A Crossroads for Tennessee Football

This weekend in front of a checkered Neyland stadium Tennessee will have a chance for a massive rebound. No one was happy about the loss to Arkansas on Saturday night but that’s in the past and nothing will change that loss to a win now. The bottom line is Tennessee has a chance to secure a win over Florida for the 3rd time in 20 years, and a rebound against a rival you have struggled to beat would do wonders for the team's confidence moving forward.

Josh Heupel has serious work to do schematically this week to figure out how to fix his offense that played so poorly against Arkansas. However, if he can’t get his team ready to play in this one he doesn’t have a pulse as a motivator. You are playing one of your biggest rivals, you will be in Neyland under the lights in front of a crowd hellbent on causing havoc, you are coming off an embarrassing loss, and you are still comfortably in the running for a playoff spot. The one thing he can’t do is let the team come out flat or he will lose a lot of favor with this fanbase that he has worked so hard to earn.

I’m not saying I will start a fire Heupel campaign if Tennessee loses to Florida, but I would damn sure be worried about the rest of this season. A loss to this Florida team would be devastating to Tennessee’s psyche, and I don’t know if a respectable season can be salvaged if that comes to pass. This is a crossroads in my eyes for the story of Tennessee football in 2024. Win it and a great season is still in front of you. Lose it and you’re immediately staring down the barrel of another 8-4 season with Alabama and Georgia remaining on the schedule.