Tennessee fans have plenty of reason to be disappointed with the way the 2015 season has gone. While many of them entered the season thinking the Volunteers could compete for the SEC title, they’ve seen the team make it through October with a 4-4 record and just two wins in conference play.

But the Vols, who should be favored in each of their final four games, have also given the fanbase some reason to be optimistic that 2016 might actually be the breakout season for Butch Jones and his Tennessee program. In fact, this year’s UT team resembles several from the past that have made some of college football’s most impressive one-year turnarounds.

Many of the teams in recent memory that have gone from bad to good or mediocre to great from one year to the next share similar characteristics. First, the rosters tended to be loaded with young talent in key positions. They also tend to be teams that lose multiple close games one year before learning how to close out victories the next.

Going back to the turn of the century, South Carolina and Oklahoma were suffering to varying degrees. That Gamecocks went 0-11 in 1999 — their first season under Lou Holtz — and were excruciatingly bad on offense, scoring more than 14 points just once the entire season. However, the defense kept South Carolina in a lot of games. The Gamecocks lost 11-10 to Vanderbilt and hung around with No. 4 Florida before losing 20-3. They also lost 10-point games to North Carolina State and rival Clemson.

But 2000 was a different story in Columbia. South Carolina went 8-4 with victories against ranked Georgia and Ohio State teams to finish No. 19 in the final AP Poll.

Oklahoma was not in quite the same rut as South Carolina in 1999, but the once-proud program was coming off a down period in the 1990s not unlike the recent years at Tennessee. With junior college transfer Josh Heupel leading the way, the Sooners went 7-5. The losses include a 4-point setback at Notre Dame, a 10-point loss to rival Texas and a 2-point loss to Ole Miss in the Independence Bowl.

The next season was a historic one for OU. With Heupel settling into the system, he led the Sooners to a 13-0 season and a national championship.

Oklahoma wasn’t the only Big 12 team to make a similar jump in the 2000s. In 2006, Kansas went 6-6 with four losses by a total of 17 points. With players such as quarterback Todd Reesing and cornerback Aqib Talib back in 2007, the Jayhawks went 12-1 and beat Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

And of course, SEC fans remember what happened at Auburn from 2012 to 2013. The Tigers went 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC in 2012, despite a roster loaded with four and five-star recruits. The losses included a 2-point setback to No. 2 LSU, a 17-13 loss at Vanderbilt and a 26-19 loss to Clemson.

But after a coaching change to replace Gene Chizik with Gus Malzahn, Auburn went 12-2 and made it all the way to the BCS national title game in 2013.

That all should be music to Vols fans’ ears. Tennessee’s four losses have come by a total of 17 points and three of them to teams in the top 15 of the first College Football Playoff rankings. The Volunteers should also return quarterback Joshua Dobbs, leading rusher Jalen Hurd and top receiver Josh Malone, along with a host of freshmen and sophomores on both sides of the ball.

Perhaps pegging 2015 as the year for Tennessee’s return to glory was just asking for too much too soon. But the Volunteers have an decent shot at finishing the regular season a respectable 8-4, which could provide plenty of momentum heading into 2016.

Which, if history is any guide, has potential to be a big year in Knoxville.