The Tennessee Vols fell flat on their faces on Saturday night 42-17 before a national television audience in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
To be fair, finishing the season at 10-3 and qualifying for a shot to win the national title is a massive step forward from where the program had been just four years ago, when they went 3-7. This is something Vol fans could only have dreamed of then.
However, we’re actually here now, in 2024, with Tennessee having a chance at indeed progressing into one of the best teams of the country. As such, here are two things that have to change from what plagued the Vols both during the 2024 season and on Saturday night in Columbus – and they largely go together, although not exclusively.
The Vols have got to find out how to start playing better football on the road.
Look, winning on the road is tough. That’s the least surprising thing in sports, and I’m obviously not saying it should be easy. But anyone with a set of eyeballs sees this Tennessee team looks like Dr. Jekyll vs. Mr. Hyde when playing in Neyland Stadium vs. playing in a true road environment.
This isn’t just a 2024 thing per se. Tennessee has laid some absolute stinkers on the road during Heupel’s tenure – from 2021 and 2023 Florida to 2022 South Carolina to 2023 Missouri to 2024 Arkansas. The performances could qualify in many of those as absolute no shows compared to the level of ability and competitiveness this team has shown at times.
It’s always nice to win at home and make the home crowd happy, but good teams find ways to go on the road and get it done. Even thrive in the moment and relish in being hated. Tennessee seems to do the opposite of that, and Heupel is going to have to figure out how to change that.
he Vols have got to figure out how to start games faster.
This wasn’t just an issue that popped up in road games. This was an issue that plagued the Vols even through their slate of home games in the middle of the season, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. The Vols’ defense managed to slug it out while Nico Iamaleava and the offense sputtered through the first half while trying to find their sea legs, eventually warming up and turning it on in the second half.
That’s good enough to win with a (usually) good defense and a raucous home environment against decent but not great competition. It sure as heck isn’t going to work against great to elite competition, as we saw on Saturday night.
Being ready to play is clearly on the coaching staff, and that starts with the man in charge. Heupel has got to figure out how to get this offense ready to play from the opening kick, not taking a half of football to jump start it like an old lawnmower.
Leave a Reply