For the last 11 years, there have been three certainties in life: death, taxes and Florida beating Tennessee. For the sake of Tennessee head coach Butch Jones' public approval, that has to end this Saturday.
On paper, the Volunteers have the best team they've had in years, which was also the case last year. Florida has likely taken a step back from last year's SEC title run, and starting quarterback Luke Del Rio will miss the rivalry game, leaving Purdue transfer Austin Appleby under center for the Gators. With all the talent in Knoxville this season, there are no excuses.
Joshua Dobbs is one of two experienced quarterbacks in the SEC and has far more experience than Appleby, who will make his first SEC start. Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara are strong running backs, and the Vols have playmakers on defense, even without Cameron Sutton.
It hasn't all come together yet, but it has to right now.
I went out before the season and said that Tennessee would disappoint for the second straight season, and while the Vols are 3-0, it hasn't been pretty. After an overtime win against Appalachian State to open the season, Tennessee fell behind 14-0 against Virginia Tech and didn't look too convincing in a 28-19 win over Ohio. The Volunteer offense hasn't quite lived up to the hype yet (it's been good, not great), but they are still the better team in this matchup.
The Gators are exactly who we thought they would be. To no one's surprise, the defense has been stellar (granted, it's been against UMass, Kentucky and North Texas), and the offense has been subpar. This has been the case for years, and it hasn't necessarily kept them from being successful at times, such as reaching the Sugar Bowl in the 2012 season or last year's 10-win campaign. The season results have been mixed, but no matter what, since 2005, Florida has had Tennessee's number.
It hasn't mattered how good either team is during the streak, either. When Tennessee won the SEC East in 2007, the Gators beat the Vols down 59-20. When Florida went 4-8 in 2013, quarterback Jeff Driskel broke his leg in the first quarter but the Gators still prevailed by two touchdowns with inexperienced Tyler Murphy at the helm.
In the last two years, the losses have got even more excruciating for Tennessee. In 2014, the Vols led 9-0 in the fourth quarter at home, when Florida inserted another inexperienced backup quarterback in Treon Harris (yes, that guy who now plays wide receiver). Harris engineered two scoring drives, the latter of which ended on a 49-yard field goal from Austin Hardin, who made just 16 of his 36 career field goal attempts.
Then there was 2015. Tennessee led by 13 in the fourth quarter before the Gators cut it to six. It looked like the game was over when Florida had a 4th and 14 with under two minutes to play, but Will Grier hit Antonio Callaway for a 63-yard touchdown to sink the Vols once again.
This is supposed to be the year for Tennessee to win the SEC East and contend for a big time bowl game. Florida is probably on its way to about an eight- or nine-win season. With the job Jim McElwain is doing in Gainesville, the Gators could climb to the top of the SEC in the next year or two, meaning the streak could keep going if the Vols can't get it done this year.
The time is now. If Tennessee is going to live up to the hype and win the SEC East, the Vols absolutely have to win this game. Lose, and the team has no momentum heading into a stretch with road games against Georgia and Texas A&M and a home showdown with Alabama. The odds are stacked in your favor, Jones. You don't want to hear about this streak again next September.