Tennessee’s 2018 season — or at least how it will be remembered — begins this week.

Certainly, the Vols deserve credit for upsetting a reeling Auburn team. That game showed that the Vols were willing to adjust offensively and prove they could be successful when they attacked teams downfield. The Vols also showed fight in a loss to Georgia. UT had every reason to just show up and take a beating against a team that was a defensive stop from winning a national title last season.

On the flip side, the Vols also showed they weren’t close to the nation’s elite on a handful of occasions. West Virginia, Florida and Alabama come to mind. Reality hurts.

So what do really know about these Vols that we didn’t know during preseason camp? First, first-year head coach Jeremy Pruitt is primarily a conservative coach. Pruitt wants to run the football, defend against the big play and keep games close. That might be a perfect fit against the remainder of UT’s opponents. The Vols will play at South Carolina on Saturday, then they’ll host Charlotte, Kentucky and Missouri before a road game to Vanderbilt to finish the regular season. Other than Missouri, no team should light up the Vols among that group.

The Vols are 3-4. If they beat every remaining opponent on their schedule, the Vols would finish 8-4, which would be an incredible accomplishment considering they were 4-8 last season. It’s unlikely that Tennessee is good enough to run the table. However, it’s reasonable to think the Vols should have a chance to beat every team that remains.

Let’s start with South Carolina this week. Forget whatever you saw against Alabama, there was no fair judgement to be made about the Vols following a 58-21 beatdown against one of the best college football teams of all time. The Gamecocks are a different team. South Carolina is 3-3 and 2-3 in the SEC. The Gamecocks had preseason hopes to win the SEC East. Those hopes have been dashed. South Carolina and UT will be playing for the same thing on Saturday: pride and a step toward bowl eligibility.

South Carolina isn’t particularly daunting on either side of the ball. Carolina is eighth best in the SEC in scoring offense and 10th best in the SEC in scoring defense. The Vols rank 12th best in scoring offense and 11th best in points allowed. That’s nothing for either to be proud of, but it’s nothing the Vols can’t overcome.

UT’s chances will rely largely on quarterback play. Sophomore starter Jarrett Guarantano was knocked out of the Alabama game last week. Pruitt says he’s fine and ready to return this week. However, if he’s not, let’s hope UT’s coaches have seen enough out of backup Keller Chryst to continue to be aggressive no matter who lines up under center.

With the Auburn upset and South Carolina’s struggles this season, there’s no reason to think the Vols can’t become bowl eligible with a 6-6 record. Anything short of that would have to be considered a disappointing season.

It’s up to the Vols to believe that they should win the majority of the games they have left. I’m sure that the Alabama loss stung. I’m sure that the Vols are still building up their confidence after what they’ve been through this season and in recent season’s past.

However, now is not the time to mope about an Alabama loss that most anyone not wearing orange could see coming. Now, is the time for the Vols to realize they can still exceed what would have been reasonable preseason goals. The stretch of games that every UT fan had dreaded is over. The season starts now.