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Tennessee football’s 10 biggest storylines of 2020

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Smokey the live Tennessee Volunteers mascot on the sidelines during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Smokey the live Tennessee Volunteers mascot on the sidelines during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Eric Gray (3) holds up the MVP Trophy after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2020 Taxslayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2020; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Eric Gray (3) holds up the MVP Trophy after defeating the Indiana Hoosiers in the 2020 Taxslayer Gator Bowl at TIAA Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

These were the biggest Tennessee football Volunteers stories of the year.

It was a crazy, wild 2020 for Tennessee football. Morale at the end of the year is much lower than it was at the beginning of the year. In fact, amidst all of the outside news that affected the program, the performance of the program itself was largely a downward spiral. There was no roller coaster involved.

As we look back on the biggest stories related to the Vols, it’s worth noting that we’ll be looking at stories specifically involving players in relation to UT. The accomplishments of former Vols in professional sports, including players getting drafted, winning championships or making Pro Bowls, don’t count. Peyton Manning’s charity golf game doesn’t count either.

Still, plenty of headlines involving the Vols stood out the entire season. Let’s go ahead and break all of them down here. These are the 10 biggest storylines related to Tennessee football that took place in 2020.

10. Bowl win vs. Indiana Hoosiers

UT kicked off the year with its first bowl game since the end of 2016. Jeremy Pruitt’s team had closed out the 2019 regular season on a five-game winning streak to get to 7-5 after an 0-2 start. The Vols would face the Indiana Hoosiers in the Gator Bowl for a chance at the strongest finish to the season.

Things started out rough, though. Jarrett Guarantano looked like his early-season self after a strong finish to the regular season, and thanks in large part to a pick-six by him, the Vols fell behind 22-9 going into the fourth quarter. However, after Pruitt benched Guarantano for one drive, he calmed down and got back into a rhythm.

Eric Gray then emerged, and Tennessee football scored back to back touchdowns, including an onside kick recovery and game-winning score by Gray, who was the game’s MVP. A couple of defensive stands secured the Vols a 23-22 memorable bowl win and an 8-5 record, and Pruitt then declared in the locker room that this decade would be the decade of the Vols.

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