Tennessee football enters toughest gauntlet in years with house money
It seems like we’re back in the early to mid-2010s. During that era, Tennessee football would always have a three or four-game stretch against ranked teams that would define their season. Most of the time, they would fail miserably.
Well, on Saturday, as they get set to host the Ole Miss Rebels, the Vols once again begin a four-game stretch against teams in the top 25. Three of them are either currently undefeated or ranked in the top five. Ole Miss is ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll and No. 14 in the Coaches Poll.
After Lane Kiffin’s return to Rocky Top, Tennessee football heads to Tuscaloosa to face the Alabama Crimson Tide, ranked No. 5 in both polls. They then have a bye before visiting the Kentucky Wildcats, who are 6-0 and ranked No. 11 in both polls. Finally, they’ll return home to host the Georgia Bulldogs, who are 6-0 and ranked No. 1 in both polls.
Simply put, things are about to get brutal. However, in their first year under head coach Josh Heupel, the Vols this stretch with nothing to lose and everything to gain. That’s based on the goals fans and analysts had for the program at the beginning of the year.
Six wins was always the goal for Rocky Top. That seemed difficult after their 41-34 loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers. However, at 4-2 and coming off blowout wins over the Missouri Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks, that number is now likely.
UT will close out the season at home against the South Alabama Jaguars and Vanderbilt Commodores. Both of those are expected to be wins despite South Alabama being much improved under new head coach Kane Wommack. That means these four upcoming games are all about potentially exceeding expectations and goals this year.
The last time the Vols had such a gauntlet, it was in 2016. They played the Florida Gators, Georgia, the Texas A&M Aggies and Alabama in four straight weeks. After beating Florida and Georgia to get to 5-0, they seemed to have house money with that stretch too.
However, the goal there was winning the SEC East and being in the College Football Playoff race, and losing to A&M and Alabama killed the latter. Their East hopes were dashed thanks to an upset loss to South Carolina after the bye.
A similar gauntlet came in 2013, when the Vols played five straight games against ranked teams. There was no house money with that one, as six wins was still the goal, and they would have to steal at least one to have a chance. Although they stole one against South Carolina, a loss to Vanderbilt, which was a toss-up game at the time, killed those chances.
In 2012, the Vols were 3-1 and getting set to face four straight ranked foes. Derek Dooley was coaching for his life, and UT needed to steal a couple of those games for him to keep his job. That pressure seemed too much for him to handle, and his teams consistently folded in the fourth quarter during those games.
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Simply put, momentum has never been as high entering a gauntlet like this for Tennessee football as it is right now. That morale should allow them to play looser, and it may result in a couple of upsets. This is where the fun begins, though, so as Kiffin said two weeks ago, grab your popcorn.