Florida Gators head football coach Jim McElwain thinks the Tennessee Volunteers should “beat the heck out of them” when the teams meet this year.
For the last 11 seasons, the Florida Gators have come out victorious in their yearly game against one of their SEC East rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers. Some games have been blowouts, while others have come down to a miraculous ending (like last year’s 28-27 win thanks to a touchdown pass on fourth down with time running down).
The Gators would go on to win the East Division last season thanks in part to that victory, but it’s the Vols who are projected to win the Division this season.
Florida head coach Jim McElwain doesn’t seem to feel disrespected by that and actually had an interesting comment about their September 24th game according to SECCountry.com:
"I’m sure that they should be (favored) and they should beat the heck out of us. We’re just going to be lucky to show up. I don’t really get caught up in (predictions). Obviously, that’s not my gig. We’ve got a lot of work here to do."
It’s very rare for a coach to say that another school will “beat the heck” out of their team (especially when they are on a winning streak that spans longer than a decade). It should be noted that McElwain said the same thing last year before Florida’s game against then third ranked Ole Miss, a game the Gators would win 38-10.
Tennessee is considered the favorite in the SEC East thanks in part to the return of quarterback Josh Dobbs and running back Jalen Hurd. Florida, who lost much of their defensive talent from last season in the 2016 NFL Draft, is still undecided about who will be starting at several key spots, including the quarterback position.
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