Rivalry begins for Jeremy Pruitt, Dan Mullen
Two new faces take over an old rivalry when Tennessee plays host to Florida in the first meeting between head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Dan Mullen.
Both new hires will be in search of the first SEC victory with their respective programs when the Volunteers and Gators take to the turf at 7 p.m. ET at Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium. For Pruitt, that means ending the Volunteers’ nine-game losing streak within the conference.
Mullen, the former Mississippi State head coach, didn’t fare well in his SEC East debut as then-No. 25 Florida (2-1, 0-1 SEC) fell to Kentucky 27-16 in Gainesville. As a result, Pruitt anticipates Mullen’s offense to respond after the letdown against the Wildcats.
“His offenses are always very physical,” Pruitt said of Mullen-coached squads. “They’re sound. They’re very well coached. They give you different looks. If you look over the years, he adapts to the players that he has. He’s very multiple.”
Pruitt’s own offense has seen a recent rush of success in wins over East Tennessee State and Texas-El Paso, in which the Vols (2-1) won by a combined 83-3 margin.
Despite the lofty numbers, Pruitt still sees plenty of room for improvement, particularly with a tougher opponent arriving on Rocky Top.
“We had the penalties putting us in bad yardage on third downs, but we did put several plays together,” Pruitt said of the Vols’ effort versus UTEP, which included three fumbles. “As far as average yards per play, it was somewhere in the plus six range, which is our best for the season. We’ve got to eliminate the penalties and take care of the football.”
Tennessee will also look to use its deep backfield to wear down a Florida run defense that’s surrendering 198.3 yards per game on the ground. Vols tailbacks have eight rushing touchdowns spread between four running backs and a wide receiver — including three players (Tim Jordan, Madre London and Jeremy Banks) with multiple scores.
History suggests that Tennessee and Florida will be a close contest, with the last four meetings all being decided by fewer than 10 points.
