Florida @ Tennessee preview

Last Meeting ( Sep 26, 2015 ) Tennessee 27, Florida 28

No. 12 Tennessee will look to end its 11-game losing streak against rival and 16th-ranked Florida on Saturday afternoon when it hosts the Gators in an early-season SEC battle that could go a long way toward determining the conference's Eastern Division champion. The Volunteers are off to their first 3-0 start since 2004 - they have won nine straight dating back to last season - but coach Butch Jones admits his team will need to play at a higher level than it has thus far against the Gators, who have allowed only 14 points in three games.

The Volunteers were the media's preseason choice to win the East, but were far from dominant as big favorites in surviving Appalachian State 20-13 in overtime and leading Ohio 21-19 after three quarters before winning 28-19 last Saturday. Led by dual-threat quarterback Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee rolled up 419 yards, including 254 yards rushing, against Florida in a last-minute 28-27 loss in 2015 and will need another big performance from the senior to end the Vols' frustration against the Gators. Florida suffered a blow in the third quarter of last weekend's shutout win over North Texas when starting quarterback Luke Del Rio suffered a knee sprain, elevating graduate student Austin Appleby, who started 11 games and passed for 332 yards in his final start at Purdue before becoming a Gator, into the starting role. "The team is counting on me," Appleby told reporters this week. "My job is to be ready. ... You want to be the guy that's got the ball in his hand. Everything that happened to me (at Purdue) - the good, the bad, the indifferent - has prepared me for right now."

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Tennessee -6.5

ABOUT FLORIDA (3-0, 1-0 SEC): Loaded with talent and depth, Florida leads the nation in fewest points allowed (4.7 per game), total defense (129.7 yards) and is second in rushing defense (38.3 yards). Led by linemen Caleb Brantley and Jordan Sherit, linebackers Alex Anzalone and Jarrad Davis and a secondary that includes preseason All-American Teez Tabor, the Gators set a school record by holding North Texas to 53 yards of total offense as they tuned up for the Vols. Florida had four running backs - Jordan Scarlett, Mark Thompson, Lamical Perine and Jordan Cronkrite - score against North Texas, and with the change at quarterback, coach Jim McElwain will likely lean on the ground game, which produced 255 yards against the Mean Green and is averaging 202 yards.

ABOUT TENNESSEE (3-0, 0-0 SEC): The Vols are just 101st nationally in total offense (351 yards per game) but led by the elusive Dobbs, who rushed for 136 yards against the Gators last season, they are capable of quick-strike touchdowns -- their scoring drives have averaged only 2 minutes. Junior running back Jalen Hurd, who rushed for 106 yards in Tennessee's 45-24 comeback win over Virginia Tech, and junior wide receiver Josh Malone (21.8 yards per catch) are the other offensive playmakers. The defense, which recovered five fumbles including a school-record three by free safety Micah Abernathy to key the rally against the Hokies, will be without star cornerback Cameron Sutton (broken ankle), but standout linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (shoulder ailment) is excepted to be available.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Both teams are ranked in the top 20 when meeting for the first time since the 2006 game, which Florida won 21-20 in Knoxville.

2. Florida WR Antonio Callaway, who scored the winning TD on a 63-yard pass play last season against the Vols, is listed as questionable for Saturday's game with a quad injury.

3. Tennessee has started games slowly, being outscored 27-10 in the first quarter.

PREDICTION: Florida 21, Tennessee 17