The Morning/Day After: Tennessee's Climb to College Football Supremacy Is Officially Underway

Credit: UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE ATHLETICS

BY: BOB BASKERVILLE @TheHoundBB

September 8, 2024

It was heard around so many water coolers in Vol Nation (and around the country) this past week after Tennessee’s season opening win…conversations like this:

 “The Vols look STRONG…SEC Championship…College Football Playoffs…it’s all within reach…we are back!”

 “Yeah, yeah, Tennessee looked good…but pump the brakes!  It was against Chattanooga after all…let’s see them go against some legitimate competition before we crown them!”

 Well, which one is it? 

I believe we know now…

 In a new age College Football weekend that, with the arrival of the CFP had a decidedly ‘March Madness’-like feel to it, where top teams and ‘blue bloods’ were bounced or pushed to the limits, Tennessee not only survived…they thrived, and on both sides of the ball in a 51-10 dismantling of North Carolina State.  The win, and the way the Big Orange delivered it, left little doubt now for this team’s prospects in its pursuit of a College Football Playoff spot.  Not a coronation…nowhere near it…but it was notice being served to the rest of the College Football landscape that, the Vols are indeed back…and are a gonna be a problem!

 Before Tennessee even took the field against the Wolfpack, things were happening around the country yesterday.  It started in Ann Arbor, where the matchup of the day on paper took place between Texas and Michigan.  We’ve been saying on Under Review for weeks now that we felt Michigan was a fraud…a good team mind you, but one that was drafting off of the psychic income of last season’s National title a little too much.  We also said Texas is strong…so we found out for sure about both yesterday.  Third ranked Texas: all good…they’re a legitimate title contender.  Top 10 Michigan?  Maybe Top 25 Michigan would be more accurate…maybe.  The Wolverines got smoked in every measure yesterday and in doing so, barring a season long rally to win the Big Ten outright, are now in a position to be out of playoff consideration. 

Next on the hit list were ranked Big 12 teams like Kansas State and Oklahoma State…teams that some say have conference title aspirations.  While they won their games yesterday, they were on the ropes until the very end…Gundy’s guys even had to go double OT to take down a suddenly revitalized Arkansas squad.  Same for Penn St. too, who needed all they had to hold off Bowling Green.  Even Iowa, who (don’t laugh) could’ve snuck into the CFP with an 11-1 season, already took their first L against Iowa St. yesterday.

Then, after all of that chaos, Notre Dame said “watch this”.  The fifth ranked Irish struggled all game long at home against Northern Illinois, and lost to one of the MAC’s finest 16-14.  For all of the wind in the Irish’s CFP sails they got from taking down Texas A&M last weekend, their CFP sailboat capsized yesterday.  With that loss, it’s no longer guaranteed that an 11-1 season for the Irish will get them into the field of 12. 

Credit: University of Tennessee Athletics

And then, for good measure, seventh ranked Oregon struggled again in their late night game against Boise State.  The Ducks were losing to the Broncos in the 4th quarter, and needed everything it had in the tank to beat Boise 37-34 on a walk-off field goal by Atticus Sappington.

I mean, are you really a blue blood if you need someone named Atticus Sappington to bail you out?!?

 All of that madness was like a hurricane swirling around the Vols tea party in Charlotte, and our guys just took care of business…man, did they ever!  NC State a sneaky ACC Champion/College Football Playoff pick?  No worries.  NC State’s Dave Doeren & Co. gonna coach their asses off to scheme Tennessee?  Sure…. K.C. Concepcion is going to be a problem for Tennessee?  Not a problem at all, thank you!  Oh, and that faux-feisty Wolfpack fanbase, calling out the Vols and Nico all week long on social media?  Well, we know what happens when you go low with Vol twitter…we meet you there, and crush you!  Done, done, and done!

CREDIT: University of Tennessee Athletics 

 It was complete and utter domination.  Nico had a less transformative performance than he had in Week 1, but he still delivered, and frankly showed some tools against State that he didn’t need to unpack against Chattanooga.  Case in point: his 3 runs on either 3rd or 4th down last night, capped off by a long yardage QB blast down the middle that flexed his all-around athleticism.  That more than atoned for the one poor decision “Eight-Ball” made with his ill-advised INT.  Dylan Sampson was, yet again, unstoppable!  132 yards rushing with 2 TD’s, and another 37 yards receiving.  All of this talk about Nico for the Heisman…I’m going to say that 12 games like this from #6 this season could absolutely stake his claim for Heisman consideration…1st Team All-American at least!

 While the offense was good enough, the defense was absolutely great!  NC State tried to control the clock early and “dink and dunk” their way down the field, but the D figured it out in pretty short order, and ultimately, the front four dominated the line of scrimmage!  The Wolfpack averaged 1.4 yards per rush, the Vol D-line got in their backfield and started disrupting, and took pressure off of that work-in-progress UT secondary.  It all became contagious…after being the focal point in the opening drive for State, Concepcion was neutralized, and the Vols started taking the Wolfpack apart at every turn, with a Will Brooks pick-six the turning point and crescendo all at once.  The Vols never looked back, and held the Wolfpack to 143 yards total offense…FOR THE ENTIRE GAME!

 This was a master class in coaching by Josh Heupel.  The offense was truly “run-first”, but sprinkled in so many brilliant passing plays at the perfect time to twist the knife on NC State.  And couple our offensive performance, with if we’re being honest, was a “B” effort, with that A+ defensive performance last night, and now, I have a totally different view of this teams ceiling.  I’ve called this season  “the climb” all week long, with each week having more opportunity and consequence than ever before in this new era of college football…almost as if each weekend is a mini-season of its own now.  This team now feels like it’s as well built for that type of “climb” as anyone else in college football.  People, it’s going to be one hell of a ride! 

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