It’s almost The Third Saturday in September.
Don’t tell that to coach Will Muschamp and the rest of the Gators, though.
To them, Tennessee is just another game.
To the Gators, the Vols are just “nameless, faceless” opponents who happen to be Florida’s Southeastern Conference opener.
But they shouldn’t be, because Saturday marks the biggest game of Muschamp’s young head coaching career, and a game for which he will be judged heavily by Florida’s rabid fan base.
Urban Meyer made a point of hyping up Florida’s rivalry games, and then he made sure his team backed it up with its play on the field.
Under Meyer, Florida went 17-2 against Tennessee, Georgia, Florida State and Miami, including an impeccable 6-0 record against the Vols. Of those six wins, only one was decided by fewer than nine points — a one-point Florida victory in 2006.
The walls around Florida’s locker room used to be draped with motivational ploys during rivalry weeks. Quotes, photos, you name it.
Meyer and his staff would blare “Rocky Top” during practices leading up to the Tennessee game.
But there is none of that is going on with Muschamp at the helm.
Florida is treating Tennessee just like it did Florida Atlantic and UAB — teams that were referred to as “great” and as “good tests” by some Gators players, but in reality were anything but.
“I don’t like to treat any game different from one another,” Muschamp said Monday.
“It’s the next one and therefore it’s the most important. It’s a great rivalry. It’s in the SEC East, and it’s a game we need to play well in, and win.
“It’s a very important game; we don’t need to tell our players that. They come to play at a place like Florida to play in a game like this.”
When asked about Tennessee, Florida’s players toted the same lines, for the most part.
Linebacker Lerentee McCray said “it’s just like another game,” adding that, “they’re the orange-and-white team, I just need to go out there and play them.”
“We treat every game the same,” defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. “It’s nameless, faceless opponents and we treat every game the same.”
“Every week: nameless, faceless opponents,” offensive lineman Jon Halapio said. “We’re just going to prepare every week the same. Whoever we face, it’s the same.”
But Tennessee isn’t the same
Not the same as FAU or UAB, and certainly not the same whipping boy Florida has worked over the last six years.
The Vols have faces. They have names; names that should worry Muschamp and his boys. Names like Tyler Bray, Tauren Poole, Da’Rick Rogers and Justin Hunter — just to name a few.
If Florida prepares for Tennessee like “just another team,” Muschamp runs the risk of doing something Meyer never did at Florida: lose to Tennessee, and do it at home.
And that’s not the kind of impression Coach Boom wants to leave on Gator Nation in his first year.
If that happens, he and his team will remember Tennessee’s faces for years to come.
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
