Neyland has been good to the Gators

<p>The stadium seems as if it climbs into the sky forever. The fans are like most in the SEC, crazy and passionate and bitter when things don't go right. It's loud in Neyland Stadium, and it's wild and it can be intimidating.</p><p>"All I can remember is the stadium shaking," Percy Harvin said of his first game as a Gator in the largest stadium in the SEC. "That and not being able to hear (Tim) Tebow make the calls."</p><p>Neyland is Florida's Swamp plus 20,000 people. There is not a more intimidating sight in college football than to be on the playing surface and looking up at the masses who tend to blend together into a blast of orange noise.</p><p>So how do we explain it?</p><p>How do we explain that Florida owns Tennessee in its own stadium?</p><p>Think about it. In the last seven trips Florida has made to Knoxville, the Gators have won five times. They would have won a sixth if not for a pair of blown calls. They could have won all seven if not for a case of fumble-itis and a missed field goal in overtime.</p><p>I know, Tennessee fans. You say the 2004 win balances out for the 2000 loss to Florida when Jabar Gaffney had the winning score in his hands slightly longer than it takes your teenager to text "BFF."</p><p>OK, I'll give you that.</p><p>But it still doesn't explain how three different Florida coaches have won in Knoxville in the last eight seasons. Or how five different starting quarterbacks for the Gators have walked out of Knoxville with victories notched into their belts since 1994.</p><p>Whether it's a combination of the following reasons or just one of the below, I've got my theories. And let me be sure to express that Florida's success in Neyland only has a slight impact on this year's game. Many current players were on the 2006 team that won 21-20, but every team is a different team.</p><p>1. Tennessee's coaches choke.</p><p>Could be some truth to that. Phillip Fulmer has coached differently against Florida. A little tighter. That's one reason he's lost 11 of his last 15 against the Gators. Defensive coordinator John Chavis is a good coach but not the best at adjusting during a game. I just go back to the 2000 game. Tennessee needs a first down to clinch it and runs the same play that was stuffed the year before, tailback left. Florida knows it is coming and stuffs it again. A little imagination would help.</p><p>2. Florida gets ready.</p><p>It's always the first road game of the season and Florida's players — from Ben Hanks to James Bates to Clint Mitchell to Reggie Nelson — always seem prepared for it. As loud as it is, as intimidating as it can be, we've never seen a bunch of deer in the headlights. "The coaches prepare us well for the game, the big crowd, the loud noise," Harvin said.</p><p>3. Florida has been better.</p><p>Certainly that's in the conversation. The Vols have fallen off of late in the talent area, but were as good as almost anybody in the mid-1990s. Except Florida.</p><p>4. The Vols aren't that good at home.</p><p>Since the start of the 2000 season, Tennessee has lost 13 games at home. That's a lot for a program that is supposed to be among the elite in the SEC.</p><p>5. The 1994 game changed everything.</p><p>The first two times Steve Spurrier's teams went to Knoxville in 1990 and '92, the Gators were crushed. Players who were on the 1992 team joke today about the plane trouble on the way home and how the headline was going to say, "Gators Get Killed Twice." But in '94 Florida went to Knoxville and throttled the Vols 31-0. Although Tennessee was limited offensively because of an injury to starter Jerry Colquitt in the opening game, it was still an impressive performance. Confidence leads to confidence and Florida teams have carried it through the years to Big Orange Country.</p><p>Pick one of these theories or pick 'em all. I know Tennessee fans will lean to No. 1 and Florida fans to No. 3. Whatever the reason or reasons, we'll find out Saturday if it continues.</p>