It wasn’t a win over the Alabama Crimson Tide, but Tennessee football did make history over homecoming weekend. The Vols had their highest scoring output under Josh Heupel to date and set a record for points in a first half with 52 as they beat the UT-Martin Skyhawks 65-24 to improve to 7-0 on the year.
UT is now No. 3 in both polls as they get set to return to SEC action, but what does this say about the state of the program? Despite the fact that they went up against an FCS school, they actually provided us with a good bit of information on strengths and weaknesses currently in the program.
Our breakdown of the team won’t just take into account this past weekend, though. We have plenty to go on really since they returned from their bye week, and in all honesty, some things haven’t changed dating back to before then. Starting with the stock of the team as a whole, this is our Tennessee football stock report after Week 8.
Here’s an overall look at the state of Tennessee football after the Volunteers’ 65-24 win over the UT-Martin Skyhawks.
Overall stock report: Steady and high
It maxed out last week with that win over Alabama, and while there is a possibility that the stock could get higher, that seems like a stretch. However, in terms of rankings, that’s exactly what happened, as getting to No. 3 in both polls means they had to move up one spot in the Coaches Poll. Are they overvalued, though?
Critics will bring up the 24 points allowed to UT-Martin. However, the Vols did actually cover once again in this game, something they have been doing a lot of since their bye. As a result, the stock of the team right now is steadily maxed out, and we’re about to find out if there’s another level this team can reach going forward.
Facing another ranked foe in the Kentucky Wildcats is now a more to lose than gain game given the state of Tennessee football, which shows how high their stock is. However, a week later, they can add a new max level with a trip to the Georgia Bulldogs, so this still could go up.