These stats further prove Josh Heupel has been a savior for Tennessee football

The man is a rock star. We're of course talking about Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel, who has his team ranked No. 6 in the country following a 33-14 win over Mississippi State. With Heupel in charge, Tennessee is 8-1 this year, with Georgia up next.

Win or lose against UGA, though, no one can question Huepel has turned the program around and the future is looking bright for the Knoxville side. Need further proof of that? The kind folks at ESPN went ahead and made up a graphic of just how impressive this team has been with Heupel running the show:

Josh Heupel has been sensational as head coach of the Tennessee Vols

Come on, that's just head turning. Following the days of legendary head coach Phillip Fulmer, people knew there'd be a bit of a downfall for the football squad. However, from 2009-2020, a 73-75 record was inexcusable. The 9-48 mark against ranked teams kept people up at night.

However, Heupel made his way to town in 2021 and he's been tremendous ever since. That ESPN graphic came in the middle of the action against Mississippi State. Following the win, he's now 35-13 as Tennessee's leader, still with an 11-8 record vs. ranked squads.

Fans would love nothing more than for things to improve to 12-8 vs. Top 25 teams this weekend, as No. 11 Georgia will be hosting the Vols in Athens. With College GameDay being in town too, it only adds to the excitement for this massive SEC showdown.

Georgia has dominated the rivalry over the last seven years, but there's a new vibe surrounding Tennessee. Yes, the Bulldogs are strong favorites to post a win, but plenty of Vols fans are feeling confident ahead of this one. We'd love to see an upset win posted. Should that happen, it will only add to the remarkable job Heupel is getting done. He truly has become a stud for Tennessee.