Tennessee football vs. Florida: Vols and Gators keys to the game

10. Tennessee’s poise at kickoff

In a rivalry game, you would think that poise matters for both teams. But with the way the Florida Gators have beaten the Vols over the past few years and the fact that they have won 12 of the past 13 overall, they have all the psychological advantages. It does not matter what type of lead Tennessee football builds in the first half. Florida will be calm the whole way.

Don’t forget that there are still players on this Gators team who came back from two scores down in the fourth quarter to win in 2015, and six members of the team were even on the roster back in 2014, when the Gators also came back from two scores down to win, even if most of them redshirted.

Add in what happened last year, and the Gators know they are supposed to win this game. He may be gone, but Jim McElwain’s quote that you don’t lose to Tennessee while at Florida resonates. The Vols have had one great half against this team over the last 13 years, and it led them to victory.

Because of all the bad luck, Tennessee football is likely to have all the nervous players in this game. If they make any mistake, it will be magnified, and if Florida gets a lead, the Vols will start to panic. It’s just human nature.

Of course, I say that even though they came back from at least two scores down each of the previous two games, even though they lost last year, so they do have that advantage. But there’s no denying that Florida has the psychological edge overall. So the mentality of the Vols will matter in this game on Saturday.