Stomped, beaten and thoroughly embarrassed, Tennessee trudged off the Neyland Stadium turf last season after a 34-10 defeat at the hands of Auburn.

Criticism and second-guessing of a two-quarterback system awaited, but just as imposing was the following week's game, on the road, at then-No. 3 Georgia.

"I guess this year is similar in some ways,'' Vols' linebacker Omar Gaither said. "You could say our backs are against the wall.''

It was obvious from the time this year's schedule was released that the SEC did Tennessee no favors. As a result, the Vols are playing back-to-back games against Top 10 teams on the road.

A sixth-ranked Florida team trumped Tennessee by a 16-7 count in Gainesville, and a hungry No. 3 band of LSU Tigers await the Vols at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2) tonight.

The last time UT played two top-10 opponents on the road in consecutive weeks was Sept. 5-12, 1981, when the Vols lost to No. 10 Georgia 44-0 and No. 5 Southern Cal 43-7.

But it was just last year that the Vols rebounded from that drubbing at the hands of then-No. 8 Auburn to score an impressive 19-14 victory over the third-ranked Bulldogs in Athens.

As was the case then, UT quarterback Erik Ainge finds himself squarely on the spot and in the spotlight.

"One of the things I pride myself on is being resilient,'' said Ainge, who struggled through a four-interception effort against Auburn only to rebound with a solid performance in the win at Georgia last season. "Auburn to Georgia last year, that's the exact kind of performance we're going to need and we're going to look for.''

UT coach Phillip Fulmer is no stranger to damage control following losses to Florida, having rallied seven of his eight teams to victory after dropping one to the Gators.

Fulmer's sole downfall after a loss to Florida was in 1994, when unranked Mississippi State handed the Vols a 24-21 loss.

As impressive as that history might seem, Fulmer said it can only suggest so much about the future.

"All of our experiences are important to us,'' said Fulmer, who's 38-24 against ranked teams. "But each team stands on its own. We'll see what the nature of this team is. I hope it's the case again this year that we'll bounce back. The challenge is not only this week, it's what we do down the road.''

Indeed, the last time a UT team came into a season so hyped up (the Vols were No. 3 in the preseason rankings) and lost to Florida was in 1999. That team failed to win the SEC East and finished with a 9-3 record.

However, those '99 Vols did score back-to-back victories over top-10 opponents, knocking off Georgia (37-20) and Alabama (21-7) when both were ranked No. 10 at the time.

Even though the '99 squad was the last UT team to play in a BCS bowl, losing 31-21 in the Fiesta Bowl to Nebraska, the season was considered a disappointment because of the amount of talent that returned to defend a national championship. Seven players off the '99 team were selected within the first 57 picks of the ensuing NFL draft.

How the 2005 Vols measure up against the 1999 team - or any other UT unit for that matter - remains to be seen.

But UT senior tailback Gerald Riggs Jr. said this team is ready to get back on track, and playing a highly ranked opponent after losing to Florida could be just the right tonic.

"If you come back against an opponent like LSU, a big team, you get yourself mentally ready to play,'' Riggs said. "You want to get that win and put the loss behind you.''

Senior defensive end Jason Hall agreed.

"Having another big game doesn't give you time to sulk about your loss,'' Hall said. "As long as we take care of business, we have just as good a shot as anybody to play in the conference championship.''