Tennessee QB Joe Milton can beat Florida but won't end an ugly Vols trend

The Tennessee Volunteers have not fared well against the Florida Gators since the early 1990s. It doesn't take much more than being a casual SEC football fan to know that. The Gators lead the series 31-21 and have won 16 of the last 18 matchups since the Vols won back-to-back games in 2003-04. And speaking […]

Craig Smith — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Sep 13, 2023 12:45 PM EDT

And speaking of back-to-back games, the Vols sport a very ugly long-standing trend that cannot change when the Vols and Gators face off Saturday night at 7:00 pm from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville: no Tennessee starting quarterback has beaten the Gators in back-to-back games for at least the last 70 years.

That dubious streak won't end on Saturday night with Joe Milton under center for the Vols, as Hendon Hooker started the Vols' 38-33 win over Florida in Knoxville last season.

Tennessee quarterback Casey Clausen went 2-1 vs. Florida in his career as a starting QB. The sole loss in 2002 was sandwiched between wins in the Swamp in 2001 and 2003, the Vols' last win in Gainesville to date.

Before Clausen, Tee Martin had a chance to accomplish the feat, but the Vols came up just short in a 23-21 loss in 1999. Heath Shuler couldn't get it done in 1993, nor Andy Kelly in 1991.

Before that, the teams played sporadically going through the 1970s and 1980s. Tennessee's only back-to-back wins in that time were in 1970-71. In 1970, Bobby Scott threw for a school record 385 yards in the Vols' 38-7 win. The following year, Phil Pierce led the Vols to a 20-13 win in Gainesville.

Going back from that point, the Vols' next back-to-back wins were in 1952-53, the single-wing era that consisted of General Robert Neyland's last season and his successor Harvey Robinson's first. RBs Pat Shires and Jimmy Wade threw the ball at different times in 1952 and it's unclear who served as the team's starting QB/single-wing back against Florida that year, which was a 26-12 Vols win. Wade also threw the ball in 1953, as he did in UT's 9-7 win in Gainesville. Before that, the teams' last matchup was in October 1944 during World War II.

So, it's possible one might have to go even further back in General Neyland's days and pick through his single-wing backs with a fine-tooth comb during or before World War II to find a possible example, and even then, it's difficult because of the sometimes-amorphous nature of the quarterback and single-wing running backs during that era. Whereas, against any of Tennessee's other rivals, you don't have to look past the 2000s to find a Vols' starting QB winning back-to-back games in the series.

And, with Hooker in the NFL and Milton in his final year of eligibility, that streak will extend for at least two more seasons. There is certainly optimism for the Vols in the coming years with the sensational freshman Nico Iamaleava waiting in the wings to take over. He's one of the most hyped quarterback recruits in program history, and his talent and potential seem to match the hype. The Vols are also a program seemingly on the rise, while the Gators are experiencing some recent struggles.

So there's hope that Iamaleava can end a very ugly streak in 2025- that is, if the teams continue playing beyond the 2024 season. But, for now, Tennessee fans will be elated if they can just see their team win back-to-back games for the first time since 2004 and escape the Swamp intact for the first time since 2003.