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The Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC) will look to carry their momentum from back-to-back emphatic wins into a hostile environment in Knoxville to face off with the No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers (4-1, 1-1 SEC) on Saturday night.

Florida is coming off its most complete showing against a quality opponent of the season as the Gators dismantled a strong UCF team, beating them 24-13 in The Swamp. They will have to do a lot of the same if they want to have a chance against Tennessee, who will be coming into the game angry after losing to Arkansas 19-14 last Saturday.

This will be the 54th meeting all time between the two bitter rivals. Florida has owned Tennessee in the past two decades, winning 17 out of the last 19 matchups, including an upset victory over the then No. 11 Volunteers in Gainesville in 2023. At the end of that game, things got chippy between the two teams, as multiple players threw punches. It will be interesting to see if any of that emotion pours into this year’s game.

The Gators should be getting a key offensive piece back against a Volunteers defense that has yet to surrender 20 points in a game this season. Wideout Eugene “Tre” Wilson III, who has missed the last three games due to a minor knee surgery, was not listed on the Week 7 injury report. As he is the most explosive player on the Florida offense when healthy, Wilson’s presence on the field will be huge in a game where the Gators will need some firepower.

Since quarterback Graham Mertz returned from a concussion he suffered in Week 1 against Miami, Florida’s third-year head coach Billy Napier has been going with a two-quarterback offense. Mertz has been the starter and freshman DJ Lagway has commanded every third drive. This has propelled the Gators to two consecutive victories and is likely what Gator fans will see on Saturday in Knoxville.

Mertz had most of the passing attempts last week against UCF as he went 19-for-23 with 179 yards and a touchdown. Lagway was perfect through the air in his limited opportunities, going 4-for-4 with 50 yards and had a phenomenal 37-yard strike to Chimere Dike that set up a Florida touchdown. Both quarterbacks have been making contributions while on the field, but it is interesting to see if Tennessee’s stout defense can put a stop to it.

The passing game hasn’t been the only thing working for Napier’s offense in the two straight Florida victories, as the Gators’ rushing attack has been effective as well. As a team, Florida rushed for over 220 yards against Mississippi State on Sept. 21 and 130 more last Saturday against the Knights. Senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. has been the leading man out of the Gators backfield, averaging almost five yards per carry in those two games.

As for Tennessee, the Volunteers’ offense is led by redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who has been named SEC Freshman of the Week three times already this season. He has thrown for over 1,000 yards in five starts with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He has also run for over 100 yards and one score as well.

Iamaleava has weapons all over the field to get the ball to. Dont’e Thornton Jr., Bru McCoy and Squirrel White all have big-play ability when they get the ball in their hands. Thornton has led the bunch so far this year with 284 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

While the Volunteers can throw the ball well, the real weapon of the Tennessee offense is the running game. Junior running back Dylan Sampson has led a rushing attack that has run for 267 yards per game this season. Sampson has gotten the bulk of the action, with 91 carries for 589 yards and 12 scores.

Florida’s defense was able to stifle a high-powered rushing game in RJ Harvey and UCF last week, holding them to just 108 yards on the ground as a team. The Gators will look to do the same against the fifth-ranked rushing attack in college football.

In an action-packed Saturday in the SEC, a Florida-Tennessee game rarely disappoints. The fun begins at 7 p.m. ET at Neyland Stadium on ESPN. Tennessee is currently a 15-point favorite over the Gators, according to ESPN Bet.