Could Tennessee football have a top five defense?

Tennessee football's defense has been much improved this year compared to years past. The Vols' defense has been the team's Achilles heel in past seasons in the Josh Heupel era, but this year, it looks like the defense could be just as good as the offense. 

The Vols' defense has been lockdown in their first two games of the season. They have only allowed six points against opposing offenses, three against Chattanooga, and three against NC State. 

Blue Bloods Bias on X ranks Tennessee as the nation's second-best defense, which seems like they are drastically overrating the Vols' defense. In reality, it's not too far off from where the Vols rank statistically. 

While we're only two games into the season, and Tennessee's defense hasn't seen an offense capable of being a legitimate College Football Playoff contender, it's hard to disagree that Tennessee's defense looks much improved compared to years past. 

In the Vols' first two games of the year, they have allowed 370 total yards and six points. That puts them at sixth in the country, one spot behind Georgia. 

While it's hard to get an accurate rating of where defenses stand throughout the SEC and across the nation, it is clear that Tennessee's defense could be a game-changer for the first time under Heupel. 

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given Heupel's attitude toward defense coming into the season. Being known for his offense, he isn't expected to have an elite defense, but that's still his expectation inside the program. 

After the Vols' Week Two win over NC State, Heupel had some strong words about the Vols' improved defense, along with the coaches' and players' expectations of what Tennessee's defense should look like. 

The Vols defense has not given up a touchdown in the last 12 quarters, going back to the Citrus Bowl win over Iowa, in a game the defense shut out the Iowa offense. The only other team to do that is Georgia, which is widely regarded as the best defense in college football. 

Tennessee might not be a top-five defense yet, but it could shock the college football world if it shows the same production when SEC play kicks off next week against Oklahoma. 

The Vols will look to keep that streak going on Saturday against Kent State. The game will kick off at 7:45 PM ET on the SEC Network.