Tennessee Football: There is still hope.
Tennessee fell to Georgia on Saturday night by a score of 31-17 down in Athens. Disappointment and dissatisfaction abounded on the always wild streets of Vol Twitter after the game, but there is still plenty to hope for in this 2024 season. I totally understand the frustration and if you want to check out on the rest of the season that’s your decision. However, as Tony Vitello said, ‘You’re either a Vol or you’re not, through thick and thin, Vol or not.” For the ones who aren’t giving up, here are the 3 main reasons to not sit in a dark room in a fetal position bemoaning the death of Tennessee football.
10-2 with a freshman QB is 100% a success.
Nico Iamaleava hasn’t lived up to the lofty expectations put on him this year, but if the Vols do finish the regular season 10-2 with him at the helm he deserves a lot of credit. The SEC isn’t a very forgiving place for a freshman player, much less a QB. Nico’s growth since the loss to Arkansas has been apparent and for him to already have wins over Florida and Alabama goes a long way in my confidence in him moving forward. If the floor for him is losing on the road in the SEC without turning the ball over (he committed zero turnovers in both of Tennessee’s losses so far) sign me up. “He’s getting paid 8 million dollars though.” Two questions, is he suddenly not in his first year starting and is it coming out of your pocketbook? Furthermore, I suspect that price tag will be worth it in the very near future, and for now 10-2 is a pretty good return on investment.
Tennessee can still make the playoff.
I saw a lot of people saying Tennessee’s playoff chances ended in Athens when the clock hit zero but that just isn’t true. Does the path become more unlikely? Yes, but with 2 weeks still remaining to play so much can happen to the teams in contention. BYU lost to a 3-6 Kansas team just hours after Tennessee’s game ended, and with Indiana playing Ohio State this weekend there could be potential for another shake up. Lastly, with Tennessee having a win over Alabama and Ole Miss having a loss to Kentucky who knows what the committee will decide at the end of the day.
Just because you lose a game doesn’t mean your team is a fraud and nothing good will ever happen to them.
Tennessee lost because they got outcoached and outplayed by Georgia. Alabama lost to Tennessee because Tennessee outcoached and outplayed them. This is the SEC where any one can beat any one on any given day. Does that mean the team who lost is terrible and should make wholesale changes? No. The main point is sometimes you just get beat and how Tennessee responds will be what defines their season. If Tennessee goes on to win decisively in Nashville in 2 weeks they will have a great chance at the playoffs, and considering Tennessee won 4 in a row after their last loss I have confidence moving forward.