Thoughts of the Day: Gators are putting on their game faces

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

It was only Wednesday night, but you could sense Billy Napier has his game face on already as he talked to the media following Florida’s practice for Saturday’s close encounter with No. 11 Tennessee at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“These kids are educated,” Napier said about the Gators, who have been totally focused on the Vols since Sunday night. “We’ve tried to do our part relative to educating them on the history of this game in particular. I think that will be effective, and look, they respect the opponent. They know that the intensity, the speed, the physicality, the urgency that’s going to be required to win a game like this, they know what they are getting into, and I think the veterans have done a good job of explaining to a lot of these new cats that may not have played in one of these games before.”

The Gators go into this game 6.5-point underdogs, but they’re also the healthiest they’ve been all season. Kingsley Eguakun is back in the starting lineup after missing the first two games with a lower leg injury. Backup QB Jack Miller III, who has been suffering from tendonitis on the rotator cuff of his throwing arm, is healthy and practicing again. Wide receivers Marcus Burke and Kaliel Jackson are going at it 100 percent as is corner Devin Moore.

“I don’t know that any player on our team is going to the park 100 percent okay, that’s reality,” Napier said. “We probably have fewer guys below the line, but we got a team that’s got to work hard between now and gameday to be ready, be their best. Ultimately this is a week-to-week grind, to have the self-discipline and follow through and use the recovery modalities, use the training room, get good sleep, make sure you are eating and drinking the right things. I think every week is a grind to try to be at your best, you might not be 100, but let’s be the best we can be when we get to gameday.”

Trevor Etienne on QB Graham Mertz: “He’s dialed in. He’s a leader. Guys know they can come to him and we have a lot of young guys playing. That’s why I say that. They can come to him and ask him anything and he’s willing to help. He will go the extra mile. He will sit in a personal film session with you and make sure you understand everything so you can play at your best and as quickly as possible.”

Linebacker Scooby Williams on what this game means to the defense: “For us it’s more of a statement game, like the last two weeks wasn’t a fluke. I feel like we’ve been putting the work in. Armstrong is a great coach and he’s always going to put us in the right place at the right time. We’ve gotta go out there and execute, make the plays that we’re supposed to make and we’ll be fine.”

Scooby on the edge the defense is feeling right now: "Y’all know B Spikes (former Gator All-American Brandon Spikes) is back, right? Every day in practice he’s just yelling and yelling, ‘Beat Tennessee! Beat Tennessee!’ So, we got a chip on our shoulder, mainly because of B Spikes putting the bug in our ear. Oh, and this offseason, we did a whole thing about rivalries and Tennessee was one of those rivalries. Just knowing that you’re not only not only playing for the name on your back, but the name on the front of your jersey. The Gators. It's not about us. It's about the people who came before us and all the great role models and all the great players who came before us and just continuing that legacy. I feel like that's the biggest challenge for us."

Florida vs. Tennessee in The Swamp: Every game since 1991

1991, NO. 10 FLORIDA 35, No. 4 Tennessee 18: All week long we heard how Carl Pickens was going to eat up the Florida secondary. Pickens did catch eight passes in the game, but the Florida secondary picked off three balls intended for Pickens, one that Larry Kennedy ran back 44 yards for a TD. Shane Matthews threw for two TDs and Errict Rhett ran for two more.

1993, NO. 9 FLORIDA 41, No. 5 Tennessee 34: This was supposed to be the game that would make Heath Shuler the hands down Heisman favorite. It turned out to be the Danny Wuerffel game. Making his first start he threw for three TDPs. Even though Shuler threw for 355 yards and give TDPs, he was overshadowed by Wuerffel and his was the Heisman campaign that wasn’t.

1995, FLORIDA 62, Tennessee 37: Three things endure from that encounter. (1) Lawrence Wright’s hit on Joey Kent that sent him into next month. We didn’t even know Joey was alive until we saw spit bubbles in the corner of his mouth through binoculars. (2) The Gators scored 48 straight points after trailing 30-14. (3) Sports Illustrated had this photo of Peyton Manning sitting on the bench in the rain. He looked like he had lost his puppy.

1997, No. 3 FLORIDA 33, No. 4 Tennessee 20: Peyton Manning went 0-2 in The Swamp during his career. He threw for more yards than Doug Johnson (355-261), but Dougie had Fred Taylor gouging the Vols for 134 yards on the ground and Jacquez Green running free like a banshee in the secondary with eight catches for 185 yards and a TD.

1999, NO. 4 FLORIDA 23, No. 2 Tennessee 21: The Vols went unbeaten to win the 1998 national championship. They came to Gainesville favored and cocky with Tee Martin at QB and Jamal Lewis at RB. What they didn’t expect was Alex Brown to be a one-man wrecking crew. He sacked Martin five times and affected him on at least a half dozen other occasions. He forced (and recovered) a Martin fumble and intercepted a pass. Tee Martin still hears the footsteps.

2001, No. 5 Tennessee 34, NO. 2 FLORIDA 32: Originally scheduled for September 11, the game was pushed back into December. Had it been played in September when the Gators were healthy, it wouldn’t have been close. Florida in a blowout. In December, Travis Stephens ran wild for 226 yards, prompting DC Jon Hoke to say we did a good job defending him on all but four or five plays, which is like a 747 pilot saying I did a good job landing the plane except the time I missed the runway.

