During a Heisman Trophy-winning career at Michigan, Desmond Howard remembers not putting too much stock into past history when it came to rivalry games.
Howard, who now serves as an analyst with ESPN’s Saturday morning pregame show, College GameDay, is in Knoxville ahead of No. 11 Tennessee’s SEC matchup with No. 20 Florida on Saturday.
He provided some insight into how the Vols (3-0), despite being 10.5-point favorites, are approaching their rivalry showdown with the Gators (2-1, 0-1 SEC).
“I’m expecting a good game,” Howard said Friday. “You guys know that I went to Michigan, right? And Michigan is involved in a big rivalry with Ohio State. One thing I always tell people is that I don’t care what Ohio State team I study on film — them against Purdue, against Indiana, whatever. … That’s never the Ohio State I’m going to see. Those maze and blue helmets just bring something out of them. You could apply that same logic, that same theory, to Tennessee-Florida. I guarantee you, Josh Heupel and that coaching staff is like, ‘Listen, I know (Florida) didn’t look good against USF.
"I know they didn’t look good against Kentucky, but that’s not the team we’re going to see Saturday afternoon.’ That’s what I expect.”
This past week, Tennessee coaches and players downplayed the mental aspect of facing Florida, which has won 16 of the last 17 meetings over the Vols. But given how Tennessee has lost previous games against the Gators, it’s undeniable that there is a hurdle — one it hopes to finally clear.
“If every year I came over to your house and hit you with a sledgehammer, would you remember that?,” ESPN reporter and Tennessee alum Gene Wojciechowski said. “ … Tennessee can say that Josh Heupel has only been here two years and he wasn’t part of that and the players can say, you know, whatever they want to say, but if you’re in Gainesville and you’re on that Florida team and you know that you’ve beaten (Tennessee) 16 of the last 17 games, that gives you confidence.
“I think there is a confidence level there. Until they see the stake in Florida’s heart, they’re going to have to win it.”
Although Tennessee is off to its best start since 2016, there’s plenty of other reasons for optimism and it starts on offense.
The Vols are currently averaging more than 553 yards per game, and quarterback Hendon Hooker is 59-of-85 passing for 844 yards and six touchdowns so far in his second season in Heupel’s system.
“It’s a wide-open offense. It gives a lot of freedom to the receivers,” Howard said. “Especially once you study the offense, they have routes that are just not your traditional route tree. They also have options on routes, so there’s no reason to ever be covered. It’s a fun offense. You’re going to get a lot of opportunities, that’s pretty much what I like about it."
But it’s more than what Tennessee has done on the field to garner positive national recognition over the past 15 games dating back to last season. For the first time in decades, there seems to be more stability in the Tennessee athletics department — from top to bottom.
A sold out Neyland Stadium, a primetime TV slot and college football’s premier pregame show being in town are further proof that even those outside of the Vols’ football program notice it, too.
“I was here during the years of Johnny Majors,” Wojciechowski said. “In a lot of ways, it goes back to kind of the way that Josh is doing it now. Identify the problem and fix it. That’s what I love about what’s happening now. It’s been a lopsided rivalry (with Florida), but for the first time in a long time, it feels real and important again.”
College GameDay will broadcast live from Ayers Hall on the University of Tennessee campus on ESPN at 9 a.m. Saturday before Tennessee and Florida kickoff at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
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