Lights out.
It’s no secret that Tennessee has a truly elite defense this season. The Volunteers have been leaning on that unit since SEC play began, swarming opposing offenses with a ridiculously deep and talented front.
Just how good have they been so far? Historical good. They’ve yet to allow 20 points in seven games this season, which puts them in some elite company. Todd Fuhrman points out that Tennessee is only the fifth SEC team since 2000 to pull that off.
The other four teams that accomplished that went on to win the National Championship.
Tennessee is the only FBS team to allow under 20 pts in every game this season.
They’re the 5th SEC team since 2000 to hold each of its 1st 7 opponents under 20.
The previous 4? They all won the National Title (2003 LSU, 2011 Bama, 2012 Bama, 2021 UGA) @3HL1045 @TheRonSlay
— Todd Fuhrman (@ToddFuhrman) October 29, 2024
Tennessee sits at No. 7 in the AP Poll with five games left to play. The Volunteers have Kentucky, Mississippi State, at Georgia, UTEP and at Vanderbilt remaining on their schedule. They remain in the thick of the College Football Playoff picture, and we’ll get a little more clarity on that next week when the official rankings are revealed for the first time.
Can Tennessee actually win the National Title? They have plenty to iron out if they want to sniff getting to that point. We don’t have to go too deep into the issues, either. Tennessee is going to have to have to figure out how to get this offense going earlier in games and start connecting more on some downfield throws. It’s that simple. That’s on Nico, the offensive line and the receivers — it’s truly been a sum of all parts issue early in games.
There’s another level to this team for sure. Heck, we’ve even seen flashes of it early in the season. Those flashes returned in the second half against Alabama. Now with another bye week under their belts, we’ll see if this offense can take another step forward on Saturday against Kentucky.