2003, No. 12 Tennessee 24, NO. 17 FLORIDA 10: After this one, Ron Zook demoted Ingle Martin and made Chris Leak the starting QB. Three weeks later in Baton Rouge, Leak led the Gators past Nick Saban and LSU, the only loss the Tigers sustained the entire year.

2005, NO. 6 FLORIDA 16, No. 4 Tennessee 7: Urban Meyer’s offense hadn’t exactly begun to click so it was up to the defense, which held the Vols to a TD and 213 yards. Chris Hetland kicked three field goals in the second half and that was the difference. The Gators only had 247 yards of offense, gave up five sacks and were penalized 10 times. And still they won the game.

2007, NO. 4 FLORIDA 59, No. 24 Tennessee 20: It was 28-20 after an Eric Berry 96-yard interception return but after that it was all Tebow and all Gators. Florida scored 31 straight points. Tebow threw for 299 and two TDs, ran for 67 and two more. Percy Harvin ran 9-75 and caught 4-120.

2009 NO. 1 FLORIDA 23, Tennessee 13: This was Lane Kiffin’s one and only game in The Swamp as the UT head coach. Florida’s offense wasn’t anything to write home about, but the defense played exceptionally well. Caleb Sturgis kicked three field goals. There was a third quarter collison at the Tennessee seven that left both players wobbly. A lot of folks believe that collision affected Tebow the next week when he took a hit at Kentucky and was sent to the hospital with a concussion.

2011 NO. 16 FLORIDA 33, Tennessee 23: Will Muschamp’s debut game against the Vols. You could have called this one the Hanky Bowl because the zebras threw 26 flags (10 on the Vols, 16 on the Gators). John Brantley threw for two touchdowns and Chris Rainey ran for 108.

2013 FLORIDA 31, Tennessee 17: Jeff Driskel broke his ankle in the second quarter necessitating Tyler Murphy to take his first snaps ever as the UF quarterback. Murph completed 8-14 passes for 134 yards and a TD and ran for 90 more and another touchdown. The Gators ran for 256 yards.

2015 FLORIDA 28, Tennessee 27: Jim McElwain’s debut game against UT. The Vols thought they had this one wrapped up when Will Grier and Antonio Callaway connected late in the fourth quarter. Callaway made the catch, did a spin move and then got a brilliant block from Brandon Powell to spring him for a 63-yard game winning TD with 1:26 to go for a 28-27 lead. The Vols still had a chance but Aaron Medley’s last second 55-yard field goal attempt went wide right.

2017 FLORIDA 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20: This one will always be remembered for “The Heave to Cleve,” the most improbable Hail Mary ever in this rivalry game, and maybe in Florida history. Tied at 20-20 after an Aaron Medley field goal with 50 seconds left, the Gators were down to their last play or go overtime. Feleipe Franks eluded the rush on the play, rolled to his right then launched a laser-guided missile that Tyrie Cleveland extended in the end zone and caught for a game-winning 63-yard TD. Both McElwain and Tennessee coach Butch Jones were unemployed by season’s end.

2019 NO. 9 FLORIDA 34, Tennessee 3: One week after coming off the bench to lead the Gators to an improbable comeback win over Kentucky in Lexington, Kyle Trask got his first start. Trask sliced up the Vols for 313 passing yards and two TDs while the UF defense got four sacks and three interceptions.

2021 NO. 11 FLORIDA 38, Tennessee 14: A week after nearly springing an upset on then No. 1 Alabama, Emory Jones played the best game of his Florida career, throwing for 209 yards and two touchdowns while running for 144. The Gators pounded the UT defense for 283 rushing yards. Joe Milton, who will start Saturday for Tennessee, came off the bench to complete 2-8 passes for 54 yards.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Gary Danielson, part of the CBS broadcast team that is in its final year of calling Southeastern Conference football games before moving to the Big Ten in 2024, has a word for Big Ten groupies who think the gap is closing with the SEC.

“I mean everybody’s kind of counting bank accounts and TV viewership, but at the end, on the field is what matters,” Danielson told Seth Emerson of The Athletic. “And that’s what the SEC has done. Whether people think you’re shilling or not, when a third to a half of the first round are SEC players and they win 13 out of 17 national titles, it’s hard not to say they deserve the accolades.”

This is not shaping up as a vintage year for the SEC. No one can deny that, but even if the string of four straight national championships is broken perhaps by Michigan or Ohio State from the Big Ten, it’s way too early to claim equal status. The SEC has proven over the last 17 seasons that it’s the league with the most talent, the best coaches and the most passionate fan bases.

Think back, if you will, to 2014. That year Ohio State beat Oregon for the national championship. Look at the record since then. Alabama has won three national championships, Georgia the last two, and LSU one. Clemson is the only non-SEC team to win championships since 2014 (Tigers won in 2016 and 2018) but in both those seasons and two others (Georgia 2017, Alabama 2021) an SEC team was the runner-up.

That is dominance. One off year – and it’s too early to say it will be an off year – won’t change that.