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Tennessee football: Five reasons Vols could upset Florida

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Smokey the live Tennessee Volunteers mascot on the sidelines during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Smokey the live Tennessee Volunteers mascot on the sidelines during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt runs onto the field at the start of the Alabama and Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.Tennessee Vs Alabama Football 100143
Tennessee Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt runs onto the field at the start of the Alabama and Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020.Tennessee Vs Alabama Football 100143 /

3. Rest favors the Vols.

Back when this was actually a rivalry, Tennessee football fans complained about this. The Vols had a bye right before Florida every year except 2001 between 1996 and 2005, and it was right after their opener five of those times. It seemed like they were just too rusty for the game at that time.

However, when there is such a disparity between teams, they need any advantage they can get, and there’s a chance that the rest could work the other way. For the third straight game, the Vols are coming off a bye week, and the last two were unscheduled byes.

Florida, meanwhile, got better after back to back bye weeks earlier in the season. Since then, they have played a game five straight weeks, and they have actually started to look a bit out of sync at times over the past two weeks. Could they be getting burnt out, especially having to play all these lesser teams after their circled game against the Georgia Bulldogs?

It’s possible, and while he’s been saying it all year, you have to believe that at some point there will be truth to Jeremy Pruitt’s statements on the young players developing and the team getting healthier. Maybe that will be on display this weekend.

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