Tennessee will return home to host its bitter rival, the Florida Gators, on Saturday night. The Vols suffered their first loss last week, which makes this one even more important. If Tennessee still has College Football Playoff hopes, this win is a must.

The Volunteers are more than two touchdown favorites at this point – can they recover and make it happen?

Terry Lambert: Tennessee 30, Florida 16

What an interesting place this is for Tennessee. Fresh off their first loss of the season — at a place where they were two-touchdown favorites — the Volunteers welcome the Gators to town for their annual meeting. We don’t need to go into too much detail here so you know that Florida simply brings out the best in Tennessee. That can’t happen on Saturday night, and I don’t think it will.

Florida has seemingly stabilized and regained its footing this early in the season with wins against Mississippi State and UCF. But Knoxville will be a different animal. Aside from Tennessee’s offensive issues, I think Florida will struggle with this defensive front all night long.

Tennessee will be able to make enough noise on the ground to control the pace of this game. I can imagine this game looking a lot like the Oklahoma game.

Craig Smith: Tennessee 29, Florida 25

Man. I’d like to believe Tennessee can finally beat the Gators, but I’ve been in “I’ll believe it when I see it” mode for over 30 years. The Gators will certainly push the line and try to take the ground game away from Tennessee, and they have the physicality and skill to potentially do that to some degree despite their generous run defense stats. I think Nico hits on enough shots to move the ball and score points, but misses often enough to also keep the Vols from winning this game.

Sometimes it’s ugly, but every time the final score is read over other stadiums’ public address systems and Tennessee’s name is called before Florida’s name, that’s a great, great result.

Matthew Seese: Tennessee 27, Florida 15

Last week was as flat as the Vols have looked offensively all season, and it largely felt like a holdover from the final quarter of the Oklahoma game. Between the receivers not being able to get open and the gaps not opening up in the running game, life got tough for Nico very quickly. Florida’s defense isn’t exactly a walk in the park either.

A big plus is that this game is at home. Once again, friendly closeness. This defense will do its job like it has all season. The offense simply needs to do more. I see a late score giving the Vols a double-digit win late.

Connor Sexton: Tennessee 31, Florida 13

Well, my BVS is alive and well. I didn’t expect Tennessee to lay an egg like they did in Fayetteville.

Tennessee simply needs to play smarter, more aggressive and have better clock management. But now my attention turns to this game. Florida comes into the game with history and momentum. However, its rush defense is very suspect, ranking 101st nationally. For comparison, the Vols’ rushing offense currently ranks in the top 5. The key for Tennessee is the offensive line. The pass protection needs to be better.

The Vols will get back on track and keep the Gators at bay, helped by a wild Neyland crowd.