KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - It's fair to say that the rivalry between UF and Tennessee has become anything but competitive.
With Saturday's 30-6 drubbing of the Volunteers the Gators earned their fourth consecutive victory against Tennessee. It was also the 12th win in the last 16 games for UF.
Somewhere, Peyton Manning is rolling over in his grave.
The Gators wasted little time in sucking the air out of Neyland Stadium as they opened the game with a nine play, 56-yard touchdown drive in which Tim Tebow brought his patented jump pass out of retirement with a 2-yard strike to tight end Aaron Hernandez.
UF took a 10-0 lead after a Montario Hardesty fumble on the next drive resulted in a Jonathan Phillips field goal.
Brandon James made the play of the game later in the first quarter after Tennessee's stagnant offense was forced to punt the ball once again. And James, who returned an 83-yard punt for a touchdown against Tennessee last season, brought back a 78-yard punt for a touchdown.
Somewhere, Jamal Lewis is rolling over in his grave.
"Usually on most of my returns guys do a great job blocking and I don't have to go and make people miss," James said. "On this one I felt like I was doing a little too much juking and jiving but it worked out in the end and I took it in."
Tennessee did as good a job of losing the game as the Gators did in winning it. The Volunteers turned the ball over at the 1-yard line on two different occasions. The first came at the tail end of a 14-play, 71-yard drive that would have cut the lead to 17-7. Tennessee running back Arian Foster mishandled a handoff from quarterback Jonathan Crompton and the ball was recovered by Carlos Dunlap.
The second turnover came at the end of the first half on what was an 11-play, 60-yard drive. Facing 4th and 1 with six seconds remaining in the half, Crompton threw an interception to cornerback Janoris Jenkins.
UF entered the half with a 20-0 lead.
Game. Set. Match.
"That wasn't us," Coach Phillip Fulmer said. "The penalties, the red-zone efforts…we've been outstanding in those areas (in our previous games). Our punt coverage has been exceptional. We never gave our defense a chance."
One year ago, it was Tebow's defense that never gave him a chance. Oh, how times have changed. For the second time this season the reigning Heisman Trophy winner had less than spectacular stats-he finished 8-of-15 for 96 yards and two touchdowns-but once again the Gators came away with an easy victory.
"(The defense) is playing great. It helps you out so much. You can really count on them. You don't have to force anything. It's a great thing. They're out there and they're playing hard and making plays."
And just when it appeared that UF was still a team without a workhorse running back, Emmanuel Moody finally had the game Gators fans have waited years for.
Moody lead UF with 55 yards on nine carries.
"All I want to do is have a role," he said. "That doesn't mean I have to be the key guy in carries but I just feel like the whole team has meshed together well and whatever part I play, I'm going to keep going hard."
While this may be Tennessee's first 1-2 start since 1994, the Gators still feel like this win is as important as any other they have enjoyed over the years. UF remembers how quickly fortunes can change, such as last season when the Volunteers were manhandled but still played in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
"It was a huge step for us," Tebow said. "For the last 12 to 15 years, the winner of this game has had a lot of success in the SEC and it gives you a lot of momentum. That surge going into SEC play you can really feed off of and get focused."
