THE STORYLINE
• Florida visits Tennessee for the 27th time in the 52nd all-time meeting between the two programs.
• UF boasts a 31-20 record (.608) in the series and has won 16 of the last 17 meetings including an active five-game winning streak. Florida has won each of the last four matchups by 12 points or more. Across those last 17 games, UF has outscored UT, 523-294 (+229 pts / 13.5 PPG), and out-gained UT, 6,479 to 5,278 (+1,201 yds / 70.6 YPG).
• There have been 24 prior meetings in which both Florida and Tennesee have been ranked, with the most recent coming in 2017 (No. 24 Florida 26, No. 23 Tennessee 20). UF is 16-8 in ranked games vs. UT including 5-1 since 2005.
• From 1990-2007, Florida and Tennessee met every year with all 18 matchups being ranked games (Florida, 12-6).
• UF has won two-straight road games vs. UT including victories in seven of the last eight meetings in Knoxville.
• In last year’s matchup, Florida posted 505 total yards and ran for 283 yards on the ground.
• UF last visited UT in 2020, winning 31-19 thanks to 433 yards passing and four touchdowns from QB Kyle Trask.
• Florida has totaled 300-plus yards of offense against Tennessee in seven-straight games and in 12 of the last 13 meetings. The Gators also have rushed for 100-plus yards in 15 of the last 16 matchups.
• UF has scored 31-plus points in each of the last four matchups and 26-plus points in seven in a row.
• Meanwhile, Florida has held Tennessee to 21 points or fewer in five-straight matchups.
• This is the first meeting between UF’s Billy Napier and UT’s Josh Heupel as head coaches. The two previously coached against one another as assistants in the 2013 Sugar Bowl when Napier was the WR Coach at Alabama and Heupel the Co-OC / QB Coach at Oklahoma. The Sooners prevailed in that contest, 45-31, but Napier’s WR corps racked up 387 yards on 19 catches, led by 121 yards from Amari Cooper and 139 yards from DeAndrew White.
• Florida ranks second in the SEC, fourth in the Power Five and fifth in the FBS with 6.4 yards per carry.
• UF opened the season with a 29-26 upset of No. 7 Utah, which tied for UF’s highest-ranked victory in a season open- er in program history. Billy Napier became the first UF HC to defeat a ranked team in his first game at the helm.
• Florida is one of two teams in the nation to face three opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 across the first-four weeks of the season (Texas Tech). UF is the only team to face three top-20 opponents through the first-four weeks.
• Florida has scored in 426-consecutive games dating back to 1988 -- an NCAA record and 56 games longer than any other college football team in the history of the sport.
Game 4 #20 Florida Gators (2-1, 0-1 SEC) at #11 Tennessee Volunteers (3-0, 0-0 SEC) September 24 // 3:30 p.m. // Knoxville, Tenn. Neyland Stadium (101,915)
CBS Play-by-Play: Brad Nessler Analyst: Gary Danielson Reporter: Jenny Dell Channel (Cox): 4 / 1004 [HD] Channel (DirecTV): 47 [HD] Gator IMG Sports Network Play-by-Play: Sean Kelley Analyst: Shane Matthews Reporter: Tate Casey Station Freq.: Local Affiliates Sirius Channel: 138 or 191
• 2021 All-Sun Belt Freshman of the Year RB Montrell Johnson Jr. and freshman RB Trevor Etienne paced UF running backs in rushing for the third-straight week in Week 3.
• Johnson Jr. ranks t-fifth in the FBS with 9.6 YPC while Etienne ranks 31st with 7.4 YPC.
• In Week 3, Johnson Jr. rushed for 103 yards on just six carries, equating to 17.2 yards per attempt – the second highest yards per carry in a single game in the FBS this season behind Nicholas Singleton of Penn State (17.9 YPC vs. Ohio, 9/10/22). Johnson Jr. is the first Gators RB to rush for 100 yards since Dameon Pierce vs. FAU on Sept. 4, 2021. Johnson Jr. and Pierce are the only Gators running backs to eclipse 100 rushing yards in a game over the last three seasons.
• Johnson Jr. leads the backfield with 25 carries for 240 yards and two TD this season, while Etienne has 22 carries (third) for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
• Collectively, they have accounted for 47.5% of carries, 62.7% of RB carries and 63.8% of total rush yardage.
• Also in Week 3, RB Montrell Johnson Jr.’s 62-yard touchdown rush in the first-quarter marked Florida’s longest rush since Anthony Richardson ran for an 80-yard TD run vs. USF on Sept. 11, 2021. It also marked the longest rush by a Florida running back since Dameon Pierce’s 75-yard touchdown run against South Carolina on Oct. 19, 2019. The carry was Johnson Jr.’s longest as a Gator. Johnson Jr. now has two rushing touchdowns at UF and 14 for his career.
• Johnson Jr. led the backfield with 62 yards on seven carries (8.9 YPC) in Week 2 while Etienne led with nine carries and totaled 46 yards (5.1 YPC), scoring his first-career touchdown with a go-ahead, 11-yard scamper in the second quarter.
• Etienne then caught a pass from Richardson for the two-point conversion, becoming one of three UF players (Kyle Trask, Anthony Richardson) to score a rushing touchdown and a two-point conversion in the same game in the last 25 years. He is the first with a rushing TD and a receiving 2-pt conversion.
• Johnson Jr. scored his first touchdown as a Gator in the form of a go-ahead, 14-yard touchdown rush in the fourth quarter of Week 1.
• In Week 1 vs. No. 7 Utah, Etienne and Johnson Jr. combined for 139 yards on 17 carries (49.1% of UF’s rush
GATORS ON ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY
• Week 4 at Tennessee marks Florida’s 42nd all-time appearance on ESPN College Gameday.
• The Gators are 26-15 on College Gameday including wins in two of the team’s last-three appearances.
• Florida and Tennessee have faced off on Gameday eight different times, with the Gators holding a 6-2 advantage including a 4-1 mark in Knoxville.
• The only other team UF has played on Gameday as many times as Tennessee is Florida State (eight)
