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After Tennessee blasted Kentucky 52-21 at Commonwealth Stadium last Saturday, the hype train started rolling through Knoxville again.
Most pundits believe Tennessee will win its final four regular-season games against South Carolina, North Texas, Missouri and Vanderbilt, giving the Volunteers eight wins in the regular season for the first time since 2007. And after Tennessee’s victory over Kentucky, ESPN’s Jesse Palmer said, “(Tennessee) is the best four-loss team in the country, ladies and gentleman. Believe it.”
Palmer went on to say: “Tennessee right now is hitting on all cylinders. They’ve got that mojo working. They’ve got an opportunity to finish the year with eight wins and get themselves in a very very good looking bowl game to create a ton of momentum heading towards next year which could be the magic year that they finally finally compete and potentially win an SEC championship.”
So yeah, the hype train for Tennessee’s 2016 season is rolling.
But is the buzz over the Vols a good thing. Didn’t Tennessee go down this same path last year?
Last season, after Tennessee won four of its final five games, including a 45-28 demolition of Iowa in the TaxSlayer Bowl, many people thought the Vols were back to their winning ways. Heading into this season many pundits picked Tennessee to win the SEC East. Tennessee received its first preseason top 25 ranking since 2008.
But the high expectations were shattered early. Tennessee blew a 17-point home lead for the first time in history against Oklahoma. Then coach Butch Jones made multiple coaching errors in a loss to Florida. And one week later, Tennessee lost 24-20 at home to Arkansas.
Only five games into the season, the Vols were nowhere close to the top 25 with only little chance to win the SEC East.
So is the hype over Tennessee’s potential in 2016 realistic?
Yes … to a point.
Tennessee’s is significantly better this season. The Vols had several opportunities to beat Florida in The Swamp. They led Alabama by 1 point late in the fourth quarter. They have improved throughout the season despite a lack of depth on the line of scrimmage and significant injuries.
Tennessee is good — probably the nation’s best four-loss team. And next year’s Vols should be even better. Jones’ has added several highly sought recruits who are gaining experience.
Tennessee has a realistic chance to contend for the SEC East title next season. But until the Vols do it, there’s nothing to back the hype. Impressive in recent victories over Georgia and Kentucky, the Vols still haven’t gotten over the hump against the conference’s best teams.
Chase Erickson is a contributing writer for SDS. He covers Tennessee. Follow him on Twitter @ChaseDownField.
