped the bed against Kentucky this year and still gave us everything they had the next week.

 

[SpookyAction]

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.

Napier has not impressed me as an in-game coach yet.
We'll see how it pans out in the future.
There are riverboat gamblers like Spurrier (the UF version) and I see Heupel in this category, and the riverboat gamblers who have nothing going, such as the Hal Mumme's of the world. And, of course there were the Mike Leaches of the world in the middle. Napier has been in the Leach category so far.

You can't say he got the most of his talent in 2022.
Heupel has elevated his talent so far.

 

[Devo182]

Hell no.

Heupel is 1-0 over Sunbelt Billy...who just went 6-7. We just went 11-2.

Even when we won in 2016...they still miraculously won the East...setting up an inferiority situation into 2017.

This is a whole different situation. We're now in pole position. Napier is now the underdog and behind the competition.

Wgwtfa for years to come

 

[vegasvolfan]

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

No

 

[greenbacknative]

Next year we pay them back for the Felipe Franks TD a few years ago. Bazooka Joe airs one out from 95 yards to Squirrel White who toe taps to stay in the end zone !!!!

 

[VOLINVONORE]

No

 

[WillisWG]

Not this year, not next year

 

[NighthawkVol]

Florida will never be just another opponent. We will always get their best shot and they will have too much talent to take them lightly, even with the portal issues. They will reload, and for all the talk about 2001, Zook led Florida into Neyland in 2002 and waxed us. Let me emphasize- a Zook led Florida still kicked our ass at home when we were big favorites.

We were 0 for Mushchamp, and have had a losing record against every coach they’ve had since Spurrier (we may have split with Zook, or had a 1 game advantage, I don’t remember). They are our rival and it doesn’t matter. They crapped the bed against Kentucky this year and still gave us everything they had the next week.

Yes. They beat us when we sucked. Great. Heupel doesn’t care, neither should you.

Some of y’all get way too hung up on what uniform the opponent is wearing.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

Nope we are on a different level right now.

We'll have to royally screw up to lose that one next year.

Clemson was way better than Florida across the board and we just yawned to a 31-14 win.

Will Florida have a defense as good as Clemson when we play them next year? No way. And Milton had 251 for 3 TD's against them while trying to run out the clock for half the 4th quarter.

Then we'll bring back all our running backs and all our receivers for that game and probably Donte Thornton too....all a year older and better.

It's hard to project us losing that one at the moment. We are trending towards being a top 5 team going into next year.

 

[TVOL71]

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

I think Heupel has instilled a different culture with his team and what happened in the past has little bearing on future games for these players, regardless of how good FL may be. Having said that, the game is at FL, and it is always challenging to win on the road in the SEC. GBO!!!

 

[ftsandersvol]

TN didn’t beat FL comfortably.

That's only because we went way too conservative way too early. Fortunately, I think Heupel learned from that.

 

[T2P_Priceless]

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

1. The score was closer than the game because of some end of game heroics

2. That bowl game was full of opt outs. They were starting a 3d string QB. Was he even on scholarship?

 

[Volintheswamp]

Florida has replaced Tennessee as the SEC dumpster fire. I live in the swamp. Nobody talks about the Gators anymore, just that it’s toxic.