The Tennessee Vols' main goal in 2024 was to win a national championship. 

Tennessee took a big step toward achieving that goal by making the 12-team College Football Playoff, but a 25 point loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the playoff ended what the Vols were hoping would be a championship run. 

The Volunteers were simply overmatched against Ohio State. The Buckeyes had the more talented roster and they handled the bright lights of the playoff better than Tennessee. 

For all of the talk about coaches, play-calling, roster depth, and preparedness, the loss to Ohio State really came down to those two things — talent and being ready for the moment. 

Becoming a championship team won't happen overnight for Tennessee 

Tennessee fans badly want to see the Vols win a national championship. But the truth is that it doesn't happen overnight. You don't go from being 3-7 and facing a major NCAA investigation in 2020 to dominating the sport in 2024. 

It's going to take some time for Josh Heupel and his players to build Tennessee into a annual championship contender. Programs like Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State — arguably the biggest brands in the sport right now — have consistently been on the playoff stage over the last decade. It's not new territory for those programs. Tennessee, meanwhile, was on that stage for the first time this past weekend. It was new for UT football. That experience will serve the Vols well moving forward, but this idea that Tennessee was supposed to arrive on the playoff scene and dominate while the program is still rising from the ashes of the Lane Kiffin/Derek Dooley/Butch Jones/Jeremy Pruitt eras just isn't realistic. 

The Vols essentially started from scratch in early 2021 when Heupel was hired. Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State, meanwhile, had been consistent winning programs for well over a decade at that point. Tennessee, however, is still catching up. And there's no shortcut that can make that process faster. The Vols have to continue to string together 10 and 11 win seasons while consistently making the playoff to earn the trust of elite recruits. Because here's the thing — Tennessee isn't going to win a national championship until they have one of the top five most talented rosters in the sport. Coaching is obviously important, but the team with the best players usually wins it all. There are only so many schemes and plays that coaches can run. Ultimately, it comes down to 11 versus 11. And the 11 that can execute consistently while creating explosive plays is the team that's going to win 10 times out of 10. That team is usually the team with more talent. 

Tennessee can be a national powerhouse. They can win national championships and dominate on the recruiting trail. But it's going to take Heupel some time to get there. The Vols have to show that they aren't going to have a sudden drop off. They have to show that they can have sustained success, something that hasn't happened on Rocky Top since Phillip Fulmer was roaming the sidelines. 

Heupel is off to a nice start — 30 wins in the last three seasons is impressive — but Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State (among others) still have more proven track records that can be sold to recruits. 

I know we live in an on-demand world and fans can be inpatient. But the process of building a program — even in the transfer portal era — doesn't include shortcuts. Tennessee has to keep stacking solid seasons while making small gains on the recruiting trail. If the Vols stay the course, and if the fan base remains positive, Tennessee can get to the top of the mountain. But the fans have to stay positive and trust the process. Otherwise, opposing programs will use the negativity of the Vols fan base to sway recruits away from Tennessee. 

Remember, only two active coaches (Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney) have national championships on their resumé. Winning a natty in college football is one of the hardest things to accomplish in sports. Give Heupel some time, he'll get there if Vols fans will let him. 

Paul Finebaum takes an unfair and unnecessary shot at Tennessee Vols QB Nico Iamaleava

Rough night for the Vols