Vols playing for Perpetual National Championship

This will be Florida's 29th chance at the title, which they've won 13 times. Tennessee has a played for the title 56 times, winning or defending it 36 times.

The University of Tennessee will play for the "Grandaddy of All National Championships," the Perpetual National Championship (PNC), September 19th when the Volunteers face off against current title holder, the University of Florida.

The Gators took the title from Oklahoma in the 2009 BCS game and have successfully defended it this year against Charleston Souther University and Troy University. The Gators have played in 28 of those title games and have won or defended the title 13 times. The last time Florida held the title was in 2007, when after winning and defending the title five consecutive times, the Gators lost to Auburn 20-17 on a last minute field goal by Auburn's Wes Byrum. This is the first title game for Troy.

Tennessee has a rich PNC history, landing at number 11 on the All-Time Perp list. They have played in 56 title games, winning or defending the title 36 times. The Volunteers first won the title in 1939 when they defeated Oklahoma in the Orange bowl. They last held the title in 1975 when they lost it to UCLA 34-28. Their last appearance in a title game was in 2007, when they lost to Florida 59-20. This will be the 1,361st PNC title game.

What is the Perpetual National Championship?

The Perpetual National Championship is awarded to college football teams in a continuous series of boxing-style title matches. The title is contested every time the holder of the title takes the field. The first title was won by Rutgers in 1869 when they defeated Princeton 6-5 in the first college football game. Princeton won the title back seven days later, beating Rutgers 8-0. The winner of the tittle match wins an award affectionately referred to as The Perp. The All-Time Perp is the team who won or defended the Perpetual National Championship the most times. To determine the All-tIme Perp, teams were given one point for winning or defending the title and zero points for a tie. Since Division I-A college football doesn't currently have a playoff and relies on voters to determine a championship game, the Perpetual National Championship is the only national championship decided on the field.

The Perpetual National Championship has several advantages over the current mythical national championship determined by the Bowl Championship Series.

• It continues college football's emphasis on the regular season because the title is contested every time the title-holder takes the field.

• It can co-exist with the current BCS system or any future playoff and will often have a different champion than other national championships.

• It doesn't rely on biased votes from coaches and assistants, like those of the USA Today coaches poll, or uninformed parties like the Harris Poll.

• The lesser conferences and independent teams get to play for the title anytime a larger school has the courage to schedule them.