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The Tennessee Volunteers (4-5, 1-4 SEC) needed a win on Saturday. The Vols were minutes away from an 3-6 record, three wins shy of bowl eligibility entering their final three games. But after scoring 17 unanswered points, Tennessee captured a 45-42 win over South Carolina to swing momentum back in its favor at the best possible time.
Sitting idle this week during their second bye, the Vols will enter their final three games next week needing at least two wins to secure bowl eligibility. Tennessee’s hasn’t appeared in a bowl game since 2010, but that could change as the Vols remaining schedule includes three winnable games, all played in their home state.
Tennessee will host Kentucky (Nov. 15) and Missouri (Nov. 22) at Neyland Stadium before heading to Nashville for its season finale against Vanderbilt (Nov. 29).
Coming off a bye, the Vols should be prepared for what (at one point) seemed to be a surprising Kentucky team. The two programs have been on opposite ends of the spectrum this season. While Tennessee has struggled through a difficult schedule, the Wildcats started 5-1– against lackluster matchups– before losing their last three games.
Missouri is a difficult team to figure out. The Tigers still have a chance to win the SEC East, despite losses to Indiana and Georgia. Like Kentucky, Missouri has early wins over SEC East teams, but enters a tough matchup at Texas A&M before traveling to Neyland Stadium on Nov. 22.
Then there’s Vanderbilt, who despite coming off back-to-back wins over Tennessee for the first time since 1926, is a far cry from the program James Franklin led to a resurgence. The Commodores are winless in SEC games and have struggled against smaller programs this season. Vanderbilt was expected to be the easiest matchup for Tennessee, even during the Vols’ early struggles.
Head coach Butch Jones has preached his “Brick by Brick” rebuilding philosophy since his arrival in December 2012. While he’s gained high praise and optimism from the Tennessee faithful, his success this season is a major factor to whether the love affair continues.
Jones led the Vols to a 5-7 record and was given leeway during his first season. Though Tennessee’s young roster looked improved, even in losing efforts, failure to surpass his previous record would show little evidence that his process was working.
The Vols must claim bowl eligibility as a checkpoint in their rebuilding process. Tennessee’s chances have gone from slim to realistic since naming Joshua Dobbs the starting quarterback. Dobbs was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and has revitalized the Vols offense.
Tennessee now looks like a complete team with talent on both sides of the football. As they enter their final three games, the Vols have a great opportunity to secure bowl eligibility and lay another brick to the foundation of their rebuilding process.
A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky
