All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football has nation’s best game twice, publication says

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: The Tennessee Volunteers run onto the field before the start of their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on October 29, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 29: The Tennessee Volunteers run onto the field before the start of their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on October 29, 2005 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

One publication is looking forward to Tennessee football Volunteers matchups.

There is plenty of excitement around multiple Tennessee football games in the college football world this year despite the revised 10-game SEC-only schedule. It doesn’t even matter how outmatched the Vols may be in these games.

A little over a week ago, Athlon listed three UT games as the best SEC game that week: against the Alabama Crimson Tide, at the Auburn Tigers and against the Florida Gators. Well, two of them now have a more national feel.

Bill Bender of Sporting News wrote that Tennessee football’s Oct. 24 game at Alabama and Dec. 5 game against Florida are the nation’s best games for each of those weeks. Here’s a bit of what was written about each matchup.

"AlabamaJeremy Pruitt has Tennessee on the upswing, and the Vols will be all-in with the hopes of breaking a 13-game losing streak to their long-standing rival.FloridaThis traditional September rivalry was pushed back on the schedule, and it could be interesting if either team needs it to get to Atlanta for the SEC championship game."

It’s clear with these two games that Sporting News wants to see how Rocky Top fares against teams that have owned it over the past decade-plus. Since 2005, the Vols are 1-14 against each of those programs, including a previous 11-game losing streak to Florida and a current 13-game losing streak to Alabama.

These droughts come after they beat both of teams in three of the previous four years: 2001, 2003 and 2004. However there is lots of excitement behind Jeremy Pruitt getting the program back to a national level, which could explain why people are looking forward to those games.

Could UT pull off an upset in one of them? Well, that will be tough. However, both game are in Knoxville, and Alabama heads there one week after a huge game against the Georgia Bulldogs. As a result, there could be a bit of a hangover effect for the Tide. Florida, meanwhile, will face them a week after facing the Kentucky Wildcats.

Next. Vols 25 best single-game performances in history. dark

If Tennessee football manages to beat either team, it’ll be a major upset. That would also put the Vols an a path to a winning record, which will be very difficult with this new slate. However, it’s also Pruitt’s chance to show what he’s built, and he may be further along than people think.

Home/Vols Football