Tennessee football and Florida football might feel like a historic rivalry, but that's very much a byproduct of the SEC East matchup being heated over the past couple of decades. In fact, after playing for the first time in the 1916 college football season, they played only 18 times before 1990. Since that season, though, the Vols and Gators have played every year and a heated rivalry has been born.
Last season amid the Volunteers making a dark-horse push for the College Football Playoff, they got the best of a struggling Gators team. However, the game was much closer than you might've expected as Tennessee barely got the win at home in Knoxville, 38-33.
Now, Florida is set to host the rivalry matchup again. And The Swamp in Gainesville has been anything but kind to Tennessee football in recent history. They come into this game as favorites but with a long losing streak working against them.
How long? Well, let's take a look at the last time Tennessee beat Florida in Gainesville before diving deeper into the matchup history.
When is the last time Tennessee beat Florida in The Swamp?
Tennessee hasn't beaten Florida in The Swamp since Sept. 20, 2003 when the then-No. 12-ranked Vols notched a 24-10 victory over the No. 17 Gators. Casey Clausen and Jabari Davis led the way for Rocky Top in that win. Interestingly enough, that was the second straight win in Gainesville for the Vols in this series as they knocked off No. 2 Florida (Tennessee was ranked No. 5 at the time) 34-32 in the 2001 season as well.
All told, though, it's been 20 years since the Vols have gotten a win on the road against their rivals.
Tennessee-Florida football rivalry: Matchup history, records
In total, Tennessee and Florida have played 52 times with Florida leading the all-time series with a 31-21 record. Moreover, the Gators have completely dominated the rivalry in recent history, whether it's been in Gainesville or not. Florida won 11-straight meetings from 2005-15 and Tennessee, including last year's win, has only beaten the Gators twice since 2005.
Needless to say, Josh Heupel and the Vols are looking to change the tides in this rivalry.
