Florida streak on everyone's minds but Vols'

KNOXVILLE — Jalen Reeves-Maybin scoffs at the notion that, in constructing a 10-game winning streak over Tennessee, Florida has gained some sort of mental advantage over the Vols.

"There’s no mental edge to it," Reeves-Maybin, a linebacker and Clarksville native, said this week. "Every season’s a new season. Every week is a new week."

But as the Vols (2-1) attempt to snap the aforementioned streak, which weighs heavily on the minds of Tennessee fans everywhere, Saturday in Gainesville, Fla. (2:30 p.m., CBS), one can't help but wonder whether the Gators have earned such an edge. A season ago in Knoxville, Tennessee's defense shut out Florida for three quarters until the Gators stopped dangling a tantalizingly close victory from just beyond the Vols' clutch, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to win.

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It was one of the cruelest Florida wins in the recent lopsided history of the rivalry. And it left many wondering when they'd see Tennessee beat the Gators once again. There are 11-year-old Vols fans who have never witnessed such a moment.

Though the 10-year run is the most important subplot to Saturday's game, which will be the first played between unranked Tennessee and Florida teams in Gainesville since 1955, the Vols insist that the program's recent ineptitude against the Gators (3-0) hasn't been on their minds and won't be on game day.

"Not really," said safety Todd Kelly Jr., when asked whether the losing streak has been a focal point this week. "Really the main concern is focusing on now and looking forward to this week. We’re not really looking on the past. ... This is a new team. It’s a whole new mindset and mentality."

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Though coach Butch Jones has been with Tennessee for merely one-fifth of the 10-game skid, much of the pressure to end it — this season, not later — has fallen on his shoulders. That hasn't prompted him to bring up the past losses during preparations for this week's game, he said.

"That is for (the media) to talk about all week long," Jones said. "What matters is our preparation and becoming a better football team."

Tennessee's crippling loss to Oklahoma in Week 2 assured that the Florida game would be one the Vols couldn't afford not to win. If Tennessee is feeling the pressure, though, it doesn't seem as if history has added to it.

"I don't really care about the win streak at all," Reeves-Maybin said. "We can only focus on what we can do now. This is a new team."

Reach Matt Slovin at mslovin@tennessean.com and on Twitter @MattSlovin.

NEXT GAME

TENNESSEE (2-1, 0-0 SEC) at FLORIDA (3-0, 1-0)

When: 2:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

TV/radio: CBS/104.5-FM