There isn't a lot to criticize when it comes to the Tennessee Vols' 2022 season.

After all, it's hard to criticize a program after they won 11 games for the first time in more than two decades.

There is one specific off-field thing, however, that cost Tennessee in 2022 that they need to be better at in 2023.

For the first two months of the 2022 season, the Vols handled their surprising success extremely well.

Tennessee didn't get a big head after beating Florida or LSU. They even kept their focus after beating Alabama.

Things changed, however, after the blowout win against Kentucky in late October.

When you think about the 2022 Tennessee Vols, there's a clear dividing line in the season where things were different — pre-No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings and post-No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings.

Before Tennessee ascended to No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, they were the surprise story of college football. The underdogs, essentially.

Every week it felt like the Vols were proving folks wrong. There was no pressure on Tennessee.

After beating Florida, it felt like even if UT lost to LSU and Alabama that it would still be a great season.

When the Vols beat LSU, it definitely felt like a great season regardless of what happened to Alabama.

After the win against Alabama, the playoff talk started, but it was still early and Tennessee was still the "underdog".

That all changed after the Vols' 44-6 win against Kentucky.

Suddenly, Tennessee was the No. 1 team in the country. And that turned them into the hunted instead of the team doing the hunting.

A loss to Georgia followed. But the Vols quickly got back on the right track after a big win against Missouri, reigniting the playoff talk. Tennessee controlled its own destiny at that point. All they had to do was beat South Carolina and Vanderbilt and the Vols would be in the playoff.

Once again, the pressure was on the Vols.

And they didn't handle it well.

Tennessee's shocking 25-point loss to South Carolina in Columbia — a game the Vols should've won by at least two scores — ended UT's playoff hopes.

Dealing with that pressure — specifically on the road — is something Tennessee absolutely has to do better in 2023.

And look, this isn't a major criticism of Josh Heupel or anyone in the UT football program. This is a young program that's still learning how to win. I think everyone knows the Vols are ahead of schedule under Heupel.

But it's still something Tennessee has to be better at in 2023.

And I think they will be — Heupel has shown that he can make important corrections during the offseason. The experience from big games in 2022 is going to help the Volunteers a lot in 2023. We should see a team that's much better at handling success this upcoming season.

Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK