Lane Kiffin, it turns out, has one Tennessee-Florida game under his belt.
In 1999 he sat in the stands at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with his soon-to-be fiancee and watched the Gators win, 23-21.
It was a battle of SEC titans. No. 2-ranked Tennessee was the defending national champion and a two-time defending SEC champ. No. 4 Florida ended the Vols' 14-game winning streak.
In short, Kiffin witnessed the Tennessee program at the height of its power.
It'll be a different story Saturday when he goes back to The Swamp.
The top-ranked Gators have won two of the past three national titles and are favored to win another. In Tim Tebow, Florida has a Heisman Trophy winner at quarterback.
Tennessee is a four-touchdown underdog.
"I look at their 11 starters on defense and I think you have 11 NFL players,'' Kiffin said Tuesday.
"I would think they're the most talented defense ever to play. And probably the best quarterback to ever play college football.
"So we're going to have our hands full.''
The '99 Vols that Kiffin saw from afar were a handful for anyone. The roster included five first-round draft picks and seven second-rounders. Some consider it the most talented UT squad ever.
That's the level it took to stare Florida in the eye. Between 1998-2001, UT and Florida split four games that were decided by a combined 11 points.
The 2009 Vols that Kiffin sees up close have fallen well behind the Gators in the arms race.
Florida has won the past five games in the rivalry. The Gators' margin in the past two is a combined 63 points.
When Kiffin was hired Dec. 1 to replace Phillip Fulmer, he was charged with the mission of closing that gap.
Kiffin, at his introductory press conference, remarked how much fun it was going to be singing "Rocky Top" when the Vols won in The Swamp this year.
Not likely. Under the guidance of Urban Meyer the past four years, Florida has elevated itself to the elite program in the nation.
And Kiffin has never been this big of an underdog at any point in his career.
"I don't think anywhere close,'' he said.
But he has a plan to level the field - eventually.
"We know we're going to get there,'' Kiffin said. "It takes some time.
"They hadn't won two national championships in three years four years ago. They didn't have the depth they have and the great players all the way across the board.
"It takes a while to build that.''
How long is a while?
"We need to be rolling by year three,'' Kiffin said. "You've got three of your recruiting classes in when you get to that point.''
His first class is a good step in that direction. It includes four blue-chippers who were committed to other schools: Marsalis Teague and Nu'Keese Richardson to Florida, Bryce Brown to Miami and Janzen Jackson to LSU.
"We have to sign a class like we did last year and even better,'' Kiffin said. "And then you do that four years in a row and then you have a roster like (the Gators) do.
"It takes a lot of hard work. They've done a fabulous job putting together that roster.''
Kiffin was an assistant on Southern Cal teams that won two national titles and produced three Heisman winners. He says these Gators are even more talented.
If offense and defense weren't enough, Meyer's special teams are as potent as any in the country. The recurring theme is Meyer's commitment to speed.
"You see it show up,'' Kiffin said. "Instead of going for 8 yards, because he's recruited so much speed, a play goes for 80.
"It's something we lack. We've got to recruit more speed.''
But not before Saturday's kickoff. The Vols understand the scenario. They're frequently reminded this week the odds-makers don't even think it will be close.
"That's their opinion,'' said defensive end Chris Walker. "We've got to prove 'em wrong.
"If we don't play well, they might be right.''
UT fans hope the odds won't be so long against Florida in the near future. Kiffin has a plan he is confident will lead to championships.
That confidence is why he says things like how much fun it'll be singing "Rocky Top'' when Tennessee beats Florida.
But doing so is going to be even harder than it was in 1999. The Vols don't stare the Gators in the eye like they once did.
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Comments » 143
GahLee writes:
Who cares about odds.
Volomatic writes:
Same old BS story we read every week give me a break. Report on something or don't write at all. Just worthless dribble!
Voluvr writes:
Win or lose, jack em up until the whistle blows.
Stomp Florida.
GahLee writes:
His comment on recruiting and needing 3 years is something people need to take note of.
Top 10 class last year.
Top 5 class this year.
A top class next year.
Like I said before, no game is more about talent than college football...at this point were average.
We have some very good players and 1 great player, but we are weak and lack depth at many positions.
In time we will have the talent to compete. In time.
Pdiddy10 writes:
eric berry needs to get some interceptions in this game and step up and start playing. i dont care what you say about tackles. i want the ol berry to get some interceptions so we can score. duh. score to win. berry is overrated and he needs to start playing. somebody get in his face and get him fired up.. LETS GO!!!!
