48 Hours: The Vols Are Still Undefeated
Tennessee moves up to No. 6 ahead of their big-time match up vs. No. 3 Alabama on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.
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Cornelius Fudge did not believe that Lord Voldemort had returned. While the evidence was mounting this was in fact the case, with all of the disappearances and the like, not to mention Harry Potter’s own testimony following the conclusion of the Triwizard Tournament, Fudge refused to see reason. Lord Voldemort had returned, but the Minister of Magic so desperately wanted that to not be the case. He knew the gravity of the Dark Lord’s return, and what it meant for the wizarding world in the immediate term – destruction and doom. Fudge knew the panic such an announcement would create in the community, so he made a series of irrational and disturbing choices that play out over the course of the fifth book, “Harry Poter and The Order of the Phoenix.” Fudge during that time reminds me a lot of Tennessee fans during this time.
Tennessee is back.
Voldemort was back.
You can understand why Tennessee fans would be slow to adjust to this new reality, to be sure. 1998 was a long time ago, as a lot of Georgia fans like to remind Vol fans of late following their 2021-22 national championship victory, and they have been down this road before. Former Tennnessee head football coach Butch Jones got Tennessee to 5-0 in 2016, too. After taking down Florida and Georgia in succession, the Vols lost to No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 1 Alabama and unranked South Carolina in succession. Those Vols ended up winning nine games following a bowl victory over Nebraska, but the Vols never built off that sizzling 5-0 start in ‘16.
To be fair, there are some similarities on the schedule between ‘16 and ‘22. An out-of-conference victory over a solid ACC team, and then two victories over two ranked SEC teams before reaching the toughest part of their schedule. However, the ‘22 Vols do not head to No. 3 Alabama on Saturday, the latter will make the trip to Knoxville. In ‘22, the Vols have a buffer game with UT-Martin before traveling to Georgia to face the Dawgs in Athens. In ‘16, the Vols had the Aggies and Crimson Tide back-to-back. Those ‘16 Vols did not have a bye or gimme-game squeezed in between any of their four-game gauntlet versus Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M and Alabama.
The ‘22 Vols don’t have that problem. They had time for their No. 1 wideout Cedric Tillman to get take time and heal that ankle before the Third Saturday in October. They had a bye in-between an emotional victory over the Gators and their big-time trip to Baton Rouge. Perhaps most notably, the ‘22 Vols have a quarterback who is both a real Heisman candidate and, to this point, been the best quarterback in the sport’s best conference.
Still, those ‘16 Vols still finished in the top-15 in SP+ and won nine games. They were a good team, one of the best Tennessee has fielded in the last twenty years. If that Vanderbilt debacle doesn’t happen, those Vols win double-digit games and finish the season on a four-game winning streak. That mid-season losing streak still hurts when you consider they swept the Gators, Bulldogs and Wildcats and still didn’t win the East, but ten wins is ten wins.
The ‘22 Vols are just a bit different. The schedule is a bit different. Alabama is a bit different. The Vols’ offense is a major bit different. Those ‘16 Vols were 62nd in passing offense. They were 24th in scoring offense. They were good, Josh Dobbs was No. 2 in the SEC in YPA at 8.2 that season, but Hooker is better. He’s No. 1 in the conference, a distant No. 1 at that, in an absurd 10.8 YPA. (That number is even more staggering when you consider Tillman, Hooker’s favorite target, has been unavailable the last two games, both of which were against ranked SEC foes.) The ‘22 Vols are No. 2 nationally in scoring. They are No. 1 in total offense, with two other undefeated schools, TCU and Ohio State, behind them. In an ever-increasing offensively driven sport, the Vols may very well have the best one in the best conference. None of which was true for a ‘16 Vols team that nearly won double-digit games.
Coming into the ‘22 season, I said on my podcast that the Vols would win double-digit games. Or they would win six. There was no quiet rise for a team built the way Tennessee was built since Josh Heupel arrived in Knoxville. I came back to the 2021 national scoring averages. Tennessee was the only Power 5 school to finish top-10 in scoring and not win double-digit games. Ohio State, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Georgia, Alabama, and Oklahoma all did it. The Vols did not.
Through six weeks, the trend continues – scoring is everything. Eight of the ten teams in the top-10 is undefeated, with Oregon and UNC being the lone outliers with just one loss. The Vols having one of the two best offenses in the sport, with Ohio State being the other, is a game-changer. Hendon Hooker is a game-changer. Josh Heupel has been a game-changer.
On Saturday in Baton Rouge, Tennessee remained undefeated for a variety of reasons. The defensive front led by Byron Young shined once again with five sacks and 11 pressures as a collective unit. Jabari Small broke out as the team ran all over LSU. Hooker beat the Tigers with his legs and his arm. Bru McCoy and Jalin Hyatt stepped up once again with Tillman out due to injury. Gerald Mincey could not go at LT and J.J. Crawford stepped in and didn’t miss a beat. You still can’t run on this Tennessee defense. This Tennessee team isn’t perfect. Christian Charles has a lot on his plate now with long-time starter Warren Burrell out for the season at CB and he got lit up on Saturday to the tune of six receptions on eight targets. The Vols have their issues in the secondary, and yet, they won comfortably 40-13.
With College GameDay and SEC Nation returning to Rocky Top on Saturday for the biggest Tennessee vs. Alabama game in ages, the excitement at Tennessee is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Both schools will meet as undefeated foes for the first time since 1989. Alabama’s superstar quarterback Bryce Young is beat up. Had Quinn Ewers not been knocked out of the game in Week 2, it seemed as tough Texas was on their way to a win over the Crimson Tide in Austin. The line sits somewhere around a touchdown depending on where you look. You can’t ask for more from Heupel’s team in Year 2. What you can do, though, is, like Fudge had to finally do, is accept that Tennessee football is back.