Tennessee dropped its regular-season finale 45-24 to Vanderbilt in an embarrassing second-half display. The Commodores torched the Volunteers' defense and shut down Joey Aguilar and the offense.
Diego Pavia solidified his Heisman campaign with a statement win to end the year, and Vanderbilt strengthened their College Football Playoff argument, and it was all done inside Neyland Stadium.
It is clear after this loss that changes are needed. The question is whether Josh Heupel will make the necessary changes this offseason.
Heupel was asked in his postgame press conference what he plans to do in the offseason regarding defensive changes, and he left the door open to making much-needed changes on staff, saying, "It's my job to evaluate everything."
I asked Josh Heupel if changes are needed on defense this offseason.
— Adam Sparks (@AdamSparks) November 30, 2025
"It's my job to evaluate everything," Heupel said.
We have also heard Heupel give responses similar to this one as a non-answer and make no changes or adjustments. For the most part, sticking with his guys has worked out down the road, but it would be hard for him to move on to next season without any adjustments to the coaching staff.
The defensive performance against SEC opponents was abysmal this year, and the Vols had no answer or plan for mobile quarterbacks. We watched any quarterback with the ability to scramble torch Tennessee's defense this year.
Tennessee survived most of its games because its roster was better, but when the Vols faced an equal or better roster, the defense could not make enough plays to win.
Tennessee’s defense allowed 395.3 yards and 28.8 points per game this year, which are among the worst in the SEC. Only Mississippi State and Arkansas’ defense was worse this year.
If the Vols had pieced together a defense that statistically falls within the league's average, Tennessee likely would have won at least ten games and returned to the College Football Playoff.
It's clear that changes need to be made for Tennessee to make the next step towards winning another national championship, and Heupel left the door wide open to make the necessary changes, but it's unclear if Heupel will be willing to make all of the changes required for 2026 and beyond.