Tennessee football: Top five questions for Vols homecoming game vs. UAB

2. Are the Vols really turning a corner, or have they played easier teams?

We could reverse the question about how good the UAB Blazers really are and apply it to Tennessee football. Vol fans everywhere are excited about this teams turnaround. After two 0-2 home losses to Group of Five programs to start the year, they have now beaten the Mississippi State Bulldogs and South Carolina Gamecocks in two of three weeks.

As a result, they are now 3-5 and 2-3 in the SEC with a chance at a bowl game. However, just how good are Mississippi State and South Carolina? After all, both teams are now 3-5. South Carolina has a loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels on its resume, and MSU has been embarrassed by SEC West teams while also losing at home to the Kansas State Wildcats.

Meanwhile, the Georgia State Panthers, the first team to beat UT, are now 6-2 and could win the Sun Belt. Sure, the BYU Cougars are 3-4, but their last game was a win over the Boise State Broncos when they were ranked No. 14. It was Boise State’s first loss. BYU also upset USC Trojans on the road, who were No. 24 at the time and are still in first place in the Pac-12 South.

So you could make a legitimate case that BYU and Georgia State were tougher opponents than South Carolina and Mississippi State. You could definitely say that about BYU. Now yes, South Carolina did upset the Georgia Bulldogs. And that throws all this for a loop. But in the midst of this “turnaround,” UGA blew out UT 43-14.

Their other loss was obviously to the Alabama Crimson Tide, 35-13. Now, things like Daniel Bituli being back when he wasn’t there the first two games make the Vols look much better. But UAB will actually be a very good test to prove if they truly have turned a corner.