In a sentence or two, who was Tennessee thought to be at the start of the year?
An elite quarterback prospect could lead the offense back to Josh Heupel’s standard of excellence. The defense has an NFL pass rusher but questions in the secondary. Something like that, right?
Who is Tennessee today? An elite defense – not one player, but the whole unit, including the secondary. And an offense that, when it hits the big play? Look out.
The opportunities feel the same for both versions. Tennessee will come to November at 6-1, somewhere in the Top 10, and in every playoff conversation. Every team in the SEC now has a loss. The last two unbeatens in league play face each other in Aggieland Saturday night. The Vols control their own destiny.
The gap in perception between who we thought this team would be and who they actually are can naturally lead to knee-jerk uncertainty when a drive doesn’t go our way. But the fact that the Vols are exactly where we hoped they’d be even though they look different than we thought they would? I think that’s a credit to all involved.
Because who they also are is the team that beat Bama, again.
In the second half last night, Tennessee found those big plays:
- A 36-yard run by Dylan Sampson and 27-yard run by Nico Iamaleava on the first touchdown drive
- Nico to Dont’e Thornton for 55 yards on the next drive on 3rd-and-6
- Nico to Chris Brazzell for 16 and the score on 3rd-and-5
(There are so many great shots and videos of that play, including the photo on this post; shout out to whoever is running UT’s twitter for calling it “The ol’ Brazzell Dazzle!”)
In Hendon Hooker’s two seasons, the Vols averaged 5.6 and 5.9 plays of 20+ yards per game against SEC foes. Last year, that number dropped to 3.6. Halfway home this season, the Vols have 16 plays of 20+ yards in four SEC games: progress over last season, but not as high as what we remember or, probably, what we imagined.
But with this offense and this defense together?
Because even the Han Solos among us didn’t imagine this defense.
Tennessee Defense National Rankings
- Points Per Game: 4th
- Yards Per Carry: 2nd
- Yards Per Pass: 21st
- Yards Per Play: 2nd
- TFLs Per Game: 4th
- Third Down Conversions: 2nd
- Fourth Down Conversions: 5th
- Red Zone Scoring: 6th
- Red Zone TD%: 5th
- 20+ Yard Plays: 9th
- 30+ Yard Plays: 1st
That is absurd.
And all of that is happening without the Vols really dominating two of the stats we tend to default to defensively: Tennessee is just 54th nationally in sacks at 2.14 per game, and 40th nationally in turnovers gained with 11.
We have somewhere between six and ten games left in this season; plenty more story to be told here. But what this defense is doing so far, and what it just did against our two biggest rivals, would go on any list of the best you’ve ever seen.
The Vols are 2-1 against Alabama in the last three years, not seen since 2004-06. Four wins against Alabama and Florida in three years hasn’t been done since the Vols swept them in 2003 and 2004.
The Third Saturday in October is defined by streaks, one program excelling at the expense of the other in some ways. But in those in between years, when both programs are ranked? That’s happened just 13 times in 36 years of the AP Top 25. Of those 13 meetings, nine were decided by 14 points or less, and seven by one possession. We remember the big streak-busters: the Vols in ’95, Bama in ’02. Tennessee’s win two years ago carried 15 years of that weight and neared perfection from an entertainment perspective.
But most often, when both these teams are good, you get glorious imperfection. Alabama winning 24-19 in 1991, 17-10 en route to the title in 1992, then Tennessee breaking their winning streak with a 17-17 tie in 1993. Jay Graham’s run in 1996, the final points in a 20-13 chaotic thing of beauty. The Vols winning in Tuscaloosa 21-7 against Shaun Alexander in 1999, the Tide with the ugliest of all in 2005, 6-3.
This type of game is the standard when both programs are good but not perfect. And it’s much easier to be perfect when the other program isn’t good. Saturday fit that script to a giant power T.
Two years ago, Tennessee didn’t win because of luck: we missed an extra point and Bama gained a scoop and score. But the Vols also played what we thought at the time was about as well as we could play, and it was enough. This time, both teams struggled far more often, at times with themselves. But the stats tell the story: Tennessee outgained Alabama 414 to 314, Jalen Milroe needed 45 passes just to get 239 yards, and Dylan Sampson continued his legendary season with 139 yards on 26 carries. Tennessee won because they were the better team. And both of these teams can be better still.
That’s the bye week story for Tennessee. Keep getting better. But for us as fans, I think there’s also freedom from beating Florida and Alabama to reembrace this team not for who we thought they would be, but the real beauty of who they actually are. Because who they actually are is once again good enough to believe the answer to all our questions can be yes.
Go Vols.
