Earlier on Saturday, Dan Lanning took a shot at the SEC for teams playing a cupcake game this weekend. Little did we know Tennessee was going to be on the list. Okay, we're not serious there, but goodness, did anyone expect the Vols to destroy Florida in the way that they did?
Florida's effort vs. Tennessee has fans even more desperate for Lane Kiffin
Everything that could have gone right for Tennessee did, while nothing was moving in the right direction for the Gators. In the end, the Vols posted a 31-11 win and it ruined what was supposed to be a special night for Urban Meyer.
Meyer was in town, as he was honored by Florida on the field for his upcoming induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Congrats, Urban! However, leading up to kickoff, Meyer had some choice words for the Vols and things did not go to plan for him.
Tennessee football dominated Florida from start to finish in a huge rivalry win
"The first thing I think about is Tennessee – we've got to beat Tennessee,'' Meyer said via an interview with senior writer Scott Carter of the Florida team site. "That's just the way I look at it when I first saw we were going to be invited back for the Tennessee game."
That also wasn't the first time Meyer had some head-turning comments directed at the Knoxville side. When Nico Iamaleava left town, Meyer didn't hesitate in saying UT and Heupel were 'screwed' with the former 5-star off to play elsewhere. How's that going?
On Saturday night, Meyer wanted the Gators to beat Tennessee, but Florida never even had a shot in this one. In the first quarter alone, the Vols were up 14-0 and they outgained the Gators 190 to one in terms of total yards. It was a shocking first quarter display for Florida and fans were outraged.
We can't imagine that Meyer loved what he was seeing out there either. He was probably thinking about the glory days when he had Tim Tebow as his quarterback and the Gators were raising the natty trophy high into the sky.
That feels like 100 years ago for Florida, while things are moving in the opposite direction for the Vols. Josh Heupel got this team to the CFP last season and while a return trip likely won't arrive in 2025, the future is looking incredible for Tennessee.
Hey, Joey Aguilar could even potentially return next fall too. If that happens, that'll be terrible news for Florida, Meyer and whoever else loves the Gators. That's nothing for Tennessee fans to worry about, as the Vols just took down their rivals for the first time in Gainesville since 2003. Yup, that's a pretty sweet feeling.