Pdiddy10 writes:
we arent even in the top seventeen class this year. no way we are gonna get a top five class. number eight at the most. we have nobody right now and nobody looking at us. LETS GO!!!!
Pdiddy10 writes:
all of our freshmen except for bryce will take at least 2 yrs to get good. so we need to sign instant playmakers like bryce. we havnt yet...
Pdiddy10 writes:
all i say is that we just play all of the freshmen we got this year in a wimpy game like ohio and memphis, and then show all the recruits that they will play... this year doesnt matter we werent going to get to a good bowl game anyway. we still have a lot of phulmers players. just play alot of recruits.
thevoice writes:
Actually, as it stands now, we are No. 3, so I've heard.
onevolfan99 writes:
when i looked earlier today our class for this year is third.
jwright13#576991 writes:
you're a loser.
our current recruiting class is ranked third in the nation by Scout.
andy112382#209793 writes:
You obviously do not follow recruiting at all. We have the #3 class and best in the SEC, look at scout.com and no one has more 5-star commitments than Tennessee at the moment.
NoSirRee writes:
I am so glad the Florida game is the weekend...finally! I am so sick of hearing about Kiffin promising to beat them. Anyone with a brain realizes that he was joking. He didn't really mean we would beat Florida this year. It was just a pep talk. Anyway, we'll get murdered at the Swamp this year and have a good shot at them next year, big deal.
NoSirRee writes:
Also, ignore Pdiddy. He's lacking in the accurate information department. I hear a new shipment is coming in though via more informed people's posts
trottcneagle#209678 writes:
""Florida has won the past five games in the rivalry""
05
06
07
08
that's only four in my book.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Riveting article.
whatcanbrowndoforyou writes:
I believe it was the 87 Sugar Bowl when according to "them" the vols had no chance in heck of beating the Miami Hurricanes. "They" was right the Vols destroyed a "much better hurricanes team." Believe or leave. GO VOLS!!
lowman4vols writes:
dude... we have the number 3 class right now (scout) and rivals has us at # 4.
GahLee writes:
Saturday is nothing more than an opportunity for UT, we keep it close, we look good, we somehow win, it's monumental, we get beat by 30, we were supposed to.
The guys who said we aren't getting it done this year in recruiting must not pay any attention...we have a chance to land the number one class.
trottcneagle#209678 writes:
It was the season in 85. 86 Sugar bowl though.
lowman4vols writes:
'86, my cousin chris white was the starting safety then. he once owned the interception record for the Vols until a stud by the name of eric berry came along...
peerlessvolfan writes:
We got nuttin' to lose except our pride. Go Big Orange!
SEAL_9821 writes:
If you haven't been keeping up with the defense we are running them you need to start. Monte has been using Berry more as a silent linebacker so far. This is why he made 10 tackles last saturday. He is moving him around the box to have a 4th linebacker and try to keep the offense guessing. Look at Norm Chows comments on Sunday. He said it was the most difficult defense he's had to call plays against since he returned to the college level.
lowman4vols writes:
awe, poor baby! typical gator.... just like urban cryer!
NoSirRee writes:
Well you are the expert on everything UT so I guess he was dead serious then. Happy?
SoFlaVol writes:
Wrong. Check the Scout.com and the ESPNrecruiting sites for the 2010 class. This weeks three four star commits raised us to number 3 n ne and 4 on the other.
Doyouwannasmackoprah writes:
Strange,
FL has actually won the past FOUR in the rivalry, not five.
NoogaVol55 writes:
"Better to remain silient and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt."
PDiddy....take notice. You're embarassing yourself.
GahLee writes:
You know as well as everyone else does that he was breathing new life into a dormant program, he needed to grab the attention of recruits, he has done so...10 top class last year, top 3 class to this point this year.
You had to know that he wouldn't keep that up, you guys need motivation to beat us, that in itself is sad, the Gators have a chance at history and they are worried about what our head coach is saying.
You wont be thinking he is a fake when we have the number one class this year. These great classes will start winning games, in bunches.
SEAL_9821 writes:
Don't post on the site unless you know what's truly going on inside Tennessee football. We all appreciate your love for the vols, but your years behind in your stats and knowledge.
Down_The_Field writes:
i kicked off this week in true vol fashion. i packed up my 1979 ome banjo and went to a buddies and he pulled out his gibson mastertone and we picked nothing but rocky top for an hour. he was pickin so hard, he broke a string. if you live on signal mountain, you may have heard us.
back to the subject. GO VOLS.
