KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -Lane Kiffin has never been as big of an underdog as his Tennessee Volunteers are against No. 1 Florida.
“I think I kind of like it for our players because it kind of takes the pressure off of them,” the coach said Tuesday. “It’s like that (UCLA) game Saturday has taken some of the pressure off of this game for them and the buildup for it.”
After a 19-15 loss to the Bruins in Knoxville last week, Tennessee (1-1) is a four-touchdown underdog against Florida (2-0) on Saturday.
Florida has dominated the annual matchup with Tennessee under coach Urban Meyer. The Gators won the last two games by a combined 63 points and have won four straight.
Kiffin added spice to the matchup when he said in the offseason he couldn’t wait to sing “Rocky Top” all night long after beating Florida this year.
ra ammunition on the field, but the Gators plastered the quote around the team’s training facility during this summer.
And it’s been – and will likely continue to be – the main topic of discussion this week.
Still, the coach sees no reason to use the underdog status to motivate his players.
“I don’t really believe in the underdog role for motivation,” he said. “If you’re not motivated for this game, something’s wrong with you.
“It’s Tennessee versus Florida, and regardless of what the spread is and who’s the favorite and who’s the underdog, it’s a big-time matchup – one that a lot of these kids have watched for years when they were growing up,” he said. “I would be shocked that either side needs to motivate their players.”
Florida’s Tim Tebow agrees. He’s been watching the rivalry since he was 5 or 6 years old, when Peyton Manning and Danny Wuerffel were leading the teams.
“It’s an intense rivalry, it’s a rivalry where you’ll go out there and play extremely hard,” Tebow said. “It just gives you that much more momentum, that much more confidence in the rest of your season so it’s a huge game for us.”
Since the Southeastern Conference split into divisions in 1992, Florida has been favored over Tennessee more often than not and has won 12 of the 17 games in that period.
that we’re the underdog. That’s one of the reasons I came here. I like being the underdog. I like being the dog on the bottom that has to fight his way to the top.”
Linebacker Rico McCoy might not share Berry’s love for the underdog status. He still thinks it will help him play a little harder, even when he’s starting to feel a little fatigued.
When informed just how much Florida was favored on Tuesday, McCoy drew in a deep breath and shook his head.
“Man. The game’s still going to be played,” he said. “It’s just a number they throw out before the game. We determine if that happens or not.”
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AP Sports Writer Mark Long in Gainesville, Fla., contributed to this report.
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