Are The Vols Going To Run The Table?

The Tennessee Vols are on the verge of their best season in nearly a decade, but they’ll have to run the table to get there. Will they be able to get it done?

Tennessee, after several heartbreaking losses this season, are on a mission the final month of the season.

When the Vols lost to Alabama and dropped to 3-4 on the season, fans agreed that winning out wasn’t only a nice thought but an absolute necessity.

Winning out would give the Volunteers eight regular season wins. But it would also mean they’d have to win five games in a row.

Tennessee hasn’t won five games in a row since 2007 (Butch Jones won five games in a row at Cincinnati to open the 2012 season).

The Vols are essentially halfway there after an easy win on the road against Kentucky and a close home win against South Carolina. Tennessee won’t have any problems this weekend with North Texas, one of the worst teams in the country.

So that essentially leaves a road game against Missouri (the Tigers have won three straight against UT) and a home game against Vanderbilt.

Tennessee, who is probably the best team in the SEC East (despite the fact that Florida has won the East), should be favored against Missouri and Vanderbilt. But those games are far from “gimmes”.

Missouri can literally suck the life out of a team — just ask Georgia. The Tigers are terrible on offense, but they’ve made a habit out of turning games into ugly affairs this season.

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The Tigers have the 11th ranked defense in the nation. They’re allowing only 177 passing yards a game and 121 rushing yards a game.

However, last week against Mississippi State, Missouri gave up over 300 passing yards to Dak Prescott.

I believe Missouri will have to focus so much on the Vols’ dynamic rushing duo of Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara that Tennessee, who is starting to extend the field in the passing game lately, will be able to rack up some yards through the air.

The Vols should finally beat Missouri and get to seven wins in Columbia. I think it’ll be a low scoring affair, but I believe Tennessee will prove they can grind it out and win ugly on the road.

In the season finale, Tennessee will take on Vanderbilt.

The Commodores are a team that’s hard to figure out. One week they beat Missouri, then they get shutout by Houston, then they nearly win on the road against Florida.

Tennessee obviously can’t overlook Vandy, but I don’t think the Commodores have enough offensive firepower to keep up with the Vols.

Vanderbilt will give Tennessee some issues with their 19th ranked defense, but their 111th ranked offense will make it really hard for them to go into Neyland and pull the upset.

Anything can happen over the last couple of weeks of the season and we’ve seen plenty of surprises this season, but logically the Volunteers should have eight wins when they wake up on November 29.

And if the Vols do get to eight wins by winning their final five games of the season, it’ll give them a chance to do something they haven’t done since 2003 — win six games in a row.

It would also give Tennessee nine wins. The Vols haven’t won that many games since 2007 when they finished with ten wins.

Next: Week 11 Bowl Projections For The Vols

I know fans are down about some of the close losses this season and thinking “what could have been” (and I totally get that), but if the Vols finish the season on six game winning streak, that’s a lot to be excited about.

It’s been said a thousand times before, but it rings as true as ever — Tennessee is on the way up and 2016 could be a very, very special season.

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