Tennessee football: Celebrate things going right
They say you make your own luck, and that’s half true. However, that line is used to say luck is often part of overall skill. It’s wrong. Sometimes luck is just luck, but the psychological edge of success has something to do with it. Tennessee football is reaching that level.
Two weeks after nearly costing themselves a 38-21 lead over the Florida Gatos by not recovering an onside kick, the Vols began Saturday’s matchup at the LSU Tigers with a fumble recovery on a kickoff. Yes, that’s luck either way. It’s also psychological.
You can’t convince me or anybody who has covered Tennessee football the past 15 years that failure to recover that onside kick had something, subconsciously, to do with never being able to beat Florida in the players’ minds The reverse happened at LSU.
By exorcising that demon against Florida, the sky was the limit for the Vols, and they lived up to it immediately with such a great bounce against LSU. Again, this kickoff would’ve gone out of bounds from previous UT teams. These Vols recovered it.
This is where making your own luck comes into play. It’s not that the play itself wasn’t lucky. What was different about these Vols was they actually cashed in on it. A series of successes leading up to that was the reason for it. Winning is a mentality.
Taking all of this into account, Vol fans should relish what is happening with this team. At the end of the day, they are 5-0 with a win over Florida and a huge SEC road win. They will be undefeated facing the Alabama Crimson Tide for the first time since 1998.
Yes, skeptics may say Tennessee football started 2016 5-0 and also had things go right with so many comebacks and the hail mary to beat Georgia. However, this team seems to be getting better in Heupel’s second year. That team seemed to just be getting by in Butch Jones’ fifth year.
Yes, the offense was a bit inconsistent early on. They still dropped 40 points. Also, before you worry about any level of luck involved, don’t forget that this is LSU we’re talking here. They and the Auburn Tigers have consistently pulled out the luckiest wins this century.
Will this type of natural success last for the Vols? Nobody knows. However, it’s at a level not seen in a long time. With injuries at quarterback for opposing teams, the football gods really do seem to finally be looking out for the Vols.
Fans owe no apologies for that, not after what’s happened the last 15 years. Heck, they owe no apologies given what was happening 18 months ago when Jeremy Pruitt was fired. Nobody saw this coming Josh Heupel’s second year on the job.
dark. Next. Five takeaways from Vols' win at LSU
Taking all this into account, Tennessee football needs to spend a day or two enjoying where it’s at. Obviously, the Vols can and need to stay hungry, but getting to 5-0 and in the top 10 with wins over Florida and at LSU need no explanation. This is a program to be proud of.