Week 4 of college football has finally arrived and with it comes Saturday’s marquee matchup between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers in Neyland Stadium. The 52nd meeting between these two historic Southeastern Conference rivals brings a high level of excitement as both the Gators and Vols sit in the top 25 of both major polls coming into the game.
The series in more recent years has been dominated by the Orange and Blue, which has won 16 of the last 17 meetings as well as five-straight. However, this year’s team on Rocky Top appears to be a formidable opponent that is perched to snap the streak and revive this once-heated rivalry.
USA TODAY Sports’ Eddie Timanus surveyed the biggest matchups in Week 4 and chose the UF-UT game as the superlative, offering the following breakdown of Saturday’s gridiron grind.
Why watch: The level of optimism in Knoxville is higher than it’s been in years with the Vols flying high. They’ll have to be ready to take on a desperate bunch of Gators, whose league hopes would be all but extinguished if they lose a second SEC East contest. Florida QB Anthony Richardson still seeks his first TD pass of the season as defenses have taken away his running lanes since his strong opening performance against Utah. He can expect more of the same, with Vols LB Aaron Beasley likely to provide the surveillance. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is pick free through three games, making excellent use of WRs Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman. Gators LB Amari Burney, whose end-zone INT saved the Utah victory, will try to make Hooker’s job difficult.
Why it could disappoint: Tennessee is also fighting history, having dropped 16 of the last 17 series meetings. But Florida might not have the fire power to mount a rally should it fall behind on the road.
Florida and Tennessee are slated to face off in Neyland Stadium on Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m. EDT and can be watched on CBS Sports as well as heard on the Gators Radio Network.
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