State of The Vawls Address: Second Bye Week

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

By Tucker Harlin

We’ve reached the second bye week which means it’s time for another State of the Vawls Address.

Usually you only have one bye week, but 2024 is a rare exception to that rule with five Saturdays in November and the first weekend of the season starting on August 31.

Tennessee has experienced both the highest of highs and lowest of lows since my last State of the Vawls Address.

It lost a real stinker of a game at Arkansas but followed it up with a pair of victories over Florida and Alabama, two games Tennessee has struggled in over the last two decades.

It’s a strange concoction of elation with a small hint of frustration all at once.

This my updated State of the Vawls Address for the second bye week.

A PLAYOFF BERTH IS WITHIN REACH

I’ve said for a while that greatness isn’t prevalent in the 2024 college football landscape.

Undefeated teams could stand in the divided house that was the 14-team SEC. But now that said house is no longer divided into the SEC West and East, no undefeated team is standing in late October.

The mightiest of the mighty have seen weaknesses exploited, whether it’s lackluster defense, insufficient quarterback play, or a general lack of discipline.

The SEC’s biggest competition (or ally?) in the college athletics arms race has multiple legitimate playoff contenders.

Oregon, Penn State, and Ohio State have populated the top of the AP Poll for several weeks now. Perennial Big 10 bottom feeder Indiana has also entered itself into the College Football Playoff race.

Even the ACC, Big 12, and group of five, all of which were seemingly left for dead with conference realignment, have at least three teams apiece trying to forge their path into a College Football Playoff appearance.

Another important step is to pass the committee’s eye test.

Tennessee’s wins over NC State and Oklahoma have both lost much of their shine in the last month. The Wolf Pack is suddenly in the bottom third of the ACC while the Sooners are fielding arguably the worst offense in the SEC.

Florida is going to struggle to find its way into a bowl, and we all know how conflicted the committee will become over Alabama in the next month.

So, what does Tennessee need to do to ensure its first appearance in the College Football Playoff?

The obvious answer is to win out, which is much easier said than done due to a certain game in Athens next month. However, the Bulldogs aren’t infallible as Carson Beck has encountered turnover problems while the defense is playing at a lower level than normal for Kirby Smart.

Outside of the meeting with Georgia, the Vols don’t leave the state of Tennessee and will at the very least outpopulate opposing fans in the other four games.

In the 12-team format, 10-2 should be a mark that attains a College Football Playoff appearance. Help elsewhere is welcome for anyone contending for a CFP berth, but controlling the controllables is always the most effective strategy.

THE OFFENSE IS SUBOPTIMAL IN MANY PLACES BUT ISN’T FAR FROM BECOMING EXPLOSIVE

The last three weeks have caused this fan base to reevaluate the capabilities of Tennessee’s offense.

Offensive struggles at Arkansas left a foul taste in the mouths of many. A worrisome combination of offensive line struggles, clock mismanagement, and uninspired play calling led fans to believe the performance at Oklahoma two weeks prior was the best the Vols had in store.

While that conjecture didn’t fully disappear in Tennessee’s win over Florida, many of the issues that plagued the Vols in Fayetteville were less common in the victory.

The play calling against the Gators didn’t look as timid as it did against the Razorbacks. The Vols made concerted efforts to push the ball downfield, they just didn’t execute on many of those plays.

Offensive line play wasn’t good against Florida, but didn’t appear to be as sore of a thumb as it was in Fayetteville in many instances.

Tennessee continued to improve against Alabama on the Third Saturday of October. Offensive line play wasn’t a major concern, and the Vols caught enough of the same deep passes they missed on against Florida.

So, how do baby steps become strides for Tennessee’s offense?

First of all, Dylan Sampson needs to keep being Dylan Sampson. The Josh Heupel system is built around the run, and the incredible season Dylan Sampson is accruing with each passing week will remain an important component of Tennessee’s success.

Nico Iamaleava is where this conversation becomes complicated.

The average fan expects a five star quarterback to roll out of bed and lead the offense to 35 points in today’s game of college football. Oddly, this season has proven the antithesis of that theory with the amount of balance we’re observing between offense and defense.

The way Tennessee’s defense is playing, it doesn’t require more than a game manager at quarterback.

That notion could change next season, but Nico is still growing as an SEC quarterback. The turnovers are frustrating, but you can’t experience growth without some discomfort.

The best element Nico can incorporate right now is the use of his legs, whether to escape a collapsing pocket to gain yardage or create throws that aren’t present when he’s stationary. Bryce Young did the second part at Alabama and duped Heisman voters and NFL franchises alike into thinking he was the next great NFL quarterback.

The seeds are planted, but the fruit is still growing for this offense.

THE SECONDARY IS SUDDENLY A STRENGTH FOR THE VOLS

I’m going to primarily address the play of Tennessee’s secondary in my defensive assessment, but first I will briefly acknowledge the front seven.

We knew the defensive line was deep before the season began. James Pearce looks more like the guy mocked as a first round pick with each passing week, and younger guys like Jaxson Moi and Daevin Hobbs are becoming increasingly involved in the game plan.

Losing Keenan Pili at linebacker hurts. Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander are both seasoned veterans now, and Kalib Perry and Jalen Smith can only improve in this baptism by fire scenario.

Now to the secondary.

What was a glaring weakness in the earlier two seasons of Josh Heupel’s tenure at Tennessee has developed into a juggernaut for opposing offenses. It’s clear Tim Banks and Willie Martinez weren’t the problem; it was the player personnel.

These two molded a mixture of transfers and younger returnees into a cohesive unit in the offseason. Individually, the transfers have played a critical role in shaping the mentality of this unit.

Jakobe Thomas is a walking hit stick.

The so called “Missile from Middle” doesn’t just want you to gain minimal yardage. He wants you to feel those hits add up.

Jermod McCoy is a true lockdown corner, something the Vols haven’t boasted in decades. The pick he returned on Jalen Milroe is a play that will live eternally in Tennessee football history.

The younger homegrown pieces don’t jump off the tape quite the way McCoy and Thomas have, but you still see guys like Rickey Gibson and Boo Carter doing their jobs in the secondary.

I can’t end this address without mentioning Will Brooks, particularly his efforts on the Third Saturday of October.

Brooks began the day with a tackle for loss, continued it with the shoestring tackle of all shoestring tackles, and ended it with an interception against the powerhouse program from his sweet home of Alabama.

The transformation of this secondary from a leaky faucet into the Hoover Dam is a sight to behold.

CLOSING REMARKS

This team doesn’t play the flashy brand of football that caught the eyes of the nation in 2022. That said, winning isn’t an issue for it either.

Josh Heupel has won six or more games before November three seasons in a row. The last coach to win six games before November at Tennessee was Phillip Fulmer in 2006.

But Fulmer never won six or more ahead of November in three consecutive seasons. With later starts to the season and fewer games in those seasons, the late great General Robert Reese Neyland never won six games before November three consecutive seasons.

The good days of Tennessee football have risen from the slumber they fell into two decades ago.