Unless you've been living under the proverbial "rock" for the past six months or have simply grown tired of the yearly mediocrity that has become of a once proud Tennessee football program, you know that Tennessee and Florida will meet in Neyland Stadium on Saturday for their annual rivalry on the third Saturday in September.

Now this is a game that Volunteer fans and players alike circle on their calendar as a point of emphasis and a hinge on how the season plays out.

Win this game and the SEC East Division Championship target is placed squarely on your back. Until otherwise notified, you are the team to beat.

But when Florida comes to Knoxville on Saturday, one has to ask themselves, "is this game really a rivalry?"

Now, it's obvious that every time these teams meet there is bad blood and a certain level of increased hostility between the fans of the respective schools. Passion runs deep in the Deep South, especially when football is the topic of discussion.

But what does Florida view this game as? Is it just another bump in the road in an extremely tough conference schedule? Is it something they circle on their calendar year in and year out?

If you ask me, this is merely a rivalry of hostile fans outside the stadium.

According to Brandon Spikes, the Vols are just another opponent with rowdy fans and an overplayed fight song. Spikes provided some bulletin board material for the under-matched Vols.

"They were playing [Rocky Top] in the weight room, the training room, so we're pretty much going to be used to it ... but it's nothing," Spikes said during Florida's weekly media day. "It's trying to get guys ready to practice. That's their little fight song. We try not to hear it too much on Saturday. That's all that matters."

Hold on a second.'Their little fight song? 'It's nothing?'

To most it would sound like Spikes couldn't be less worried about entering a hostile environment of 108,000 opposing fans. It may sound more like they're heading to Kentucky for a game that would be more interesting played out on the basketball court.

Tennessee need not pay attention to the way Spikes talks of the Vols like they are the cellar dwellers of the SEC. The Vols could look simply to the 59-20 beating that the Gators provided last September.

With the game well in hand, Urban Meyer opted to keep Tim Tebow in the game and keep throwing the football, seemingly running up the score. What message is Meyer sending? So long Vols, so long to the "rivalry?"

Rivalries are defined by teams battling year in and year out for championships. Hostility develops from your sickening rival taking away your shot at a national title just when it seems it is yours for the taking. Is this something that happens between the Gators and the Vols?

Sure, the all-time record between the two teams rest at 19-18, with the Vols clinging to a one game lead. But look at the past years for a real answer to the question of rivalry status in the series.

Phillip Fulmer is 0-3 against Urban Meyer's Gators. Fulmer, though, did manage to put together a two-game win streak - once in the Swamp (2003) and once in Knoxville (2004) - and beat Steve Spurrier's next-to-last Florida team in the Swamp in 2001.

The two wins in 2003 and 2004 came against Ron Zook's Gators, who happened to finish a combined 15-10 overall in those two years.

Fulmer's most impressive wins in the series came against Spurrier's Gators in 1998 and in 2001.

The game in 1998 has simply been referred to as "The Game", vaulting the Vols to the National Championship that fateful year. In 2001, Fulmer took his Vols to the Swamp in December after the game was postponed due to the events of September 11, and beat the favored home-standing Gators 34-32.

The games between the Gators and Vols have taken a different turn since Meyer arrived in Gainesville.

In 2005 Meyer held the Vols in check, winning his first SEC game 16-7 in a game that wasn't as close as the box score showed. The memory of 2006 is all too familiar when the Gators erased a 10-point second half deficit for Meyer's first win in Knoxville.

Meyer followed in 2007 with the definitive 39-point victory in 2007 that has summarized what this series has really come to - dominance from superior Florida teams when it matters most.

The rivalry aspect came into play in the mid-1990s when it was good versus evil: Fumler vs. Spurrier; Conservative vs. Liberal; Manning vs. Wuerffel.

But Manning's only negative memories as a Vol come from his four games against the Gators, all losses, in an era that saw the SEC headlined year in and year out by the Vols and the Gators - usually top five matchups in mid-Septmeber.

The numbers may argue that this rivalry is split even amongst the two teams, but when was the last time the Vols beat a national championship contending Gator team?

The answer is 2001, before that you have to go back to 1998.

So, that leaves the Vols with two big wins over the Gators in ten years. Take what the win over Zook's Gators means - nothing, really - and re-examine what this "rivalry" has come down to.

Dominance by a re-born Florida program under Urban Meyer beating up on the dean of SEC coaches, Phillip Fulmer, who has his Tennessee program seemingly stuck in the mud.

If you ask me, this is merely a rivalry of hostile fans outside the stadium. Bragging rights are on the line every year, but rarely change hands.

It's up to the Vols, though, to ultimately answer the rivalry question against the Gators. After all, the ball has been in their court for the better part of the past ten years.