Gators' James Houston: “Never Played a Tennessee Team That Was Too Competitive”
The No. 6 Florida Gators have an opportunity to do something they since the 2016 season, win the SEC East.
Against the Tennessee Volunteers, the Gators will have played all of its SEC East opponents, including arch-rival Georgia Bulldogs, and with a victory, they'll lock in their spot to Atlanta, more than likely facing off against the Alabama Crimson Tide who are the front runners for the SEC West championship.
The last time the Gators played in the SEC title game was in 2016 against Alabama, so with a victory against the Volunteers, the program can truly come full circle, except with a much better team. One of the leaders of the team, linebacker James Houston IV is anticipating the much-awaited SEC East title, granted the team takes care of business on Saturday.
"I mean we’re just trying to take it week by week," Houston told the media on Monday.
"We had Kentucky last week and we’ve got Tennessee this week, so I mean this is the game to clinch the East, this is the game to assert our dominance and tell everybody we’re going to the SEC Championship, and yeah, I think everybody’s pretty excited. I don’t think too many people need motivation for this game, we all know what’s at stake.”
Against Tennesee, the Gators will have all the momentum, and all of the firepower with the return of tight end Kyle Pitts on the offensive side of the football. Tennessee is currently 2-5 with not much to play for given the circumstances of this season.
Florida currently leads the series 29-20, and have won 14 out of the last 15 contests, including the last three by a score difference of 107-44. Houston, a redshirt junior, has played in the last two contests in which the Gators have won by a score margin of 81-24, Florida has dominated, which has turned the rivalry into ... well, not much of a rivalry, he says.
“I personally never really played a Tennessee team that was too competitive against us, but I mean it’s Tennessee-Florida, it’s a rivalry game, it’s got history, we’ve got beef," said Houston. "So, I mean, it’s going to be an interesting game. I always love going to Rocky Top. It’ll usually be super loud and rocking, but we’ll see what it’s looking like on Saturday."
Those strong words will have to be backed up on Saturday, and perhaps the Gators will play a more competitive Tennessee team than they have in recent seasons. Regardless, Florida will be plenty motivated, and there's no question that Tennessee will be too, especially considering some of the dramatic losses the team has faced against Florida recently.
Ultimately, the Gators appear to be the heavy favorites going into this matchup, and with good reason. Led by Heisman-candidate quarterback Kyle Trask, Florida will have its opportunity to lock up the SEC East and add another point to the program and head coach Dan Mullen's resume.
