The Florida–Tennessee football rivalry, also called 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, who first met on the football field in 1916. The Gators and Vols have competed in the same athletic conference since Florida joined the now-defunct Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1910, and the schools were founding members of the Southeastern Conference in 1932. Despite this long conference association, a true 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 met just twenty-one times. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) expanded to twelve universities and split into two divisions in 1992. Florida and Tennessee were placed in the SEC's East Division and have met on a home-and-home basis every season since. Their rivalry quickly blossomed in intensity and importance in the 1990s and early 2000s as both programs regularly fielded national championship contending teams under coaches Phil Fulmer of Tennessee and Steve Spurrier at Florida.
The 1990 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season marked the return of the Gators' Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier to his alma mater as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team.
The 1964 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Doug Dickey, in his first year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of four wins, five losses and one tie. The Volunteers offense scored 80 points while the defense allowed 121 points.
The 1967 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1967 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Doug Dickey, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and two losses as SEC Champions and with a loss against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The Volunteers' offense scored 283 points while the defense allowed 141 points. At season's end, Tennessee was recognized as national champions by Litkenhous. Lester McClain became the first African American player in the program.
The 1969 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Doug Dickey, in his sixth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and two losses and a loss against Florida in the Gator Bowl.
The 1972 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his third year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and two losses and a victory over LSU in the 1972 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 297 points while the defense allowed 100 points.
The 1990 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his 14th year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins, two losses, and two ties, as SEC Champions and with a victory over Virginia in the Sugar Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 465 points while the defense allowed 220 points.
The 1991 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1991 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his 15th year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and three losses and with a loss against Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 352 points while the defense allowed 263 points.
The 1983 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his seventh year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and three losses and a victory over Maryland in the Florida Citrus Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 282 points while the defense allowed 165 points.
The 1992 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Volunteers were a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), in the Eastern Division and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and three and with a victory over Boston College in the Hall of Fame Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 347 points while the defense allowed 196 points.
The 1985 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his ninth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins, one loss and two ties, as SEC champions and with a victory over Miami in the 1986 Sugar Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 325 points while the defense allowed 140 points. At season's end, the Volunteers ranked fourth in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.
The 1982 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his sixth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of six wins, five losses and one tie and a loss against Iowa in the Peach Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 281 points while the defense allowed 239 points.
The 1986 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1986 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his tenth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of seven wins and five losses and with a victory over Minnesota in the Liberty Bowl. The Volunteers offense scored 293 points while the defense allowed 249 points.
The 1981 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his fifth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses. The Volunteers offense scored 244 points while the defense allowed 265 points.
The 1979 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his third year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of seven wins and five losses and a loss against Purdue in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.
The 1977 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his first year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of four wins and seven losses.
The 1973 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses and a loss to Texas Tech in the 1973 Gator Bowl.
The 1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his second year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and two losses and a victory over Arkansas in the 1971 Liberty Bowl.
The 1970 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his first year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and one loss and a victory over Air Force in the Sugar Bowl. The 1970 Tennessee defense holds the record for most takeaways in a single season with 57, not including the bowl game in which they recorded 8 more.
The 1966 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Doug Dickey, in his third year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and three losses and a victory over Syracuse in the Gator Bowl.
