Josh Heupel and Billy Napier have differing views of the Tennessee/Florida matchup
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier have differing views of their upcoming head-to-head matchup on Saturday. Napier is trying to downplay the matchup as just another game where the rules are the same and the stadium is just a "little louder". Heupel, however, isn't running away from the […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel and Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier have differing views of their upcoming head-to-head matchup on Saturday.
Napier is trying to downplay the matchup as just another game where the rules are the same and the stadium is just a "little louder".
Heupel, however, isn't running away from the big-game feel of the matchup. He's embracing that this is a big game that Tennessee's fans care about deeply.
"This is one of the ball games that this fan base, and our players, point to," said Heupel on Monday. "Obviously, being a fan of college football, I've seen the great games and the rivalry itself play out. That's why you come here — you want to be part of these types of games. You want to have an opportunity to have College GameDay on your campus and be the prime time slot and have a sold-out stadium."
"We're excited to see the fan base," added Heupel. "Vol Walk I know will be electric. And we run out that T, there won't be a better atmosphere in college football."
While the Vols are embracing the importance of the Florida game, they're not letting that impact their preparation. They're taking the actual game seriously. Tennessee's players know that Florida, regardless of their loss to Kentucky or narrow win against South Florida, will provide a great challenge this weekend.
I think we're going to see a Tennessee team that's extremely well-prepared for Florida on Saturday. This game is going to come down to execution. We know the Vols will have a great game plan, but they'll need to execute that game plan and play cleanly to beat the Gators for the first time since 2016.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