GahLee writes:
The great people of Pahokee...sob,sob...guess all that crying that Tebow did last year has softened all you so called football fans down in Florida.
SoFlaVol writes:
DC, you have lost your mind. There are some hard working, decent people in Pahokee but to call it a "great city" is absurd. A high school football star was gunned down in the streets by a gang banger for his necklace after a Friday night football game just a year or two back. The place is a dilapidated ghetto of poor families and the only way out for most of those kids is athletics. That's why Pahokee and Glades Central always have great teams. Obviously you've never been there or you are delusional.
You are on this site ever day and night. Do you have a life? Obviously you thrive on negative attention like the little children who have been neglected by their parents so they seek any attention they can get.
HowboutdemVOLS writes:
Im comfident the defence will play well as always, we wont loose by 4TDS even with CRAPton tossin the pig around. GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
chargervol writes:
The more you post, the more we believe, you are stupid! That is your own fault. Go back and read some of your posts and try to see for yourself! GO VOLS!!!
Lostvolinhighweeds writes:
Frankly, nobody gives the fleas off a rats rear what 'Gator Nation' considers funny.
GahLee writes:
Berry doesn't have the interception record. Nor did your cousin.
NoSirRee writes:
Only d-bags quote the movie Gladiator...pshhh
steelersman42 writes:
wow Chow said that? that's high praise, considering he coaches against USC every year...
rich182x writes:
Pdiddy10 you're a moron.
It's not going to happen in one year folks! Educate yourselves!! I wonder if Bama fans called for Sabans head after season one, their record was 6-6(?).
There was an interesting article on SI a few months ago that gauranteed we would have the number one recruiting class this year, because ut is a trend. It happened with Weis and Saban along with others.
We are rebuidling after completly imploding last season. Give it time, we will get the talent and we will get the QB. Then, it's just a matter of time.
PLEASE, don't boo after two games. Don't send death threats to OUR QB. Don't call for the head coach's head either. If you do, you are no better than the trolls. GO BE A GATOR FAN, I would never want to sit next to you wearing the same colors if that's how shallow and ignorant you have become. I'm drunk.
asleep#212036 writes:
Not for nothing, but by the end of the recruiting period, we had a concensus top 10 class. Remember, we signed two 5-stars and a 4-star after the February signing day. I do agree though that right now we are talent-poor and it will certainly require more than one solid class to fix the holes in this ship. Go Vols!!!
OHVOLFAN writes:
I READ...TENNESSEE HAS NOT HAD TWO CONSECUTIVE LOSING SEASONS SINCE 1909-1911,THE LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK!! LETS KEEP IT GOING VOLS!!...LETS ALL KEEP OUR HEADS UP ABOUT THIS GREAT PROGRAM!
asleep#212036 writes:
Who cares what Gator Nation thinks on a UT website! You've got the best team in the nation and you are worried about what a first-year coach at your beat-down rival thinks? Are you serious? Does someone need a hug?
Lostvolinhighweeds writes:
Tennesee football, its' fortunes and misfortunes concern me. There is nothing about the Florida team that concerns me, or ever will, particularly not the Florida sense of humor.
steelersman42 writes:
c'mon VOLS, let's go up to Gainesville this Saturday and show em what VOLS football is all about. GO VOLS!!!
sidwalkvol writes:
what? have you not been reading about the great commitments we have received? Mercy. As of yesterday we are #1 in the conference and #3 nationally.
Cldvols1 writes:
Stoked about the future of UT football! CLK and staff are bringing in some high-level recruits who will play a key role in returning the Vols to prominence. Oh yeah, and the game this wknd will be alot closer than the polsters predict. 29 point spread...forget about it, final score UF 28, UT 21 after a great defensive battle. Go Vols!!!
Lostvolinhighweeds writes:
Coach Chow has only coached against U.S.C one year, last year.
jst4tdyvols writes:
Is our team going there expecting to get beat.They need to go there and fight for their lives and give their all for TENNESSEE.sucker punch them when they dont expect it knock tebow on his back a couple of times,and he will think about all that running he does.WE CAN WIN GO VOLS
sidwalkvol writes:
as of now, UT is third nationally in total defense with at least one real opponent. The swamprats are 22nd and have played nobody. Course, not sure our offense is better than who they've faced.
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