The Tennessee Vols might be the most polarizing 4-1 team I’ve ever seen.

It seems like no one is quite sure how to feel about the Vols right now. Some fans are down on the team because of the offensive struggles, while others feel like Tennessee is on the cusp of being great.

I understand the concerns over the offense. I also see reasons for optimism. Tennessee’s defense is playing lights out, the offensive scheme is working (not executing is the biggest issue), and the Vols have a trait — elite competitiveness — that a lot of teams don’t have.

And it’s that competitive makeup that’s the biggest reason for optimism going forward.

“There are imperfections with this team, and there are areas where they need to grow,” said Voice of the Vols Mike Keith on Monday on WNML’s SportsTalk. “But they’re competitive, and their toughness is vastly improved. And whenever you have that, you have a shot in every game. And you really have a shot to get better as a football team.

“The fact that after a physical, emotional game against Texas, they came back with that sort of physicality and that sort of competitiveness (against Auburn), I think it shows you where they’re trying to get as a program. Listen, there are still warts, there are still problems and questions. I get it. The majority of teams still have those [questions] at this point. But I don’t think the majority of teams have that competitiveness and that toughness that this ball club has shown so far.”

There is no trait more important for a football team to have than competitiveness and toughness. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t have those traits, you have no shot to be the last team standing at the end of the season.

The biggest key to winning a championship is the ability to lock in and compete at a high level on every rep. Getting a team to do that consistently is a coach’s toughest job. And Josh Heupel, to this point, has managed to get his team to do that pretty well.

As Keith said, Tennessee still has a lot of problems to fix, but the mindset they’re playing with makes them a dangerous team. Much more dangerous than a lot of folks want to admit…