Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
| First meeting | October 28, 1916 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | September 24, 2016 |
| Next meeting | September 16, 2017 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 46 |
| All-time series | Florida leads, 26–20 |
| Largest victory | Tennessee, 45–3 (1990) |
| Longest win streak | Florida, 11 (2005–15) |
| Current win streak | Tennessee, 1 (2016–present) |
The Florida–Tennessee football rivalry, sometimes referred to as the "Third Saturday in September", is an American college football rivalry between the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida and Tennessee Volunteers football team of the University of Tennessee. The Gators and Vols first met on the gridiron in 1916, and have competed in the same conference since Florida and Tennessee joined the now-defunct Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1910 and 1895, respectively. However, a recognized rivalry did not develop until the early 1990s due to the infrequency of earlier meetings; in the first seventy-six years (1916–91) of the series, the two teams played just twenty-one times.
In 1992, when the Southeastern Conference (SEC) expanded to twelve universities and split into two divisions, Florida and Tennessee were both placed in the SEC's East Division, and have met annually on the football field since then. The rivalry quickly blossomed in intensity and importance, as both squads were perennial SEC and national championship contenders throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
Tennessee dominated the rivalry's early years. The Volunteers won the first ten games against Florida and held a 13–2 series lead after winning the 1971 game. Florida has held the advantage since then, especially since the schools became SEC East rivals in 1992. After the 2016 game, Florida leads the all-time series 26–20.
Florida and Tennessee's football teams first met in 1916, when both schools were members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. They each joined the Southern Conference in the 1920s, and were founding members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 1932. Despite these common affiliations, a true rivalry did not develop between the programs for a long time because they played so sparingly.
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