It’s obviously an exciting time for Tennessee football. The Vols are 3-0 and in the top 12 for the first time since 2016. ESPN College GameDay is headed to Rocky Top this weekend for their matchup with the Florida Gators. The last time UT hosted was also 2016 against Florida.
However, what’s crazier is the last time the Vols were part of College GameDay altogether. The position they are in right now is a rise-up from a massive fall that began during their last College GameDay game, and yes, it was also back in 2016.
You have to go back to Oct. 8, 2016. Tennessee football was riding as high as ever with Joshua Dobbs at quarterback and Butch Jones as head coach. They 5-0 and in the top 10, visiting the also undefeated Texas A&M Aggies, who were led by Kevin Sumlin.
This was the third College GameDay the Vols were part of that year, following Florida and the Battle at Bristol at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Between that year and the end of 2006, they had only been part of one GameDay, a 2012 home loss to Florida.
You can’t overstate how great of a time it was for the Vols. Up to that point, they were a week removed from their legendary Hail Mary touchdown pass from Dobbs to Jauan Jennings to beat the Georgia Bulldogs on the road. A week before that, they had snapped an 11-game losing streak to Florida.
In addition to being 2-0 in the SEC with two crucial East wins, the Vols’ win against VT was in front of the largest audience ever. They were a year removed from their first nine-win season and top 25 finish since 2007, and the program seemed to have arrived under Butch Jones, going from 5-7 in 2013 to 7-6 in 2014 to 9-4 in 2015.
From there, the highest of highs began a slide to the lowest of lows. All of the GameDay crew picked Texas A&M. Tennessee football lost to them in overtime despite fighting back late. It was a breakout performance by Alvin Kamara. The story isn’t actually what happened in that game.
Ranked No. 9 at the time, the Vols stayed in the top 10. They lost to an undefeated top 10 SEC West team on the road and were 5-1. Who was going to panic over that? Well, the team was starting to get severely banged up because of Jones’ lack of conditioning.
A week later, the Vols lost 49-10 to the Alabama Crimson Tide. All College Football Playoff hopes were dashed at that point. Still, UT was heading into a bye to get healthy, and they were still the favorites to win the East. All they had to do was win out.
Well, coming off the bye, they were shocked by South Carolina on the road and a Jake Bentley who was still high school aged. Then Jalen Hurd, the first prized recruit of the Jones era, transferred out. A few weeks later, Jones tried to justify the collapse with his “Champions of Life” comment.
No East would be won, but Tennessee football could still reach a New Years Six bowl if it won out. That also ended with a loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Vols finished what was supposed to be a top 10 caliber year with a 9-4 campaign and a letdown Music City Bowl win.
Of course, the next year, Jones’ program collapsed. UT went 4-8. He was fired. A fan revolt nixed his replacement hire, Greg Schiano, and got new athletic director John Currie fired. Phillip Fulmer launched a coup, took over as AD and hired Jeremy Pruitt.
Three years after that, the Vols fired Pruitt due to serious NCAA violations on the heels of two losing seasons in three years. They brought in Danny White, who hired Josh Heupel and took them 7-6 last year. There were no top 25 finishes during this time.
Now, though, Tennessee football seems to be back, and that’s why GameDay has noticed. However, ironically, they’re back from a collapse that began in 2016 during the last game they played with College GameDay in attendance. Can they stay back this time?