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Vols Football: What Has Changed Since the Vols Last Beat the Gators

By Nathanael Rutherford

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The last time the Vols defeated the Florida Gators, Phillip Fulmer was still head coach. It’s truly been a long time. PHOTO: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been quite a long time since the Vols last defeated the Florida Gators. A whole decade, in fact. A lot can change in a decade, and a lot has changed since James Wilhoit kicked a 50-yard field goal with 6 seconds to go to give Tennessee a 30-28 victory over the Gators in Neyland Stadium on September 18, 2004. Since then, the Gators have won 9 straight over the Vols.

2004 feels like a different lifetime for Vol fans. Tennessee was only 6 years removed from its National Championship run, and Phillip Fulmer was still going strong as Tennessee’s head coach.

If that doesn’t give you an indication of how different times were back then, try some of these facts that were true last time the Vols beat Florida:

  • Facebook was only 7 months old
  • Twitter did not exist yet
  • George W. Bush was mere months from starting his second term of office
  • Janet Jackson had her “wardrobe malfunction” at the Super Bowl earlier that year
  • Donovan McNabb still quarterbacked the Philadelphia Eagles
  • The Montreal Expos were still a team in the MLB
  • Greg Maddux was still pitching, now for the Chicago Cubs
  • Steve Spurrier was on his one-year coaching hiatus after stepping down from the NFL
  • The average price of gas in Knoxville was about $1.78 a gallon
  • Shrek 2, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Passion of the Christ, DodgeBall, and Anchorman all debuted
  • Barry Bonds was still playing for the San Francisco Giants and hits his 700th HR the day before the UT-UF game
  • Friends aired its final episode earlier in the year
  • Ken Jennings was in the middle of his 74-game winning streak on Jeopardy!
  • The NHL begins their lockout for the entire season
  • LeBron James was in his 2nd NBA season
  • Eli Manning was drafted No. 1 overall in the NFL draft
  • Butch Jones was still an offensive coordinator at Central Michigan

I was 6th grade when the Vols last beat the Gators. Many of the highly-rated freshmen on the Vols’ roster this season were in elementary school and many of them likely weren’t even playing football then. A lot can happen in a decade, and many events have occurred since that September night in 2004:

  • The Boston Red Sox have won 3 World Series titles
  • The New England Patriots have made 4 Super Bowl appearances
  • The Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs have made 4 Championship appearances, and the Miami Heat have made 5
  • Peyton Manning has won 4 NFL MVP awards
  • LeBron James has won 4 NBA MVP awards
  • Albert Pujols has won 3 National League MVP awards
  • The Oakland Raiders have had 6 different head coaches (including Lane Kiffin)
  • The Chicago Cubs have had 5 different mangers
  • The Vols have had 75 players drafted into the NFL
  • The Vols have had 10 different starting QB’s

Many things have happened and have changed since the last time the Vols were able to take down the Gators. Tennessee will look to end that streak this Saturday before it reaches its 10th straight game.

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