Following the debacle known as the end of the Jeremy Pruitt Era, you would have been hard-pressed to find anyone who thought Tennessee would return to the national conversation this quickly.

In less than 20 months, head coach Josh Heupel has the Vols ranked in the Top 10 nationally. For the 1st time since 1998, Tennessee is 4-0 with 2 wins over nationally ranked opponents in Pittsburgh and Florida.

Speaking of Florida, Saturday’s win was only UT’s 2nd in 18 tries against the Gators. The atmosphere was electric at Neyland Stadium, as the world of college football was witness to Tennessee’s coming-out party. It was time for the Vols to win a game like that, and they finally did.

There’s a great line from the series finale of “The Office,” when character Andy Bernard says, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.”

Tennessee fans … you should know that right now is indeed the good old days.

I know that the Vols’ “good old days” are associated most often with the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1995 to ’98 specifically, the Vols went an outstanding 45-5 with 2 SEC titles and a national championship. That’s when Tennessee football really mattered.

Well, Tennessee football matters again.

And with all that in mind, it is not an absurd question to ask: Is Tennessee a College Football Playoff contender this season?

That’s going to be tough, in large part because of its remaining schedule. In 3 weeks the Vols will host defending SEC champion Alabama, a program they haven’t beaten since 2006. Two weeks after that they play at defending national champion Georgia and 7 days later host Kentucky. All 3 of those teams are undefeated and ranked in the Top 10.

To get the College Football Playoff selection committee to take notice at the end of the regular season, Tennessee would probably have to win at least 2 of those 3 games.

Compare that stretch with a team like Clemson that will get playoff consideration, and you can easily see how Tennessee is at a disadvantage. This week, the Tigers host undefeated North Carolina State, but they might not have to play another nationally ranked team again until December. It’s a much easier path to the Playoff.

The Vols also have a game at LSU on Oct. 8 that could prove to be especially tricky if the game is at night.

It’s probably a tough pull for the Vols to get into the Playoff at this point. But the fact that it isn’t a ridiculous notion proves how far this program has come in such a short period of time.

Even if the Playoff isn’t in the cards, there’s plenty of reason to believe that Tennessee is heading toward a 10-win season, something it hasn’t done in 15 years.

Look at what the Vols did offensively against a very good Florida defense. They scored on 6 of their 9 possessions. The only 3 drives in which they didn’t score finished with fumbles or a turnover on downs. Tennessee racked up a whopping 576 yards of offense.

And the Volunteers did all that without their best receiver. Cedric Tillman was injured in the Akron game a week earlier and was held out of the Florida contest.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker, who had 461 yards of total offense, had 2 TD passes and a rushing score against Florida. It’s time to throw his name into the mix as a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate. Remember, individual honors and team success go hand in hand.

Tennessee has also finally learned how to win close games and how to keep fighting when things don’t go its way. In recent years, the Vols probably would’ve lost the Pittsburgh and Florida games.

The Volunteers don’t have that championship pedigree.

Not yet.

But they aren’t that far away either.