Tennessee Season Review
Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Oh the drama. Tennessee Football was full of it this year. This season could be in the running for one of the most bittersweet in all of college football history. The team started out SEC East favorites and was thought to be one of the only teams that would go toe to toe with Alabama. Not only did Tennessee under-perform with a 9-4 (4-4) record, but they were also dismantled by Alabama in a 49 to 10 defeat. Although Tennessee fell short of their ultimate goal, the nation witnessed many Tennessee players excel throughout the season. The nation was also given a taste of what this team could have done if they were healthy throughout the season.
Tennessee started out 5-0, a shaky 5-0. The first win came against Appalachian State in overtime. The Voluteers just seemed unmotivated, while Appalachian State was out for blood. Tennessee turned things around in the second half and won 20-13. The next game was against Virginia Tech at the Bristol Motor Speedway. They won that game relatively easily 45-24 after being behind 14-0 early. Next was Ohio which the Volunteers again came out shaky but won 28-19. The next two games would go down as two of the most memorable games in Volunteer History. The Volunteers hosted Florida and came back from a 21-0 deficit and reeled off 38 points in a row to win 38-28. The next week would only feature more drama as the Volunteers would travel to Georgia where they fell behind 17-0. The would come back and take a 28-24 lead. Then Georgia would score and with 4 seconds left Tennessee was forced to throw a Hail Mary. Dobbs completed the pass to Juan Jennings for the walk off game winner with a final of 34 31.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The next 7 games would feature the Volunteer's biggest task; back-to-back top 10 showdowns between Texas A&M and then Alabama. The Volunteers would turn the ball over 7 times in a overtime loss to the Aggies and the next week were dismantled by Alabama. After a bye week the Vols would travel to South Carolina and lose 24-21. They would then string three wins in a row together over Tennessee Tech, Kentucky and Missouri. The team scored at least 49 in each game. To close the season they played their rival Vanderbilt in Nashville where they would be stunned and lose 45-34.
Things in Knoxville seemed dismal as players were leaving, fans were outraged, and the team morale seemed to be dropping. The vols were named to the music city bowl where they would face off against a good Nebraska team (9-4) (6-3). The Vols were not only playing for their second straight 9 win season but also were hoping to see Derek Barnett break the all time sack record which stood at 32. Tennessee would win the game 38-24 and Barnett would take the record with 33 career sacks.
This Tennessee team was riddled with injuries for the majority of the season. The season would take away many of Tennessee's stars like senior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, senior cornerback Cameron Sutton, sophomore linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr., and many, many more Volunteers to say the least. Halfway through the season running back Jalen Hurd also left the team, which gave redshirt junior Alvin Kamara and sophomore John Kelly more prominent roles in the running game. Preston Williams and a few other players opted to transfer from the program as well.
Although Tennessee did not meet the standard this season they were still an incredible team to watch. The thrilling comebacks and the intensity this team was able to show was a true spectacle. Joshua Dobbs had himself a career year and greatly improved his downfield passing. Derek Barnett broke the career sack record and declared for the draft. The Tennessee Volunteers had a lot of talented players and bright minds as well. The players graduating and declaring for the draft will be greatly missed.
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
