Ivan Maisel reveals whether Tennessee is 'must-win' game for Florida

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•09/21/22

There are only three ranked-vs-ranked matchups in college football this weekend, with the SEC headliner the annual Florida–Tennessee rivalry set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Is it a must-win game for Florida?

Long-time college football analyst Ivan Maisel certainly thinks so.

“Well by Florida standards it is,” Maisel said on 3 Questions with Ivan Maisel, an On3 video segment hosted by JD PicKell. “It’s been 19 years since the Gators were 2-2. And that’s a remarkable stat. It speaks to how well Florida has done for a long time.”

Florida’s schedule has certainly not been easy to open the season, perhaps a bit of a departure from much of the nearly two-decade period Maisel referenced.

Still, the Gators have struggled the last two weeks after beating then-No. 7 Utah in the season opener. Florida fell at home to a ranked Kentucky squad, then narrowly escaped last weekend with a 31-28 win over USF after the Bulls botched a pair of snaps with a chance to take the lead or tie the game in the waning moments.

Quarterback Anthony Richardson has been wildly inconsistent, to the point that coach Billy Napier is calling for improvement in the Florida passing game. All of that leads into Saturday’s setup.

The Volunteers opened as a 10.5-point favorite. The Gators?

“I think they’re a heavy favorite to go 2-2,” Maisel said.

Must-win game for Florida in Knoxville?

Whether Saturday’s showdown ends up a referendum on where things are headed under Napier’s direction or not, there will certainly be a lot of eyes on the result.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to the On3 YouTube channel today for all of the latest news on college football, recruiting, NIL, more!

ESPN’s College GameDay is headed to Knoxville for the first time since 2016. Coincidentally, that’s also the last time Tennessee won in the series. In fact, it’s the only Vols win in the annual Florida-Tennessee rivalry in the last 17 meetings.

So the Gators certainly enter Saturday in an unfamiliar position.

“Tennessee hasn’t been in this situation in a while and they’re loving it,” Maisel explained. “GameDay’s going to be there and it’s going to be an incredible atmosphere. That’s a lot to ask of a young team. Florida, if they can somehow figure out a way to pull this out, I will just be really impressed.”