Know Your Opponent: Tennessee

A Tennessee graduate, Bob Woodruff, was the first Florida
coach to defeat the Volunteers. His successor, Ray Graves,
was also a Vol in his college days. Doug Dickey was a player
under Woodruff before becoming head coach at Tennessee.
Dickey left Tennessee in 1969 to replace Graves at Florida;
after leaving the Gators, he returned as athletic director for
Tennessee. Steve Spurrier grew up a Tennessee fan before
being recruited by Graves to Florida (and later becoming their
head coach). The Seminole

This Saturday the Gators play their second SEC East opponent, the Volunteers from the University of Tennessee. Blount College, the predecessor of the University of Tennessee, was founded in Knoxville in 1794. A new charter was written and the school was re-established as East Tennessee College in 1807. The small, struggling school's only teacher, Samuel Carrick, died just two years later and the school was shuttered until 1820. As the population of Tennessee boomed, the school required a new campus to expand. In 1828, the college moved to its current site at Barbara Hill. The institution became East Tennessee University in 1840. It was finally renamed the "University of Tennessee" after the Civil War, in 1879. The university now enrolls over 27,000 students, including over 21,000 undergrads. Tennessee’s school colors are orange and white.

The Tennessee Volunteers have a long and successful tradition of playing football. The University of Tennessee’s football program began in 1891 and derives its nickname from its state’s moniker, “the volunteer state”, a legacy from the Tennessean volunteer militias that served in the War of 1812 and later the Mexican-American War. Tennessee was a founding member of the Southern Conference in 1921 and was later a charter member of the Southeastern Conference in 1933. The man undoubtedly most responsible for Tennessee's success was Robert Neyland. A graduate from West Point, Neyland took two breaks from coaching to serve in the Army. During his first stint (1926–1934), the Volunteers won two Southern Conference championships and went an incredible 61-2-5 overall. After returning from a tour in Panama, Neyland coached for another five years (1936–1940), claiming three conference and two national titles along the way. Neyland served in Southeast Asia during the Second World War, but returned to UT in 1946. Before retiring as head coach and becoming Tennessee's athletic director in 1952, Neyland coached the Vols to another pair of SEC and national championships. Neyland finished his coaching career 173-31-12, with seven conference titles and claims on four national titles. The Vols have won a total 13 SEC titles, second all-time behind Alabama’s 24. Tennessee’s first SEC title was won in 1938 while their most recent championship was in 1998.

The Volunteers play home games in the colossal Neyland Stadium, which can seat in excess of 102,000 fans. Only Michigan Stadium, Beaver Stadium, Kyle Field, and Ohio Stadium exceed Neyland Stadium in capacity. The largest crowd to witness a Tennessee home game numbered 109,061 and saw the Volunteers defeat the Florida Gators 30-28.

The University of Tennessee claims six national titles, although only four (1938, 1950, 1951, and 1998) were granted by major polls and only two (1951 and 1998) were awarded by the AP. Tennessee has never produced a Heisman winner, although alums Johnny Majors and Peyton Manning are among the most famous runners-up for the award. The 1998 squad finished with a perfect 13-0 record, defeated Florida State 23-16 in the Fiesta Bowl, and secured the inaugural BCS national championship.

Florida defeated Tennessee 31-17 on the last occasion the
Vols visited Gainesville; the Florida defense proved too much
for the Volunteers to overcome while Tyler Murphy played
well in his collegiate debut. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Traditionally, Tennessee's most important rival is Alabama. The Vols first met the Tide in 1901 (a 6-6 tie) and have met every year since 1928 (barring the war year of 1943). No other SEC team has won more games or championships than Alabama or Tennessee. No team has defeated Alabama more times than Tennessee and no team has defeated Tennessee more times than Alabama. Although Alabama has now won each of the last eight games in the series, Tennessee had won 10 of the previous 12. Before that, Alabama had won 19 of the last 24. Thus, despite the general competitiveness between the two schools, the rivalry has been dominated by streaks since the early 1970s. The Crimson Tide currently leads the series with 51 wins to Tennessee's 38 (seven competitions have resulted in draws). Although Kentucky and Vanderbilt both consider Tennessee a primary rival, this animosity is not fully reciprocated due to Tennessee's historical dominance of those two schools. Tennessee first met Kentucky in 1893 and leads the series 77-24-9. The Volunteers lead Vanderbilt in their series 74-30-5 since first playing in 1892.

Florida and Tennessee first played one another in football in 1916, although the conference rivalry has only been played on an annual basis since 1990. The Gators and Vols have played a total of 44 games; Florida has won 25 of those games, while Tennessee has won 19. Tennessee won the first 10 games of the series and didn’t lose to the Gators until 1954. Since that year, the Gators have held a 25-9 advantage in total wins-losses. In addition, the Gators have not lost to the Vols since 2004. The rivalry peaked in intensity in the 1990s and early 2000s, when both teams dominated the SEC East division. Usually played early in the SEC season, the Florida-Tennessee game was critical for either team to win the conference championship. Because of this, many modern Tennessee fans consider Florida to be their main rival.

Although the Pride of the Southland Band (Tennessee's marching band) and UT's fans are well known for playing and singing a cover of the Osborne Brothers' "Rocky Top" as a school song, their actual fight song is "Down the Field".