Gamedays on the University of Tennessee campus are like no other of their kind when the Florida Gators come to town. The hostility between fan bases is thicker than the mid-September air. Or so it used to be.

Ask people from generations ago and they will tell you the Vols most fierce rival is the Alabama Crimson Tide. Ask people from even further back, say the early 20th century, and they will tell you Vanderbilt is Tennessee's fiercest rival.

The tides have changed, so to speak, and the rivalry between Tennessee and Florida has been the main focus of both teams schedules since the early 1990s. Volunteer fans despise anything orange and blue that makes a 'chomping' motion. Gators strongly dislike Rocky Top and anything that is Tennessee orange.

Sadly, though, things have changed. The Gators have been on the upper hand of the change while the Volunteer football program has fallen a step behind.

This Florida/Tennessee gameday was a bit different. There wasn't a feeling of expectation in the air, rather just a Big Orange fan base with sparse hopes.

I took part in the tailgating experience from the deck of my apartment. I watched football before the game and "ESPN's College Gameday" that morning. My usual pregame routines, however something wasn't right.

All week I had came to the realization that this Florida team was more athletic, better built and doing nothing in the first two weeks of their season to make me expect nothing but the worst. And this feeling could be seen in the faces of most orange-clad fans I passed on my way to the stadium.

It was nice to see Neyland Stadium filled to capacity and excited for a marquee conference matchup. Although, I was far too close to a section of Florida fans in the upper deck, I found no worries with the seating arrangement, I expected what was to come.

Volunteer fans' worst nightmares came to fruition before the end of the first quarter. Turnovers, mental mistakes, poor clock management, punting to Brandon James (who burned us again), all adding up to the Gators building an early 17-0 lead.

The air was let out of the stadium as fans headed for the exit as early as halftime, it was merely a waiting game from here. Florida controlled the ball, clock and game the rest of the way out and the hopes of the Big Orange faithful.

I refused to leave after the Vols fell behind, so I sat there trying to find the positive in what was a demoralizing defeat. "What does this game mean to the program? Where do we go from here?" I asked myself. I had no answers. It was over before it began. Tennessee was never able to get into their run-first-and-hope-for-the-best gameplan.

The "fire Phillip Fulmer" rant the following days was much more than I expected. After all, as it's been stated far too many times, they've been here before. It continued, though, and has built the Volunteers game against the Auburn Tigers as a barometer for the future of the Vols under Fulmer.

I was glad when the teams shook hands and left the field. The band played and those faithful who were left behind reluctantly swayed as they always do. This game was behind us, all of us.

So, I look forward to the trip to Auburn. My second of fifth road trips on the season and possibly the most important. I travel with hope for my Vols, yet very little expectations.

As the media likes to say, Fulmer is best when the chips are stacked against him. How good is his poker face, you ask? I guess we'll find out on Saturday.