The Tennessee Vols' 2024 season was widely regarded as a success as the program reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. 

But the Volunteers ultimately came up short of their main goal in 2024, which was to win the national championship. 

Tennessee entered the College Football Playoff with some momentum after a dominant road win against the Vanderbilt Commodores to end the regular season. But unfortunately for the Vols, they were matched up against the Ohio State Buckeyes — the eventual national champs — in the first round of the playoff. 

Ohio State ended up blowing out Tennessee 42-17 in Columbus. 

Entering the game, there were plenty of folks who thought that Tennessee was poised to pull off the upset because of the way Ohio State's regular season ended (with a loss to Michigan). Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day, however, said earlier this week that he knew Ohio State was going to beat Tennessee based on his team's demeanor when they ran out of the tunnel before the game. 

Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke made a similar comment this week during an appearance on Bleav Buckeyes. 

"We always had it in us," said Burke. "And especially in warmups (before playing Tennessee), we just knew we were going to beat their ass. But they just [didn't] come to play and we understood what we needed to do." 

Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content

Ouch. 

The last thing any coach or player wants to hear is someone suggesting that they "didn't come to play" after a loss in the biggest game of the season. 

But the loss to Ohio State is in the rear-view mirror now for the Vols — there's nothing anyone in Knoxville can do to change it. 

Tennessee can, however, use Burke's words as motivation heading into the 2025 season. 

The Vols aren't far away from getting to the next level under head coach Josh Heupel. The only thing holding them back the last few seasons has been their inconsistent performances in big games. The Vols have won some big games under Heupel, but they've got to figure out a way to consistently win big games on the road if they're ever going to hoist a national championship trophy. 

It's clear that the teams that consistently play with an edge are usually the teams left standing at the end of the season. Burke's words can (and should) provide that edge for Tennessee's coaches and players in 2025. 

Arch Manning is unintentionally proving this offseason that the Tennessee Vols are the most hated team in college football

It’s not Arch’s fault