Tennessee Vols will have to halt an ugly 53-year trend in order to beat the Florida Gators on Saturday

The Tennessee Volunteers haven't had much success against the Florida Gators in recent history.  And in one respect, it's been a struggle for far longer than that.   According to WVLT sports reporter John Sartori, the Tennessee Volunteers have been spectacularly bad against Florida when coming off of a loss.  As in 0 for their last […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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Tennessee teammates Gary Theiler, left, Jackie Walker and Phillip Fulmer pose together during Picture Day at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 25, 1971.
Tennessee teammates Gary Theiler, left, Jackie Walker and Phillip Fulmer pose together during Picture Day at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 25, 1971. Frank Empson / The Tennessean via Imagn Content Services, LLC

The Tennessee Volunteers haven't had much success against the Florida Gators in recent history.  And in one respect, it's been a struggle for far longer than that.  

According to WVLT sports reporter John Sartori, the Tennessee Volunteers have been spectacularly bad against Florida when coming off of a loss.  As in 0 for their last 8 bad.  The Vols haven't beaten the Gators coming off a loss since the 1971 season. 

Some Tennessee fans' ears probably perked up about those 1971 Tennessee Vols.  Indeed, that's the team and year that have been mentioned for a long time about the Vols when the Gators were a part of the conversation.

That Tennessee team with Phillip Fulmer as an offensive linemen went into Florida and won 20-13.  That was continually repeated throughout the 1990s as the last Tennessee team to go into Gainesville and win, period.  Year after year, loss after loss, 1971 felt even more like a lifetime ago for many.  That streak of futility finally ended in 2001, when the Vols knocked off the Gators 34-32 to claim the SEC East in the teams' regular season finales.

As it turns out, that 20-13 win in 1971 was also the last time that Tennessee would rebound from a loss at the expense of the Gators.  That UT team fell to #5 Auburn 10-9 the week before knocking off Florida. 

So, if the Vols – who lost 19-14 to Arkansas last Saturday – are going to improve to 5-1 this weekend with a win against the school that's been as much a thorn in their side as any over the last 30+ years, they're going to have to laugh in the face of more than a half a century of history.  But, with the way the Vols have played at home under Josh Heupel, that seems like a laugh that very well could happen once Saturday night has come and gone. 

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