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Tennessee Football: Five Biggest Reasons the Volunteers are 2-3 So Far

By Caleb Calhoun

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Sep 26, 2015; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones and Florida Gators head coach Jim McElwain shake hands at mid field after the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 28-27. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

5. The Schedule Was Tougher Than Expected

At the start of the season, the Vols did not look like they would play a significant opponent until Arkansas. The Oklahoma Sooners were in the Top 25, but based on last year, there was no belief that they would be that good.

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    • Meanwhile, the Florida Gators were supposed to struggle significantly McElwain’s first year.

    But now, as it turns out, the Sooners are a Top 10 team as Bob Stoops has revitalized his offense with Baker Mayfield at quarterback and Lincoln Riley as offensive coordinator. They have joined the TCU Horned Frogs and Baylor Bears as Big 12 favorites, and the championship has now become a three-horse race.

    Florida, on the other hand is 5-0 and scored some pretty impressive wins. They scored more than 60 points in their opener, beat a solid East Carolina team the next week, and then went to Lexington to hand the Kentucky Wildcats their only loss of the season so far. But what really validated them was that they blew out the Ole Miss Rebels, who beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Florida is clearly an elite team, and that loss does not look as bad anymore given it was by one in The Swamp.

    The Arkansas loss, ironically, looks worse because of their losses to Toledo and Texas Tech, but after playing Texas A&M to overtime, those look like fluke losses now, and the Razorbacks appear to have figured it out. So instead of playing one or two Top 25-caliber teams through five games, the Vols have played two Top 10-caliber teams and another Top 25-caliber team.

    Next: Reason #4: Secondary

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