When Missouri hit a 38-yard pass to make it 28-24 midway through the third quarter, were you worried?
Tennessee still had a sizeable statistical advantage, turned away twice on fourth down inside the Missouri 40 in the first half. The Tigers, meanwhile, had already gone three-and-out four times. It felt like Tennessee was in control.
And even after last week, Tennessee feeling in control has suddenly become normal.
I know this feeling, from my own childhood. We treated Florida one way, but just about everybody else the other: no matter what happens, we’ve got this. The number of times we’ve sat in Neyland Stadium and watched an underdog show some fight, still knowing the Vols have it under control because that’s what the Vols do…
It stopped being that way for a long time, of course. But again today, the comparisons are less about how different this is than the last 15 years. That’s how long it’s been since we went undefeated in Neyland. That’s how long it’s been since we won nine games in the regular season.
No, the better comparisons are now about how short the list is. This team isn’t just like the 90s. This team would hold its own against just about any of them.
9-1 Starts at Tennessee since 1970
- 1989: Finished 11-1, SEC Champions
- 1995: Finished 11-1, #3 Final Ranking
- 1997: Finished 11-2, SEC Champions
- 1998: Finished 13-0, National Champions
- 2001: Finished 11-2, SEC East Champions
- 2022: Currently 9-1
The Vols will almost certainly add “New Year’s Six”, at least, to that list. The playoff chase continues outside of Neyland Stadium; Oregon and TCU both find themselves in tight games as I write. All of that will or won’t work itself out. But Tennessee, asserting itself in a game it always had control of with national stakes in November?
There’s such comfort with this team.
By asserting itself, I mean three touchdowns in the next seven minutes of game time, 21 points in 13 offensive snaps. That sequence included two more Missouri three-and-outs, just for good measure. Tennessee just moves with such purpose; they are not perfect, but they are coming on every drive. The Vols punted twice today, staying on their average of two punts per SEC contest. One was with a 25-point lead. The other was because a holding penalty put Tennessee in 1st-and-20. Again, the only way to make this offense punt is to make it go backward.
And today, it went forward for 724 yards, a school record. The old record belonged to the 2012 Troy game, a “why aren’t we taking control?!” affair with a coach on his way out. Long live the new record, and this team on its way up.
We took our five year old son to the game today, his first. The weather could’ve been better, but I’m not sure anything else missed. Do I tell him, “Hey, 66 points doesn’t happen every week!” Or, “Hey, 724 yards has never happened, so maybe don’t get used to it?”
Because this – old and new and all of it – oh, we could get used to this.
What a gift this season is.
And it’s not at all over yet.
Go Vols.
