Steve Spurier's disillusioned take on Texas-Tennessee should only add fuel to the Horns' fire

It has been over a decade since Steve Spurrier was a college football coach, it has been two and a half decades since he coached the Florida Gators, and it has been three decades since he won a National Championship.

Yet, here we are discussing his latest take on the current world of college football and the Texas Longhorns' upcoming matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers.

"I think Tennessee is ready to pull [off] the upset over Texas. The Vols can beat them in Knoxville. Hell, we beat them down here last year, and we went 4-8. Yep, beat Texas. How about that?" Spurrier told On3's Chris Low.

Well, Mr. Spurrier, as someone who never faced the Horns during his four-decade-long coaching career and someone who stepped down from his role with the Gators 25 years ago, can you really claim Florida's fluke win over Texas last season?

Not to mention that the Horns are undeniably a different team heading to Tennessee this weekend than they were last year when they visited Florida. The only genuine similarity between the two games is the fact that they are Texas's first SEC games of the season.

So, as Spurrier tries to cast doubt on the No. 1 Longhorns, this team should only use it as additional motivation to prove their ever-growing list of doubters wrong.

Arch Manning, Steve Sarkisian have clear shot to prove themselves vs. Vols

Yes, the game against Florida was one of the worst losses that Texas has suffered since head coach Steve Sarkisian grabbed hold of the reins. And, yes, it was one of the poorer showings by quarterback Arch Manning.

However, that doesn't mean it will happen again as they take on the Volunteers this weekend. In fact, it only gives them a bigger and better opportunity to prove that the loss to the Gators was a one-off.

It was Manning's first-ever conference road game as the starting quarterback at the University of Texas, and the Swamp is far from an easy venue to walk into and play well.

Read more: The notion that Texas HC Steve Sarkisian is bad on the road needs to be laid to rest

The same can be said for the Vols' home at Rocky Top, but as Manning suits up in Neyland on Saturday, he has an entire season as the starter under his belt now, and he has already overcome the hump of defeating the Ohio State Buckeyes, something Texas had failed to do time and time again over the last few seasons.

The win over then-No. 1 OSU was also a testament that Sarkisian has overcome that hump of being "unable" to win the biggest games of the season, meaning a road game in the SEC should be no big thing for the Horns' head coach now.

Simply put, Spurrier was out of his depth when he chose to comment on a game that had nothing to do with him or any of his former teams. Texas must keep its head down, focus on the game itself (not what anyone has to say about it), and get the job done.

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