TaxSlayer Bowl: Business Or Pleasure For Vols?
By Zach Ragan
When Tennessee beat Vanderbilt on November 29, it allowed the Vols to reach their biggest goal for the 2014 season — making a bowl game.
So when the Volunteers head to sunny Florida for the TaxSlayer bowl on January 2, it would be very easy for team 118 to be satisfied with just making the trip.
But I’d argue that this bowl game appearance is a must win game for the Vols.
I know what you’re thinking. There’s no such a thing as a “must win game” when you’re a 6-6 team. But imagine how the perception of the football program would change with a win over Iowa.
If the Vols beat the Hawkeyes on January 2, it would give Tennessee their first winning season since 2009 (UT finished 7-6 under Lane Kiffin). It would also be the first time that Tennessee’s season finished with a bowl win since the 2007 season, when the Vols beat Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.
However, if Tennessee loses to Iowa it would give the Vols their fifth straight losing season. It would also mean Butch Jones’ record after two seasons is identical to Derek Dooley’s record after two seasons — 11-14.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that Jones and Dooley are one in the same. Nor is the comparison even close.
Jones didn’t receive a raise/extension at Tennessee for being a Dooley clone. And a win/loss record is hardly the only way to compare coaches. Jones’ situation at UT is completely different from Dooley’s. There’s no debating that.
But perception of a program, like it or not, is readily influenced by the number of wins and losses that a team accumulates.
Personally I don’t think it’s any sort of indictment of the program if Tennessee loses to Iowa on January 2. Tennessee has a roster full of players making their first bowl game trip. Iowa, on the other hand, is making their third appearance in the past four seasons.
So as far as outside distractions go? Advantage Iowa.
Though if there’s one person that can reign in his players and make them understand the importance of the task at hand, it’s Butch Jones.
When previewing Tennessee’s bowl game, Jones acknowledged the game was a reward for players. But he also made it clear that UT was on a mission to not just play in a bowl game, but to win a bowl game.
"Jones: It’s a reward for our fan base. It’s a reward for our football team. It’s a reward for our seniors. But make no mistake about it, you go there to win the football game. Your preparation, your mental effort, your mental intensity doesn’t change one bit. So it’s all in your approach. You have to have tremendous, tremendous practices here in Knoxville. Then when we go down to Jacksonville, we have to have a bulls eye focus which we talk about. But there’s one thing to be a participant of a bowl game, it’s another to win the football game."
It’s pretty clear that Jones knows what’s at stake.
I think it’s also quite clear that Jones wants to finish the season with a winning record more than anyone. He probably wouldn’t convey it to the media, but no coach, especially after receiving a raise, wants to deliver a program’s fifth straight losing season.
Tennessee needs to leave Florida with a win on January 2. They need to beat Iowa to show fans that this isn’t the same ol’ Vols team that fans have grown accustomed to seeing.
Vol fans need a reason to feel good about their football program. While it’s obvious the program is heading in the right direction, it’s time for fans to see the tangible results for themselves, instead of relying on analysts, talking heads and bloggers to tell them that good times are on the way.