Top 10 Ways to Define Success for the 2015 Tennessee Vols Football Season

Jan 2, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones admires the MVP trophy of quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) after their 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at EverBank Field. The Tennessee Volunteers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 45-28. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

2. Finishing in the Top 25

The Vols are back, right? That means that they have to finish the year in the Top 25.

In the SEC, your record standing on par with teams from other conferences means you will get the benefit of the doubt in a Top 25 vote. That leaves Tennessee no excuses to be left out of the Top 25 this year, and now, with the Vols beginning the season in the Top 25, finishing unranked would actually signify a dramatic under-achievement.

No Tennessee Vol fan wants that.

Tennessee is definitely good enough to have a Top 25 finish this year if everybody reaches their full potential, but it would mean winning enough big games that they have been unable to come on top in over the past seven years.

With this factor, we are reaching the major things that have to happen for this to be a successful season. For Tennessee to truly be on the way back, they need to have the national recognition that at least comes close to matching their national all-time brand.

And finishing out of the Top 25 team for a Top 10 program of all time is not the way to go about doing it, so if you truly are to believe that the Vols are back, these players are truly talented, and Butch Jones is truly a good coach, then there is no reason not to finish off in the Top 25.

If they reach their No. 1 goal, this should not be a problem.

Next: Having a 10-Win Season