ESPN includes the Tennessee Vols in an unexpected group of teams
When Josh Heupel was hired as the Tennessee Vols' head coach in early 2021, there wasn't a sensible college football fan in the country who would've predicted that UT would be a College Football Playoff contender in 2022. But here we are in late September as the calendar prepares to flip to October and the […]
When Josh Heupel was hired as the Tennessee Vols' head coach in early 2021, there wasn't a sensible college football fan in the country who would've predicted that UT would be a College Football Playoff contender in 2022.
But here we are in late September as the calendar prepares to flip to October and the Vols are ranked No. 8 in the nation and they're in the thick of the College Football Playoff conversation.
After Saturday's games — which included the Vols' 38-33 win over Florida — ESPN broke down the 18 contenders for the four College Football Playoff spots and they included Tennessee.
ESPN has the Vols in the third tier of contenders (undefeated but need to show more).
Best September win: Saturday vs. the Gators. This was the kind of statement win that can mark the turning point in a program — if the Vols can build off it. Tennessee had lost 16 of its previous 17 meetings in the series, with the last win coming in 2016.
Toughest test ahead: Nov. 5 at Georgia. The Vols will have faced Alabama already in a crossover game and will need to beat Georgia to win the East. If they have two losses, the highlight of the season will remain the win over the Gators.
What the selection committee will consider: Tennessee has a chance to beat both teams that played for the national championship last year.
A lot of things would have to go right for the Vols to make a serious run at the playoff come December.
Tennessee can basically afford one loss the rest of the season — not counting the SEC championship game — and still have a shot at the playoff.
And that one loss would have to be to Alabama. If the Vols can somehow beat Georgia, win the games they're supposed to win (LSU and Kentucky will be tough games), and have their only blemish be a loss to the Crimson Tide, then Tennessee will be in Atlanta the first weekend in December.
Now, this is all unlikely if we're being objective. Georgia has considerably more talent than the Vols. And they have more depth. Everything would have to go wrong for the Bulldogs for UT to pull an upset in Athens.
But the fact that Tennessee is even in this conversation right now a third of the way through the season speaks to the job that Heupel has done so far.
The Vols looked like they were five years away from being a competitive team in early 2021, thanks to a mass exodus of talent and an NCAA recruiting investigation.
Heupel, however, hit everyone with a "watch this" and proceeded to flip expectations upside down.
Maybe it's time we quit assuming certain games are losses for the Vols. It seems like Heupel is showing everyone that putting limits on what Tennessee can accomplish is incredibly foolish.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
