SEC using six-day window for Tennessee-Florida start time

The SEC on Monday afternoon announced it will use the six-day window to determine the kickoff time and television information for Tennessee Football’s game at Florida next week. The options are 3:30 p.m., 7 or 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

The game was previously in the SEC’s Flex kickoff window, meaning a start time between either 3:30-4:30 p.m. or 6-8 p.m. ET.

The Vols (6-3) are coming off a bye week and host New Mexico State (3-6) this week in a 4:15 p.m. ET start on SEC Network on Homecoming at Neyland Stadium. 

Tennessee will close the regular-season schedule back at home on November 29, hosting Vanderbilt on Senior Day at Neyland Stadium. 

Florida lost 38-7 at Kentucky Saturday night

Florida (3-6) lost 38-7 at Kentucky Saturday night and goes to No. 6 Ole Miss this week in a 7 p.m. ET start on ESPN at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford. 

The Gators fired head coach Billy Napier on October 19 and named wide receivers coach Billy Gonzalez the interim head coach. 

Florida started the season with a 55-0 win over Long Island University on August 30, then lost three straight to South Florida, losing 18-16 at home, 20-10 at LSU and 26-7 at Miami. 

The Gators upset Texas at home on October 4, lost at Texas A&M on October 11 and beat Mississippi State on October 18, before firing Napier the next day.

Napier went 22-23 in just under four seasons at Florida, including a 12-16 record in SEC games and 1-2 against Tennessee. He went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana from 2018-21, with a 27-5 record in Sun Belt games and three season with 10 or more wins.

Tennessee hasn’t won at Florida since 2003

Florida leads the all-time series 32-22 dating back a game in Tampa in October 1916. Tennessee has won two of the last three, but hasn’t won in Gainesville since 2003.

Josh Heupel’s first Tennessee team lost 38-14 at Florida in 2021 and Tennessee lost 29-16 in Gainesville in 2023.

The Gators come off the schedule for the Vols next season for the first time since 1989. 

With the SEC going to nine games and a new scheduling format, the league gave three annual rivalry opponents for at least the next four seasons, with Tennessee getting Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. 

Florida will play at Tennessee in 2027 and the Vols will go to Gainesville in 2029, but the Vols and Gators won’t play in 2026 or 2028. 

Next season Tennessee hosts Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Texas and goes to Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt.