Photo via Tennessee Athletics

Florida football will soon hire its fifth coach since Urban Meyer resigned from his perch atop the Gators’ program following the 2010 season. The Gators have especially struggled in recent years under Billy Napier and are in the midst of a miserable 2025 season.

Tennessee made Florida’s 2025 season all the worse on Saturday night, drilling the Gators 31-11 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. According to one prevalent Florida fan, the loss is a new rock bottom for the program.

“Getting blown out in the Swamp by Tennessee = rock bottom for the Gators,” Florida governor Ron DeSantis posted on X. “I remember the days when even someone like Peyton Manning didn’t have a chance against UF in Gainesville. Frustrating for the fan base.”

Getting blown out in the Swamp by Tennessee = rock bottom for the Gators.

I remember the days when even someone like Peyton Manning didn’t have a chance against UF in Gainesville.

Frustrating for the fan base.

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 23, 2025

A 47-year old in his second term as Governor of Florida, DeSantis went to both Harvard and Yale but grew up as a Florida fan in Jacksonville. The Gators have long had Tennessee’s number in the rivalry. As DeSantis noted, Florida went 4-0 against Peyton Manning during his time at Tennessee.

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And even during the Gators’ struggles over the last 15 years, they’ve had the upper hand against Tennessee. But Josh Heupel and the Vols are turning the tide in the rivalry. Tennessee has now won two straight and three of the last four games in the series. The Vols win at Florida on Saturday night was their first win in The Swamp since 2003.

Tennessee jumped on Florida early Saturday night. The Vols led 21-0 before Florida recorded a single first down. They led 31-0 at halftime before taking the air out of the football in the second half and coasting to the 31-11 victory.

The Vols dominated Florida on the ground, rushing for 248 yards on 51 carries. DeSean Bishop led the way for the Vols on the ground, totaling 116 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

With the win, Tennessee improved to 8-3 (4-3 SEC) on the season ahead of a rivalry matchup with Vanderbilt next week. Florida falls to 3-8 (2-6 SEC) with the loss and hosts Florida State next weekend in Gainesville. The Gators attention is mostly on hiring Napier’s replacement.