In underdog heaven

No longer.

Seven times from 1977 to 1999, Gainesville and the Florida Gators owned the visitors from Tennessee.

No longer.

Intimidation, if it ever was a factor, isn't on the radar for the No. 5 Vols (1-0) as they visit No. 6-ranked Florida (2-0) at 8 tonight on national television (WVLT-TV).

Back-to-back UT victories in Gainesville have quieted the talk of Florida domination.

Ol' Ball Coach Steve Spurrier is in South Carolina and his replacement, Ron Zook, has been banished to Illinois.

Times have changed in this series synonymous with SEC East superiority.

Urban Meyer is the new coach with a new, high-fangled offense imported from Utah.

He's working on his myth or legend status while Tennessee remains ever steady with the dean of SEC coaches, Phillip Fulmer.

"I never was intimidated by it (The Swamp) and I don't think our teams were intimidated by it," Fulmer said. "They just played better than us. That's the truth. And when we won, we played better than them."

More truth can be found in the motivation of being named a six-point underdog by the betting brain trusts in Las Vegas.

That's music to the ears of Tennessee players. They smell another chance at an upset, another chance to quiet the doubting throngs.

No one is crazy or brash enough to predict victory.

It's a matter of history. Call the Vols underdogs and the local coonhound goes Cujo crazy.

"Here we go again," UT center Richie Gandy said. "We're underdogs. We're going to somebody else's house. Let's just do what we've done in the past. We know how to do it."

Know how can move mountains in this series. UT senior tailback Gerald Riggs Jr., expected to be a key factor in tonight's success or failure, has seen it and heard it before.

"We feed off that energy," he said. "When you have everybody against you -- the whole crowd of 80,000 or 90,000 is letting you know it -- you feed off that energy and it gets you going."

If Riggs "gets going," look out.

If Meyer's spread-option offense gets going behind the spark of junior quarterback Chris Leak, look out.

Let the chess match begin.

"Us being in an underdog role is something we kind of relish," senior guard Cody Douglas said. "That's our perfect position to be in, people not expecting much from us.

"We're looking forward to showing everybody what we're really made of. It motivates you more when people are doubting you."

Underdogs?

* Tennessee is ranked higher.

* UT won the past two meetings with the Gators in Gainesville, and three of the past four games overall.

* Talk all preseason, even by the usually cautious Fulmer, has hinted at national championship aspirations.

Twice in 2003, the Vols got the best of favored Florida (24-10) and Miami (10-6) in road trips.

The biggest example came in 2001 at the fabled Swamp. Tennessee was almost a three-touchdown underdog to the Gators. It left with a 34-32 victory and quarterback Casey Clausen leading the UT band in "Rocky Top."

Now little brother Rick Clausen hopes it's his turn.

The starter-turned-sub- turned-starter has family legacy to consider.

Casey, a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, has provided some advice.

"He said the one thing you've got to try and stay away from is getting too tight," Rick Clausen said. "If you get too tight and people get too nervous, that's when mistakes happen."

It's like a checklist: Play loose, play with poise, don't fear The Swamp.

Fulmer has a checklist, too.

"We've been to Miami and won," he said. "We've been to Athens and won. We've been to Notre Dame and won."