KNOXVILLE – As much as Tennessee’s football program would like to celebrate for a few extra days having removed the 10-ton monkey of an 11-year losing streak to Florida from its back, life in the Southeastern Conference doesn’t allow such breaks.
The reward for a thrilling comeback win against the Gators is a trip to face Georgia at Sanford Stadium, where the Volunteers last won in 2006.
The chance to strengthen their stranglehold on the SEC East’s top spot should be plenty of incentive for the Vols to come down quickly from their emotional high of beating Florida, but they risk losing some of the shine from the victory if they falter against the Bulldogs.
“This football team has won 10 games in a row, so we’ve been able to push the reset button,” Vols coach Butch Jones said Monday. “We better, because this will be our toughest challenge to date, going on the road and playing a really good football team in a hostile environment.
“Communication’s going to be at a premium, physicality’s going to be at a premium and they do some really good things that challenge your toughness, challenge your eye discipline, challenge your schemes. They’ll understand what they’re in store for, but it’s a week-to-week season. That’s being a mature competitor, that’s being a mature football team… ‘Hey, that was great, but you know what, that’s over with.'”