Florida interim coach describes rivalry with Tennessee as 'heated' before matchup between Vols and Gators in the Swamp

The Tennessee Vols will head to Gainesville this weekend for a matchup against the Florida Gators.

Tennessee is looking for its first win in the Swamp since 2003. Florida, meanwhile, is looking to salvage their season with a couple of rivalry wins in the final two weeks of November (the Gators finish the season with a home game against the Florida State Seminoles).

Florida fired head coach Billy Napier in October (oddly enough, the Gators fired Napier a day after the program beat Mississippi State). Wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales took over as Florida's interim head coach following Napier's dismissal.

Billy Gonzales describes rivalry between Florida and Tennessee as "heated"

Gonzales met with reporters on Monday to preview Florida's matchup against Tennessee and he was asked about importance of the rivalry against the Volunteers.

"One thing that these players understand with Tennessee is there’s a deep-rooted history," said Gonzales. "Both Tennessee and the next week (against Florida State), but we’re focusing on this week. They’re an exceptional football team, but obviously our players understand that this game has always been a heated rivalry, so we will continue to talk to our players about it.

"Throughout the summer, we always show videos from rivalries, players from the past, players from our team right now. And past players making plays both offensively and defensively. So we’ll have some video looping going on just to make sure our players understand the importance of this game."

Gonzales certainly has a great understanding of the rivalry with Tennessee as he served on Urban Meyer's staff at Florida from 2005 to 2009 before returning to Gainesville in 2018 (Gonzales left Florida in 2022 for a job at Florida Atlantic, but he returned in 2023).

Tennessee and Florida are set to kick off at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday night.

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This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Nov 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.