After a horrible first quarter, Tennessee finally woke up and handled business against the UTEP Miners. Tennessee didn’t score on their first 3 drives but rebounded to score TDs on their next 5 drives. The defense earned a shutout. The special teams had several good punt returns from Boo Carter, and Jackson Ross pinned the Miners inside their own 20 three times. At the end of the day the Vols earned a 56-0 win which will look pretty good in the eyes of the CFP Committee.

With Ole Miss taking the loss to Florida in the Swamp and Indiana losing to Ohio State by double-digits the picture becomes crystal clear for Tennessee. Beat the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville next Saturday and they are in the playoffs. This is a scenario I think any Tennessee fan would have signed up for before the season and now that it is reality the Vols must be prepared. Josh Heupel can’t allow his team to come out as flat as they did against UTEP because Vandy is more talented and will no doubt be wanting to spoil Tennessee’s playoff hopes.

This is what it is all about. What more could a player need to be motivated than a chance to earn your way into the playoffs by beating one of your hated rivals. We will see where Tennessee ranks in the eyes of the committee Tuesday night, but it really feels like the Vols control their own destiny now which is all you can ask for.